http://ozreport.com/9.175
Lock out
Davis Straub - 2005/08/23
How to kill yourself by aerotowing
So the Robin Strid video wasn't enough to get your attention? Will this help? How about a pilot coming to the 2005 Big Spring Open, not having aerotowed in five years and therefore not knowing enough to release when they were out of whack and just about to do what Robin did (when he couldn't release) and get thrown into the ground hard.
You'll find the sequence here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meaneyman/sets/788506/
Tim Meaney, who did the scoring at Big Spring, was the photographer.
Look over the shots carefully. Notice that the glider is out of whack from the get go. Notice that the pilot is towing from the pilot's shoulders, and being pulled toward the tug, but the glider is going in the opposite direction, and the pilot is in the cross control position (i.e. the pilot's shoulders are on the right side, but the pilot's legs are on the left side.
Notice that the pilot doesn't correct their incorrect position and get themselves over to the right side including and most importantly their legs, the side with the wing high. Notice where the hang glider is pointed in comparison to where the tug is pointed. Compare this to the Robin Strid video. Very similar.
How is this pilot saved? Not by releasing, as the pilot doesn't even seem to be aware that he/she is about to be killed. No, instead, Bobby Bailey (sound familiar here?) recognizes the problem, eases back on the stick and the gas, and moves to the left to save the pilot from a lockout.
Will this pilot read this report in the Oz Report? Unlikely. They appear to have missed the previous report which I wrote in a perhaps vain attempt to save some pilot's lives. It is so discouraging to see this.
Actively control the glider on tow and in the cart. Do not cross control. If you are the slightest bit uncomfortable, release and launch again.
Lock out
Lockout is one word - unless you're giving someone instructions.
How to kill yourself by aerotowing
Damn it's good to be able to read articles from people who really know what the fuck they're talking about - experts in the field of getting people killed by aerotowing.
Other suggestions for your reading pleasure...
Peter Birren
The excellent book, Towing Aloft, by Dennis Pagen and Bill Bryden...
- The excellent book, Towing Aloft, by Dennis Pagen and Bill Bryden.
Wallaby Ranch Aerotow Primer for Experienced Pilots
-
http://www.wallaby.com/aerotow_primer.php
So the Robin Strid video wasn't enough to get your attention?
Hard to say, Davis. You pulled it so no one would ever again be able to see what and who really was and wasn't responsible for the elements that went into that crash.
Will this help? How about a pilot coming to the 2005 Big Spring Open, not having aerotowed in five years and therefore not knowing enough to release...
Oh.
- So if you haven't aerotowed in five years you automatically forget when it's the proper time to give up on trying to control the glider and start clawing for your Bailey Release.
- But if you're a hot competition pilot at the Forbes Flatlands World Hang Gliding Championship and get killed doing EXACTLY the same thing using EXACTLY the same piece of shit Bailey Release...
http://ozreport.com/13.003
Forbes, day one, task one
Davis Straub - 2009/01/03 20:50:24 UTC
Forbes Airport, New South Wales
Steve Elliot came off the cart crooked and things went from bad to worse as he augured in. He was helicoptered to Orange and eventually to Sydney where the prognosis is not good. I'll update as I find out more.
...it's 'cause you set the cart's keel support too low.
...when they...
They? I thought we were just talking about one asshole. Can you give us a precise figure?
...were out of whack...
Must've been using a stronglink - just like Robin.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24534
It's a wrap
Lauren Tjaden - 2011/08/01 02:01:06 UTC
Eminently Qualified Tandem Pilot
For whomever asked about the function of a weak link, it is to release the glider and plane from each other when the tow forces become greater than desirable -- whether that is due to a lockout or a malfunction of equipment or whatever. This can save a glider, a tow pilot, or more often, a hang glider pilot who does not get off of tow when he or she gets too far out of whack.
A standard aerotow weak link will save a hang glider pilot who does not get off of tow when he or she gets too far out of whack.
Some people are just incapable of learning from the mistakes of others or even listening to Eminently Qualified Tandem Pilots.
...and just about to do what Robin did (when he couldn't release)...
When he couldn't release because of the piece of shit "release" that all you Industry Standard motherfuckers sold him and told him it was OK to go up on.
...and get thrown into the ground hard.
Instead of just stalling into the ground hard - which is probably what would've happened at that point if he HAD released, the weak link had blown, or Bobby had dumped him.
Sure we will.
This page is private.
Oops! You don't have permission to view this page.
Just like we'll be able to see and learn something from the Robin video.
Tim Meaney, who did the scoring at Big Spring, was the photographer.
Thanks Tim. That was a real contribution to the resources we can use to educate our pilot population.
Look over the shots carefully.
Fascinating.
Notice that the glider is out of whack from the get go.
So how come Bobby...
http://ozreport.com/9.008
2005 Worlds
Davis Straub - 2005/01/10
Bobby Bailey, the best tow pilot in the business...
...the best tow pilot in the business and...
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
Jim Rooney - 2011/08/26 08:24:31 UTC
Bobby's a fucking genius when it comes to this shit...
...a fucking genius when it comes to this shit...
Towing Aloft - 1998/01
Pro Tip: Always thank the tug pilot for intentionally releasing you, even if you feel you could have ridden it out. He should be given a vote of confidence that he made a good decision in the interest of your safety.
...didn't intentionally release them...
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14221
Tad's release
William Olive - 2008/12/24 23:46:36 UTC
I've seen a few given the rope by alert tug pilots, early on when things were going wrong, but way before it got really ugly. Invariably the HG pilot thinks "What the hell, I would have got that back. Now I've got a bent upright."
The next one to come up to the tuggie and say "Thanks for saving my life." will be the first.
...making a good decision in the interest of their safety?
Notice that the pilot is towing from the pilot's shoulders...
As opposed to towing from the launch assistant's shoulders. At least they got that much right.
...and being pulled toward the tug, but the glider is going in the opposite direction, and the pilot is in the cross control position (i.e. the pilot's shoulders are on the right side, but the pilot's legs are on the left side.
Then how are they controlling anything - cross or otherwise?
Notice that the pilot doesn't correct their incorrect position and get themselves...
Fuckin' idiot.
...over to the right side including and most importantly their legs, the side with the wing high. Notice where the hang glider is pointed in comparison to where the tug is pointed. Compare this to the Robin Strid video. Very similar.
Obviously.
I think it's a good idea to hide from view and delete as much as possible of the near disastrous and lethal stuff going on in hang glider aerotowing as possible. We wouldn't wanna leave people with the impression that...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skysailingtowing/message/7067
AT SOPs - proposed revisions
Dr. Tracy Tillman - 2009/05/10 02:08:52 UTC
USHPA Director, Region 7
FAA Detroit FSDO FAAST Aviation Safety Counselor
Additionally, if you want to really present a convincing argument, you should also: (a) get other experts to co-sign your letter, such as those who have some or most of the aerotowing-related credentials listed above, who have been doing this for many years with many students, and who support your argument; and (b) present reliable data based on valid research showing that there is a significant difference in safety with the changes that you recommend. Supportive comments from aerotow experts along with convincing data can make a difference. Otherwise, it may seem as if your perception of "the sky is falling" may not be shared by most others who have a wealth of experience and who are deeply involved in aerotowing in the US.
...the sky is falling. (Fuck you, Dr. Tracy Tillman, USHPA Director - Region 7, and FAA Detroit FSDO FAAST Aviation Safety Counselor.)
How is this pilot saved?
I dunno... Luck? Every time I survived an aerotow at a Flight Park Mafia facility I always attributed my success in large part to the element of luck.
Not by releasing...
NOT BY RELEASING?!?!?! How is it possible to survive ANY problem on tow...
http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links
Jim Rooney - 2007/08/01
Whatever's going on back there, I can fix it by giving you the rope.
It's more of this crappy argument that being on tow is somehow safer than being off tow.
...on tow? This sounds like a dangerous subversive crappy argument to me.
...as the pilot doesn't even seem to be aware that he/she is about to be killed.
- Oh. It's a he/she. Maybe it just can't live with itself and wants to be killed.
- You mean the way...
-- Paul Tjaden...
http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3391
More on Zapata and weak link
Paul Tjaden - 2008/07/22 04:32:22 UTC
I have never had a lockout situation happen so quickly and dramatically and had no chance to release as I have always thought I could do.
...didn't release when he was about to be killed for the purpose of the exercise?
-- Holly Korzilius...
http://www.ozreport.com/9.133
Lesson from an aerotow accident report
Steve Wendt - 2005/05/29
The pilot also stayed on tow too long. She should have released after the first, or even the second oscilation when she realized that things were not correct. Failing to do so put the glider in a locked out situation that she could no longer control.
...didn't release when she was about to be half killed?
-- Steve Elliot...
http://ozreport.com/13.003
Forbes, day three, task three
Davis Straub - 2009/01/05 12:09:11 UTC
The left wing went down further with the other wing rising, still no corrective action on Steve's part. His left wing contacted the ground and the glider "cartwheeled" in. The glider did not suffer any damage but Steve was fatally wounded.
...didn't release when he was about to be killed?
-- Mike Haas...
Joe Gregor - 2004/09
There is no evidence that the pilot made an attempt to release from tow prior to the weak link break, the gate was found closed on the Wallaby-style tow release.
...didn't release when he was about to be killed?
-- you...
http://ozreport.com/pub/fingerlakesaccident.shtml
Davis Straub - 2004/09/12
On my third aerotow this glider fell (was pulled) off the cart asymmetrically with the left corner bracket coming off the cradle first and the glider yawing to the right (clockwise) when the wheels started castering. The left wing drug over the ground for a second or two. Then the left corner bracket/wheel dug into the ground as the glider wasn't lifted and was in fact pulled into the ground by the V-bridle. The nose came over, the weaklink broke, and I plowed into the left side of the undersurface of the glider cutting my lip on the plastic shrink wrap of the nose wires, ripping the undersurface and putting a dent in the left leading edge.
...didn't release before you were pulled off an unstable dolly and...
http://ozreport.com/pub/images/fingerlakesaccident2.jpg
http://ozreport.com/pub/images/fingerlakesaccident3.jpg
...piled into the runway?
No, instead, Bobby Bailey (sound familiar here?)...
Yep. Whenever there's a disaster or near disaster progressing behind a tug it's a no brainer that Bobby, his Dragonfly, his "releases", and/or his weak links are primary factors.
...recognizes the problem, eases back on the stick and the gas, and moves to the left to save the pilot from a lockout.
I don't understand. You just strongly implied that the he/she should've saved themselves by releasing, and Bobby - who designed a good, built in, no control loss release for the plane at HIS end of the towline - could've dumped the glider a lot quicker and easier than the he/she, but instead...
Wills Wing / Blue Sky / Steve Wendt / Ryan Voight Productions - 2007/03
NEVER CUT THE POWER...
Reduce Gradually
Increase Gradually
...reduced the power gradually and adjusted his position to keep the glider flying and pull it out of trouble.
Will this pilot...
These pilots.
...read this report in the Oz Report? Unlikely.
And even more unlikely that they'll find any discussion of it on The Davis Show Forum - since you locked out unregistered readers and search engine bots when you and and the other assholes controlling the sport where coming under criticism in the wake of the Lenami Godinez-Avila disaster at the end of April.
And it's also pretty unlikely that they'll find any good information on aerotow release equipment that doesn't stink on ice 'cause you've sabotaged and locked down the discussions on it and banned the foremost developer and advocate.
They appear to have missed the previous report which I wrote in a perhaps vain attempt to save some pilot's lives.
I think they actually saw it, got themselves a few pouches of Local Rules precision weak links, and figured they'd be fine no matter what.
It is so discouraging to see this.
Yeah, you just never know when people like these are gonna cripple or kill themselves on a good competition day and cause a task to be canceled.
Actively control the glider on tow and in the cart.
Hang on, lemme get a pencil and write this down... OK...
"Actively control the glider on tow and in the cart."
Ooh!!! I like that one! I've just been waiting for the auto correction you get when the tow force pulls you under the high wing to kick in. Should work but that damnable adverse yaw always seems to turn the glider the opposite of what it should be doing. But, fortunately, if I fail to maintain the correct tow position (centered, with the wheels of the tug on the horizon), my precision Davis Link always breaks before I get into too much trouble.
Do not cross control.
Yeah. I keep meaning to stop doing that. Thanks for the reminder, Davis. I'll pass that on to all my friends who are cross controlling. I'll tell them it's coming from you so they'll really understand that they shouldn't be doing that.
If you are the slightest bit uncomfortable, release and launch again.
- Anybody who isn't REAL uncomfortable on an aerotow launch - even if he isn't using shit Industry Standard equipment and a Davis Link and hooked up behind some fuckin' halfwit like Rooney and a Dragonfly weak link - is a total moron.
- Yeah Davis. Whenever you're in the kill zone and feeling uncomfortable it's a no brainer that your situation will immediately and dramatically improve the instant you abruptly and irreversibly kill your thrust.
Asshole.
---
Edit - 2014/04/16 08:00:00 UTC
This page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meaneyman/sets/788506/
is NOT currently private.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meaneyman/35640795/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meaneyman/35640798
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meaneyman/35640812
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meaneyman/35640817
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meaneyman/35640828
So much additional discussion on this incident and the "reporting" at:
http://www.kitestrings.org/post5922.html#p5922
with, I hope, a not excessive degree of overlap.
