Thermals are bumpy...

TangoWhiskey

TangoWhiskey

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
14,210
Location
Midlothian, TX
Display Name
Display name:
3Green
From a friend of mine, ex-777 pilot, now flying gliders. He was at the airport when this happened. Pictures have been altered by me, at his request, to remove identifying marks (N-Numbers, aircraft type, phone numbers on hangars). Happened Tuesday of this week.

We had two guys bump on Tuesday, an occupational hazard in these crowded thermals. The glider in this picture made it back 75 miles with 5ft of wing missing. Made a great landing. The pilot is 76 years old.

The other glider was damaged slightly on the underside of the nose, just inches from the front end, but continued on course. Probably not the smartest decision, but, ironically, he won the day.

Both gentlemen very lucky to have made it home.
Click to expand...

attachment.php


attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • DSCN4101m.jpg
    DSCN4101m.jpg
    214.7 KB · Views: 216
  • DSCN4102m.jpg
    DSCN4102m.jpg
    199.2 KB · Views: 219
Last edited:
My friend is based in Colorado, but this might have been at a tournament he's attending... he ran down the runway in case the guy had issues, but he didn't.

In other, related, news, the old adage "there are those that have, and those that will" applies to gliders, too... this guy ground enough fiberglass off the bottom he won't be flying the bird for a while.

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • DSCN4168m.jpg
    DSCN4168m.jpg
    193.6 KB · Views: 209
More fun from the captain:

Here's what it looks like when the lift is lousy and everyone's hanging out on the ridge. There were 30 other gliders not in this picture.
Click to expand...

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • DSCN4147m.jpg
    DSCN4147m.jpg
    103.3 KB · Views: 211
Ouch! That's going to take some major repair... or can it even be repaired and not have to be replaced?
 
Jeanie said:
Ouch! That's going to take some major repair... or can it even be repaired and not have to be replaced?
Click to expand...

If the wing detaches, I bet they just bought a wing.

I had one thought when I saw the pics... ADVERSE YAW.
 
Richard Bach makes mention in one of his books an event where he was among many other gliders spiraling up a thermal when someone at the top had a mid-air and the parts fell down through the many aircraft in the thermal. That was scary enough just to read it.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
If the wing detaches, I bet they just bought a wing.

I had one thought when I saw the pics... ADVERSE YAW.
Click to expand...

glider wings are made to detach.. just one or two pins hold it all togther.
I believe the ASH26E has two pins.

It's not that easy to find undamaged wings at a salvage yard.
It will take months to have a new one made.

A good repairman can take two left wings and make a good one.
 
the pilot of the ASH (busted wing) said he figured the performance loss was around 15%. So it probably was still performing better than my Cherokee II even with the ragged wing. He even thermalled a few times on the way back to Parowan.

The Ventus actually finished the task and won the day! inspection on the ground showed that the Ventus did have a few dents on the nose but no structural issues. amazing!

A friend from Wichita is flying the contest and was in that thermal, says he dodged the wingtip as it fell.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Mine was...."why is the canopy still attached? I would have been so instantly outta there!"
Click to expand...

If you are still flying and it appears under control.. don't be in such a hurry to leave... as we would say... "wind the watch".. think about it..
 
the gear up was the brother of a friend, bummer. he's out of the contest as a result.
 
tonycondon said:
The Ventus actually finished the task and won the day! inspection on the ground showed that the Ventus did have a few dents on the nose but no structural issues. amazing!
Click to expand...
If it had been a sailboat race, one or both would have been disqualified for the contact. No rules against contact in a glider race?:hairraise:
 
apparently in some countries the national rules stop scoring at the location of a collision so there is no pressure to continue and try to finish the race. not in the US though, I guess. frankly i've never heard of a case where an aircraft was in a mid air collision and remained airworthy.
 
i'm pretty sure that "Rubbin's racin" does not apply to sailplanes...
 
Jeanie said:
Ouch! That's going to take some major repair... or can it even be repaired and not have to be replaced?
Click to expand...

yes it can be repaired, I used to work for a glider repair shop, they would repair anything that didn't break the spar inboard of 30% of the span.

Brian
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Mine was...."why is the canopy still attached? I would have been so instantly outta there!"
Click to expand...

There are some very remote areas, you might still be waiting for someone to come get you. However I am sure his hand wasn't far from the jettison lever for the remainder of the flight.

Brian
 
There was no rubbin' at the 1st Annual Great NW Air Race at KEAT Wenatchee July 12, last Sat. I done Stock Cars, they 'rub'. We had adequate separation. I also won my class FAC3FX , in a stock '71 PA28-180, @136.95 MPH. DaveR
 
Last edited:
Ddayle said:
There was no rubbin' at the 1st Annual Great NW Air Race at KEAT Wenatchee July 12, last Sat. I done Stock Cars, they 'rub'. We had adequate separation. I also won my class FAC3FX , in a stock '71 PA28-180, @136.95 MPH. DaveR
Click to expand...

~120kts is moving for a stock 180. Did it have any fairings? Tailwinds?
 
I imagine the FSDO will have some choice words, including a fresh 709 ride for for two very lucky pilots...

denny-o
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top