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Site designed and maintained by Girl Friday. |
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To email our Safety Officer click here. ______________________________________________________________________ |
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If you land out, the club number to call is 01903 746706. Please do not use the office number, unless you know someone is there to answer. ________________________________________________________________________
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This leaflet is being sent to all clubs for distribution to all pilots.
Winch launches should be very safe if BGA guidelines are followed but there are potential hazards that must be anticipated, avoided or managed. The leaflet identifies the majority of these hazards and provides advice on how to remain safe.
A short leaflet cannot supply all the knowledge and understanding of winch launching that you may need. Special circumstances at your club may mean your best launch procedures are slightly different. It is very important that you should consult an instructor
Try out any new technique in a two seater with an instructor, not on your own!
The leaflet suggests a zero g push over after power loss. This is appropriate in mid launch but may be too vigorous near the ground. Although it advises against use of the too fast signal near the ground there is no objection to the use of this signal in mid launch.
The advice given in the leaflet is simple and we hope easy to follow.
Safe winch launching!
Don Irving Chairman of the BGA Instructor’s Sub-Committee Member of the BGA Safety Initiative
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The main responsibilities of the Duty Pilot are to organise and co-ordinate airfield operations in support of the duty instructing team, and to promote safety and safe practice for club members, visitors, gliders and other equipment.
The Duty Pilot is an important member of the team and a good Duty Pilot can make the difference between the airfield functioning efficiently with maximum number of flights each day and the alternative of delays, disorganisation and inefficient operation.
The following notes cover the main elements of the Duty Pilot’s role.
Preparation
Ground Equipment Preparation to Fly Launch Point Organisation During Flying DO NOT DO ALL THE WORK YOURSELF - DELEGATE Trial Lessons At the End of Flying Emergencies There will be times when the Duty Pilot is the most senior person on the ground (all Duty Instructors are airborne). In the event of an emergency the duty pilot should use his/her best judgement but in general should: |
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SAFETY NOTES There have been four accidents to 2-seaters at Parham in recent years, where the flight was a ‘mutual’ one. The toll includes one serious injury, one glider written off, and two gliders seriously damaged. In every case, lack of communication between the pilots during the flight was a factor. So I am grateful to Paul Hayward for writing down the following thoughts, which should help us to enjoy a very sociable way of flying. Geoff Stilgoe Safety Officer |
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Flying with another pilot is an excellent way of sharing the enjoyment of flying, sharing the workload of cross-country tasks and a way of exchanging knowledge and techniques. With the increasing popularity of mutual flying a reminder is appropriate that someone flies as P1 and someone as P2, and a review of what that means. During training it was automatic - the instructor was always the person with ultimate authority - he (or she) always knew best! Once you are an established solo pilot and start flying with other pilots the choice may not seem so obvious or the responsibilities so automatically understood.
Anyone who flies as P1 accepts the sole responsibility for all conduct of the flight, whoever is actually flying - In all things right or wrong it’s P1’s fault!
conduct of the flight - where and how far you fly airspace restrictions & Notams takeoff emergency actions in an eventuality decision to pull off in an emergency lookout (with P2 assistance) collision avoidance circuit discipline and safety landing - approach and roundout, until the glider comes to rest airmanship during the flight - all these things are the ultimate responsibility of P1.
Flying as P2 you are under the direction of P1 and, by agreement – you can perform all or some of the above |
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you can be overruled by P1 at any time, on any point – - by verbal suggestion/command - or P1 can physically take control It makes no difference who owns the aircraft It makes no difference where you sit it makes no difference who’s flying the glider it makes no difference if you disagree P1/P2 status does not change in flight
The only rare exception to all this is in the event of P1’s incapacitation, when P2 must take command.
The minimum qualification for flying mutually in club aircraft is that at least one pilot should hold a green card, very often this will be P1 - to fly beyond the range of the airfield a Cross Country Endorsement is required by P1. P2 should have at least a red card or be capable of landing the glider in the event of P1 incapacity.
Permission to fly should be requested by P1 - the normal courtesy. When neither pilot has an instructor rating then permission to fly mutually must be obtained from the Duty Instructor, who will often rule who should fly as P1.
The pilot with the more senior qualification (not hours) should fly as P1. Where there is no seniority of rating, the greater experience should decide, giving priority to experience on the aircraft. Where there is any doubt the Duty Instructor will decide. It may well be, in some circumstances, that it is best not to make the flight.
Once you have decided who's in charge, P1 must brief P2 on the conduct of the flight, and encourage 2-way communication throughout the flight. That done, get on with it and enjoy all the benefits of the shared experience, it then only remains to argue about who gets to sit up front!
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If you have flown at other sites, you will notice that our aerotow ropes are thin when compared to those used by most clubs. Heavier ropes have been tried here, but with the problems created by the modest length of the Parham Airfield with trees and power lines at each end, ours is a system which has evolved to meet local needs. It gives a comfortable tow as there is no “bow” as with heavier weights and therefore less snatch. Given the number of aerotows at the club, we experience very few rope failures, but the price that we pay is the constant vigilance of by the person who attaches the rope to the glider.
We use 55m (approx 180ft ), three stranded monofilament polypropylene rope with a static breaking strain of 5000N when new. It is reasonably resistant to abrasion, does not absorb water and is UV stabilised. Aerotow systems require weak links to protect the tug and glider airframes. The maximum weak link values for our tugs is 4600 N (approx 1000 lbs), so allowing for 10% reduction in breaking strain due to splices and wear, our ropes have their own built in weak link system. Breaks occur during winter in soft ground at “all out”, or as a result of rope snatching after bowing during turbulent conditions, or practising “out of position” aerotow exercises. Any break is usually in the two meters just in front of the glider. Running repairs reduce the length of the rope, but at 52m (170ft) a new length is spliced in to keep it at the normal operational length. Brand new ropes are introduced into the system as required.
The single ring at the tug end and the Tost rings at the glider end ensure that the rope can only be used in the same directional sense, thus localising wear and developing weakness and fatigue at the glider end. Breaks invariably occur close to the glider end so there is little risk of a trailing rope interfering with the control surfaces. The rings cost £20 per set and, if safety considerations allow, should be brought back to the field after a break on tow rather than dropping them over open countryside. The tension when a tug glider combination is established on tow in a steady climb is surprisingly low. Eg , for a glider with L/D = 25 and an all up weight of 5000 N, the tow rope tension is in the order of 5000/25 = 200N (44 lbs) for the really slippery and lighter machines, it is even less.
The high tech (!) addition of four pieces of yellow plastic gas pipe provides some protection for the splices at the glider end, but more importantly, provide sufficient drag to discourage the formation of knots on release from tow and provides some aerodynamic lift helping the rope to “float” behind the tug when landing.
How to avoid spoiling someone’s day. Always check the rope for KNOTS, KINKS and WEAR before attaching it to the glider. Make sure that the rope is free of kinks, if necessary by ‘unwinding’ kink. These are most likely to form when the rope is first taken from the storage board. Kinks can be avoided by winding the rope onto the storage board using an alternating right and left hand ‘feed’ every ten or so loops. When the rope is attached to the tug, at the hangar any minor twists, loops and kinks should have worked themselves out by the time that the tug reaches the launch point. If a replacement rope is attached at the launch point, it should not be unwound in a heap. It is important to ‘flake’ it out and ‘relax’ it. Even correct splices slightly weaken a rope, but knots will reduce the breaking strain by as much as 60%. A ‘fluke’ knot formed on release from tow is usually easy to undo and the rope can stay in use. A ‘towed on knot’ means that someone is not doing their job !
Winter mud not only creates wear, it can also mask it. A ‘furry’ appearance either externally or internally between the strands indicates wear and fatigue and time to change the rope. If in doubt, replace the rope with another.
The visual checks on the last 10 m or so of the rope take only seconds and can be made as the rope is being retrieved from the tug. The pilot depends on YOU to attach a serviceable rope so do not allow yourself to be rushed by anyone. TELL THE PILOT that you have checked the rope when you ask “Brakes closed and locked ?” If in any doubt, seek advice or change it for a spare from the box on the crash trailer. There are additional replacement ropes on the shelves behind the office in the SW corner of the hangar.
Make sure that you are familiar with the actual samples of problems (wear, knots, kinks, etc on the club safety notice board.
Ground Towing Ropes. This is one of the final resting places for discarded aerotow ropes. The length of rope used for ground towing must be such that if the towed glider should swing, then the wing will not hit the towing vehicle or its driver. I.e. Approx 10 m for towing most gliders. Roger Bray
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To help you ‘Be your own Safety Officer’, here are some sources of safety info that are worth a look:
‘GA Feedback’: Published quarterly by ’CHIRP’ (Confidential Human Factors Reporting Programme, see www. chirp.co.uk). Although this is primarily aimed at power pilots, it does give an awareness of the operations of the people we share our air with, and has general lessons for all.
‘GASIL’: General Aviation Safety Information Leaflet. The CAA Accident prevention leaflet, also quarterly. It does have occasional gliding content. At www.caa.co.uk - publications-aviation safety-GASIL and on the safety board in the club house.
‘Flight Safety ’: Journal of the General Aviation Safety Council. Does have some gliding content. Quarterly, but only available on subscription. However, selected extracts on www.gasco.org.uk.
If you’ve just read the above and thought ’Well, I might look sometime, someone else will tell me if there’s anything important’, remember Pete Stratten’s quote ‘One of the biggest hurdles in persuading people to think about safety is getting them to believe it applies to them!’
The Top Three The top three contributory causes in fatal gliding accidents in the UK are discontinued winch launches, stall/spin and mid-air collision. Are you sure you know everything you should, to help you avoid these extremely unforgiving scenarios?
E is for Everything One member made a useful suggestion after the last members’ meeting. Why not include thinking about ’Errors’ under ’E’ for Eventualities. After all, no-one is immune from making them. For instance, ’There’s a cross wind today, if I get it wrong on takeoff and the wing drops, I must be ready to pull off.’ Well, why not?
Fire Extinguisher Many of you will have seen the new foam fire extinguisher on the accident trailer. Please take time to read the operating instructions posted on it. It’s simple, but its important that the actions are done in the correct sequence. Most importantly, the hose must be fully run out before pressurising it, or it cannot be deployed. This implies 2-crew operation. We are also told that the medium is AFFF - Aqueous Film Forming Foam, which does not look like the classic white foam. So if what emerges looks like dirty washing up water, do not assume it isn’t working.
Airspace
Moths to a Flame
There is a short article under this title in the latest issue of ’GA Feedback’ (No 22 Autumn 2004). We as glider pilots are well aware that gliders congregate in favoured areas and we also expect to encounter flocks of hang gliders and para-sailers along the ridge. But did you know that powered aircraft congregate in certain areas, not immediately in the vicinity of airfields, and outside controlled airspace? They are in holding patterns, based on non directional beacons (NDBs). The article cites a near miss between a glider and GA aircraft in the Cranfield hold at 3500 ft and remarks that the gliding fraternity seems to be unaware of beacons and their implications. Not all NDBs have holding patterns of course, but it is sensible to familiarise yourselves with the NDB symbol on the charts and be aware when planning routes. It’s perfectly legitimate to share this airspace, but probably best avoided if possible. It’s also worth remembering that light aircraft often use NDBs and VORs as turning points, which can give a busy spot.
AIAAs
While looking at my 1/2 million chart in conjunction with the above, I recalled a personal experience when negotiating my way past the Brize Norton zone and the Abingdon parachuting zone. A light twin appeared from under my nose, on my heading and just a few hundred feet below. It was probably out of Kidlington, a very busy GA training field. These three fields, together with Weston on the Green, Little Rissington, Fairford and Benson, comprise the Oxford Area of Intense Aerial Activity (AIAA). It’s not called that for nothing. Again, it’s OK for us to fly in the ’Open’ parts of the AIAA , but lookout is crucial. Familiarise yourself with the AIAA boundary symbols, they can be missed on a cluttered chart.
Geoff Stilgoe
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