The Low Save
It’s like a fishing story; it was this big… There I was at 200ft, or whatever someone claims to have been. First of all, most of the low saves were not as low as someone claimed, and it gets lower with each telling of the story. But when the new guy hears 200ft and thinks that’s normal and feels his flying is overly cautious when he gives up at 400ft. We encourage this behavior, the scores encourage this behavior, and the new guy thinks this behavior is normal.
Everyone is Watching
I am not advocating we should make a safety floor or hard deck during the contest. At some point, pilots have to take responsibility for their actions. It doesn’t just happen at contests; this also goes on during a Saturday afternoon flight. Remember, you are always being watched. Other pilots are watching FlightRadar24, GlidePort.aero, the new guy is downloading your flight from the OLC to analyze it and gain insight.
I am not saying that I never did anything in the past that probably wasn’t the smartest or safest plan. However, I lived through it and just passing on the warning. Many of our friends have not. Knowing that they did not survive something that we have done many times is an unsettling feeling.
1500ft
With my students, we start our landing checklist at 1500ft AGL; we give up on soaring and concentrate on having a fantastic landing. Honestly, that’s all anyone is going to see from the airport. Actually, they will see the bad landing, nobody witnesses good landings.
When the field you are landing in is more challenging, it is going to take more concentration and a better set-up. This means on the marginal field you will need to give up earlier to concentrate on a good landing. You cannot afford to mess up your pattern.
When the field is large and can land in any direction because there is no wind you reduce the problem of messing up the touchdown area, however, that does not make it completely safe.
Pivotal altitude.
Power pilots do this maneuver for their check rides, and it is to understand the height and speed combination as you sight down your wingtip as it should look like it is staying on one point, the wingtip not tracking forward or aft of that ground reference point. We spend all day watching our wing going backward. Once we get below pivotal altitude, the wing looks like it is going forward. This can lead to wanting to apply more rudder into the turn. For a more in-depth explanation of pivotal altitude check out the Airplane Flying Handbook.
When you are low, you get a sense of ground rush and might try to slow down. Thermalling while slow and skidding a turn is a recipe for disaster.
Accepting defeat
At some altitude, you need to give up on the soaring and concentrate on making a great landing.
Banner Photo by Mika Ganszauge
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.
