Accident report #2

[RedBaron]

Pilot: H3 110 hours
Glider: Litespeed
Airtime on glider: 25 hours
Location: Woodstock
Type of accident: Blown launch
Glider damage: Substantial, two busted downtubes, basetube and all bottom wires destroyed, minor rock rash on wing tips and isolated spots on the LE
Injuries: Nada

Report:
I thought everything was possible except for me blowing a launch. Conditions were strong and gusty, I figure 10-15 mph with thermal gusts up to 20 mph. Had Kinsley on my left wing. When it was my turn the streamers were doing everything and I wasn't comfortable with what I saw. Waited forever until a lull with straight streamers signaled me to go. I was nervous. Misjudged the cycle thinking it was very light, so I raised the nose somewhat (I had it too low on my last launch at WS with the glider sitting on my shoulders forever). I yelled clear and the left wing popped up severely right away. There was no point in trying to correct the situation so I aborted launch immediately but couldn't stop the glider from rolling to the right and crashing into the rocks perhaps 30 feet from where I stood. I believe my feet never left the ground, moon-walking all the way.
Analysis:
Trashy cycle, nose too high, wimpy first step, not committed. I only went because I sank out at HR last Sunday but didn't really feel the force that day. Spending a lot of time on dollies I believe has somewhat deteriorated my launch skills, too. I wasn't the confident launch maniac I usually am.
Advice for future launch wimps:
If you yell clear you're committed. Never assume you can waltz it off. Don't walk through it, plow through it.
Acknowledgments:
Steve for helping me carry the glider back to the setup area.

God damn it!

[KirkLewis]

Wow glad to hear you are OK. I hope this doesn't mean you'll be avoiding Highland, the evenings are always more entertaining with you around. Usually it means the spoons are coming out

[Lauren Tjaden]

Oh, I am so sorry about your glider. Gawd. I'm really glad you're okay, of course.
Lauren

[Matthew]

CRAP!!!!

Your Pulpit launch was good.

Matthew

[markc]

Argh, that really sucks Janni, sorry to hear that your baby needs a new control frame!
I guess spending some $$ is much better than waiting for injuries to heal, but still...

I had an aborted launch at Woodstock years ago. Talked to everyone I could, and all
agreed that the cycle seemed good based on the streamers, that my AOA was proper,
and that the wings were level. But in spite of all that, my glider never got off the ground
and I was scrapin' rock after just a few steps. Basically, the launch was aborted for me.

Prior to launching, I knew that the glider did not "feel right" . And yet, because everything
"looked right", I let that guide my decision and gave it a go. End result: one very scraped
basetube and some leading edge rash.

My guess: Air was dumping into the slot in some weird way, enough to produce some
misleading streamer motion, but the slot was not actually filling with nice/launchable air.

What I learned from my launch/crash was the absolute requirement to integrate both what
your eyes are telling you and what your glider/body are telling you. If they don't agree,
then wait. It also taught me not to focus quite so much on just the streamers.

I hope that you will be able to gain insights of your own from your accident, and come
back better than before.

MarkC

[tdilisio]

Hey Janni, I'm glad you are OK and hope your glider heals quickly. See ya out there.

[kcarra]

Janni, I'm so sorry. I've always been impressed by your strong launches. I was at launch at Woodstock once where everything looked perfect. I picked up and wire crew was encouraging me to go but the glider felt like it weighed a million pounds. As Mark said, the wind was probably swirling around making the streamers look really good but it was also coming behind me and dumping on my glider. You might be too strong to notice that your glider felt extra heavy though!

Karen

[silverwings]

Janni,
First, I am glad you are OK and sorry I couldn't help in moving your glider up but I was busy holding my glider and thought you and Steve could handle it fine. What I observed is close to what you said. The nose was a bit high and that contributed to your left wing coming up as you started your launch and it appeared that you quickly decided to abort but unfortunately had already created forward energy. With some wind there it would be extremely difficult to abort after about 1 step! I do not think that your left wing came up too extreme or the nose too extreme to correct if you had had an aggressive launch run (which you didn't). Since it had been a bit breezy before your launch, your waiting for a lighter cycle was good but maybe there was some screwy air in the slot. If ready to launch and the glider doesn't feel right, then always wait. When you yell clear and decide to go, then be committed and give a strong run regardless of how much wind is blowing. This accident was unfortunate for you and your glider but maybe some value can be gained from it. A disadvantage of a high performance glider is that it quickly builds energy as soon as you start your run and can be slower in responding to turn corrections so you have to be on top of it.

[RedBaron]

All good advice, thanks my dear friends. Had I had my usual launch form it would have been a piece of cake, it certainly wasn't dumping on me (I always raise the nose to feel what the air is doing before I bring it back down and launch). Still, I've never had a wing come up on me like that. I really feel like half idiot half victim of the WS slot.
Glider is up and ready to rock'n roll (pun intended lol). Did I mention that I transformed my closet into a Moyes store a long time ago? I'll still have Adam and Sonny take a good look at it but I think it's fine. My biggest worry was that one of the LE's might have a ding but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[mcelrah]

Just add my name to the list commiserating with you, Janni: a few years ago I had a strange scary launch where I felt the air pressing down on the glider and pushing me to one side. I kept running and raised the nose, then got helicoptered straight up out of the slot facing the trees to the side - John Middleton said my wing went between two of them. Bottom line: although I and the glider emerged unscathed, it might have been better to abort and accept the consequences than to go in the trees.
- Hugh

[Richard Hays]

Glad you're ok, big guy. Just saw this post. Bummer.

Slot launches ( and Woodstock historically ) are subject to alot of rotor-dump. Any crosswind factor adds to the swirl of air that can be found in the slot. Mark's comments; spot on. Johns' too. I've always found that building cycles with lots of leaf movement in the slot...left, right and front work best. Feel the wing evenly lifting; double check strait in factor and go. Seems to get you out of a slot fast and avoids the dreaded backside of a thermal. One hopes. LOL. Anyway...what the hell do I know?

Sorry about the wack. Chin up.

Richard

[brianvh]

Sorry to hear about that Janni. Probably better to have crashed while still on the ground than halfway out of the slot. What Richard said was my first thought based on what I read in HG magazine a few years ago: may not be a good idea to trust a lull on a generally strong day. But we all do it, huh?

[Ashley Groves]

Sorry to hear about the blown launch. Thanks for the write up. Welcome to the club.

I am glad you are OK, it is easier to replace metal than bones.

I wasn't there, I have not seen your launches, but you mentioned holding the glider too long did not help. I find it helpful to minimize the time I am holding the glider. Muscle fatigue quickly builds and diminishes my feel for the glider. I figure if a cycle is too short to last while I am picking up the glider, I did not want to launch into it anyway.

Sorry if the suggestion is off base, it is just based on your description.

Typically I tend to launch in the first best cycle I get, but I have had, in the past, one or two perfect looking launces blowing in easily but have had the glider doing wierd things.

Ashley