wires

[Tad Eareckson]

Seems to me that the design would be better if it allowed the side wires to lie parallel (without bending) to the down tubes during transport.

You mean the way Wills Wing has done it since the beginning of time with their tang arrangement?

The leading edge spars pivot about the nose plates, thus the side wires become totally slack when the wing is folded.

And when the wings are rotated out/forward for setup and tensioning the wires are straightened from anchor point to anchor point.

Pretty much the whole thing is rubbish. Really gratifying to see all this given his response to my efforts back in early 2009 - not to mention Bob's endorsement of him as a consultant who knows the topic pretty well. Starting to think that the only hang gliding topic he knows really well above any other competent aerobatics guy is photography.

[Steve Davy]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&p=404215#p404215
Metal fatigue and other stories

Mark G. Forbes - 2018/08/02 23:48:15 UTC

I was doing a routine check on my trike some years ago, and one of the standard things I do is to grab the prop near the hub and push/pull hard on it. That particular time, I felt a slight "click". Turns out it was a fracture of one of the two saddle mount brackets that hold the engine to the vibration mounts. Failure of both brackets (the other one had a partial crack) would have resulted the in the engine departing the aircraft, probably during takeoff. That could have been....embarrassing....or worse.

The fatigue of one of the two brackets (and partial on the other) was a result of all that hard pushing/pulling. I recommend that you don't do that standard routine check in the future, Mark.

[Tad Eareckson]

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking when I reached the 'slight "click"' point in the post. Great minds...

But I certainly disagree with Mark's contention that "That could have been....embarrassing....or worse." For a properly trained hang glider pilot an engine departing the aircraft, probably during takeoff, is an inconvenience at absolute worst. And it increases the overall safety of the takeoff operation and one day, when the pilot's skills will inevitably fail him, it will almost certainly save his life.

What's REALLY embarrassing - or worse - is NOT to have an engine departing the aircraft once every third or fourth takeoff effort.

I'd like to advise him to fracture the other of the two saddle mount brackets that hold the engine to the vibration mounts for a wider safety margin. But... we all know the cardinal Jack Show posting rule.

Please be careful out there, Mark.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/23.125
Steve Pearson on carbon fiber batten reinforcement

Steve Pearson - 2019/06/21 13:02:45 UTC

7075-T6 is very subject to corrosion, and there was an almost manic reaction to us introducing 7075 air frames in 1984. Moyes and other competitors fueled the FUD speculation and predicted all sorts of catastrophic failure. History has shown that reaction to be unwarranted although it's still true that 7075 is much more subject to deterioration in corrosive environments as 6061. None of this happens overnight and we have ample opportunity to inspect our gliders. I'm more worried about pilots not pre-flighting their gliders and lack of routine maintenance like replacing damaged side wires.

Whoa! Just DAMAGED? And here I was thinking that they needed to be replaced...

http://www.willswing.com
Wills Wing

Maintenance
Every Year

3. Replace bottom side wires and hang loops.

...after they'd aged a year. (And you're not worried about people replacing their damaged and/or aged hang loops?)

And I guess they're mostly getting damaged by...



... preflight stomp tests - work hardening and getting ground into sharp rocks, right?

How are we supposed to check for damage? If they LOOK OK then they ARE OK? If that's what you're "MORE" (read MOST) worried about (just as we are) then how come you've never done shit to promote your own preflight procedures, lifted a finger to support us when we're battling fuckin' douchebags like Red Howard? More afraid of alienating an owner or potential customer than you are of seeing one needlessly killed?

You don't seem to have a problem with going after a COMPETITOR asshole like Moyes over a relative non issue but a Red Howard who will eventually get a Rafi Lavin needlessly killed? These catastrophic incidents don't just remove the individuals from the sport. They result in repercussions that can't really be measured - friends flying less and dropping out sooner, scaring off potential flyers. So good freakin' luck with the way too little way too fuckin' late strategy in which you're now engaged.

[<BS>]

None of this happens overnight and...I'm more worried about pilots not pre-flighting their gliders...

Congratulations on squandering yet another opportunity to increase the number of those who understand and consider stomp tests to actually be a part of pre-flighting their gliders.

Steve Pearson, Wills WIng Designer and Pilot, comes through town and shows Eric and RB how to set up a Falcon 3 (195) that we're about to test fly on the South Side. It's a careful explanation, pretty good audio considering he wasn't mic'ed, and contains the thinking behind the structures and components explained by the very guy who created them. Pretty cool and informative.

No worries.

[Tad Eareckson]

Steve Davy - 2015/11/16 16:08:15 UTC

I'd forgotten about that one. (And it would've been nice if somebody had bothered to preflight the camera lens before shooting that twelve plus minute video.)

Rob Kells - 2005/12

Last Thought Before You Start Your Launch Run: Hooked In? Not Sure? CHECK!

This is the technique Steve Pearson uses if he is not absolutely sure he is hooked in on launch. He sets the glider down and while holding the nose wires, turns and looks at his mains and carabiner and physically grabs the carabiner and gives it a tug. While it does not ensure that you are in your leg loops, it is an easy way to CONFIRM that you are hooked into the glider prior to launch.

And the other 99 percent of the time he's 100.00 percent ABSOLUTELY SURE he is hooked in on launch. And there's no way in hell he'll have ever missed his leg loops.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27086
Steve Pearson on landings

Steve Pearson - 2012/03/28 23:26:05 UTC

I can't control the glider in strong air with my hands at shoulder or ear height and I'd rather land on my belly with my hands on the basetube than get turned downwind.

In situations in which they're keeping score doesn't land the way he tells everyone to...



...in his fuckin' manuals. We're supposed to spend our entire careers perfecting our flare timing for that inevitable emergency situation. But in ACTUAL demanding and emergency situations that bullshit is the polar OPPOSITE of what one needs to do.

No hope whatsoever.