Ground Handling Complacency
Don't get Complacent
You know how this did not happen? Flying. Never have I heard someone come back from a flight “That thermal pushed me soo hard from behind, accelerating me and I heard a loud crack, it must have been the rudder.” However, I have seen multiple pilots push the glider up the ramp and into the trailer with one hand pushing on the rudder, sometimes both.
As you can see below the structure of the rudder is pretty minimal. Where the two halves of the rudder are glued together at the trailing edge it is very rigid. However, about 1 inch forward of that it only has a few layers of lightweight fiberglass. It has to be lightweight so it will still balance as there is a long arm from the hinges. The weak point is just in front of the trailing edge. That is where the crack was visible in the gelcoat and the outer skid was broken.
Another common bad habit that I see lazy pilots do is rather than lifting from the tailboom. Pilots lift on the horizontal stabilizer. Now that I am familiar with the fiberglass layup of the Ventus 2, it is a really bad idea. A shoulder or palm into the couple layers of fiberglass and foam seemed to cause delamination of the fiberglass. Below you can see the lighter colored fiberglass where it has become delaminated left of center.
Again I have never heard anyone after landing go wow, that thermal was so strong it delaminated one side of the horizontal stabilizer. I am not saying that one-time lifting will do it. However, fatigue is a real thing and you keep lifting in that one spot for 20 years it might cause problems.
As you can see below there are a lot of layers of fiberglass near the center and it tapers out into the foam. Here we have removed a rectangular section of the foam.
Remember when you were a student and the instructors did not want you to push on the trailing edge, leave the canopy open, reach in the vent window, lift on the horizontal tail, push the glider by the control surfaces, etc. It seems that over the year’s pilots seem to become complacent with doing these things. But as I run a repair station I can tell you these things really do break.
Banner Photo by Krystof Peterka
Glider Pilot Hat
W&W Glider Pilot Hat is made from 100% cotton and features two brass eyelets on either side for ventilation. The hat features a sailplane on the front with W&W clothing brand on the back. The brim/visor is approximately 2″, has an inner sweatband and is available in Small/Medium and Large/Extra Large.
PowerFLARM Portable
PowerFLARM® Portable is for aircraft where a behind the panel installation is not possible, the PowerFLARM® Portable is available for flexible fitting. This device incorporates a display as well as a control knob and can easily be placed e.g. on the glare shield.
Features:
• FLARM functionality – sending out your position and vector and receiving vectors from gliders in range (about 4 miles)
• ADS–B Traffic Reception – ADS–B traffic position and relative altitude are displayed on the PowerFLARM display.
• Mode S Transponders – Nearby Mode S transponders are displayed on the PowerFLARM display. Since direction is not known, the traffic is displayed as a ring around the glider.
• Mode C Transponders – Nearby Mode C transponders are displayed on the PowerFLARM display. Since direction is not known, the traffic is displayed as a ring around the glider.
• 2nd FLARM Antenna Port Enabled (2nd antenna not included)
• Audio Output Enable – The built-in audio output port for sending FLARM alarms (beeps only) to an aviation headset is enabled by default.
• GPS Flight Recorder – Accepted by OLC, no IGC Approval or task declarations
Display:
• New generation sunlight-readable Matrix TFT display
• Resolution 132 x 176 pixels
• 2″ diagonal screen
Antennas:
• ADS–B antenna (blue marking; receive only; non–“Pure” devices)
• Integrated GPS antenna under the top of the housing
• Optional: External GPS antenna (MCX socket)
Garret Willat holds a flight instructor rating with over 8000 hours in sailplanes. His parents have owned Sky Sailing Inc. since 1979. He started instructing the day after his 18th birthday. Since then, Garret has represented the US Junior team in 2003 and 2005. He graduated from Embry-Riddle with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics. Garret represented the US Open Class team in 2008 and 2010 and the Club Class team in 2014. Garret has won 3 US National Championships.