Thanks for having the courage to put this video up as a service to other pilots! I can relate to incidents from my own flying when focusing on a particular problem prevents You from quickly sorting out what is really going on. There is a psychological term for this that I can not recall. Was doing touch and gos with a new to me motorglider some years ago and in one flight the airbrakes did not lock properly on takeoff. I was completely focused on engine ice as a problem until I had made a 180 back to the airport then noticing that the airbrakes had extended slightly... guess if I felt stupid afterwards. Focus on flying the aircraft is always priority one, this pilot did that well.
Back in the dear old days of Kent Gliding Club(early 80's) the cable was never attached until the pilot had announced "Brakes Closed and locked". It was always "Cable on please" "Brakes Closed and locked?" "Breaks Closed and locked!" "Open" "Open" "Close" "Close" Then you got out of the way fast!
This does not work with bungee due to the need to hold the airbrakes open to stop the glider from rolling forwards as the runners build up the tension in the rope.
@@davidcooper2496 .I just remembered that some gliders are fitted with a wheel brake , actuated when you fully engage the airbrakes. Another reason for keeping them open before bungee launch.
@@wurlitzer895 .Glyn Was a legend. Not sure what he's up to now....was teaching Tiger moth students last time I heard . Instructor, stunt flyer, winch builder etc.
This launch is unique in that you need to keep the airbrakes open (lock the wheel) until ready to launch. Hence the process of putting the brakes away and 'lock' is where the error occurred. The pilot was flying in a plane he did not know and hence most likely was not used to the process of putting the brakes away and locking them away. He may have put them away (not locked them) and the brakes slowly crept open hence partially ruining the aerodynamics of the plane. . To me the biggest lesson here when flying a new plane is not only putting the brakes away but fully understanding if they have been locked. . Thank you to for airing this video - I will keep this as a mental note.
He did well in the end - skill and being very lucky! Brave to post this for the greater good. Thank God he saved himself and the glider - all those trees, I was expecting a wing to come off or the aircraft to yaw/slew around or cartwheel! No checks seemed apparent. The summing up nearly says it all. But there didn't seem to be a plan to land ahead etc should something go wrong. In powered flight, after all the preflight checks etc on the active runway one makes several decision points before going airborne to cater for Eg engine failure or similar, and then there's checks and double checks during the take off roll to cater for emergency and to ensure that the aircraft will fly safely. My father and friends were glider pilots (tug, winch/pulley etc), I'm merely an outsider, but looking at that hill/bungee launch? No margin for error - always best to have lots of runway in front of you than behind you. Looking at that launch situation reminded me of flying free flight and RC model gliders. The pilot was on the back foot from the start - rushed, changed seating position, new aircraft, new launch method. Better to be on the ground wishing that you were in the air, than in the air wishing that you were on the ground! I'm no expert btw, but that all looked wrong to me - but to a glider pilot it could all be business as usual - no go around in a glider and only one way landing back?? As I wrote no margins for error.
That looked really scary. I have witnessed a glider launch on aero tow with open brakes, struggle up to release height and then come down rapidly with a heavy landing. The very experienced (but old) pilot said afterwards that he couldn't understand where all the sink was coming from. Presumably he was coming down so fast that he didn't even notice his breaks on the downwind check.
But even having 3-4 m/s of sink shouldn't make you risk the glider. It is possible, after all. So breaks open should ruin your flight, but not make it unsafe.
Believe it or not I actually think he's an excellent pilot. He didn't deserve to die in a situation like this and he remembered the rule so very many others pilots flying passengers around forget (and consistently kill), Fly The Plane. He flew the plane, had enough excess speed to clear those trees, got it on the ground safely, acknowledged his error and posted it so others can see how easily Reason's Swiss Cheese Model of causal events occur.
A part of the pre flight checks and everything else behind it, I think that pilot did a great job to land in that field. Everything was against him. In 3:18 I though he will hit those trees but he pulled out and flown over them. When he did that, in 3:21 after he moved stick forward there was another tree which could not been seen before past those trees below of the glider in that moment. When the pilot somehow managed avoid it (I know, the wing cut some branches indeed), there was another tree 3:25 and he needed to work out as well. God, and all this in the unexpected approach, quickly descending glider (because of unknown reason at that moment) and limited options for a landing. Great that pilot saved him self and the glider.
Pulling up to go over trees is an intuitive but very dangerous maneuver. As the aircraft is probably traveling at minimum velocity rather than minimum sink again due to intuition pulling back makes a stall or spin very likely with no altitude to do any recovery. A good recipe for a fatal outcome.
Before every takeoff on our winch the mandatory call out is "Canopy locked, spoilers locked and left hand on the release". Note: when winching it is important that your wing does not hit the ground so this is the reason for hand on release. If your wing might hit the ground you release before it happens. We also train spoiler coming open during the launch. Someone rushing the launch can always be a problem so take your time and get everything done. We also had a spoiler open out landing at our airport because the pilot did not realize his spoiler was open. No damage or injury but a simple look at the wing or knowing where the spoiler handle should be would have prevented this. Also towpilot signaled that the spoiler was open but the glider pilot thought the signal was release. In 2020 towpilot or ground launch to glider signals should be with a radio and visual signals. If you have to tell a pilot he has a problem tell the pilot exactly what to do so they don't have to think and it saves time. "Close your spoiler" is a lot more clear than "Check your spoiler or controls" No excuse today not to have radio communications.
As soon as he realised he was going to be landing he had a hand on the air brake. I guess he didnt notice the airbrake handle was in the wrong position at that point because he was sat further back in the seat or just unfamiliar with the closed and open position.
Good lessons, the only thing that really matters is the pilot is safe - kept his head and flew the plane (although that tree-hop.... not much choice really)
It was a good learning video but I disagree with the BGA’s findings. They have missed the big picture. The biggest problem that was only addressed at the last moment was Plan B; it didn’t exist. The other factors placed this pilot in the unenviable position where a Plan B was required, urgently. Never put your aircraft where your brain hasn’t already been.
this time i'm with you trevor. Bad launch procedure, no designated outlanding field in front of this glider site. no procedure like speed, decouple twice , check brakes, fly.. This club should be ashamed of themselves, not the pilot. it's just symptoms of bad training practices.
I'm a novice when it comes to powered and unpowered flight - but I agree (from what's been drilled into me), with you guys and have mentioned such in my own reply. There was no planned ahead, land ahead field, and no margin for error, yet four major errors were made. Thank God he got away with it.
You can usually hear when the air brakes are open. Also he states that when he got out of the glider he realised the air brakes were open!! Didn't he try and check/use then on finals? He was really lucky to walk away from that one.
u2mister1 Spoilers were the ineffective devices used on older gliders. The more modern ones ,like this model, are fitted with air brakes. I don't know where you are from but in the UK airbrakes is the correct term.
I saw this happen on a first solo the first time I was ever at a glider club. Airbrakes popped out about 200ft up on a winch launch. Luckily it didn't induce a cable break and the pilot wisely chose to fly the full launch (to a rather lower than normal height!) before attempting to diagnose or fix the issue. Once the cable was released the airbrakes were quickly put away and the pilot entered the circuit for a normal landing (followed by a few stern words from both the instructor and the CFI). Could have been much worse!
Hope he bought the winch man a beer. Think it would be pretty hard to do what he did unless the winch man saw it get slow and gave it more power. I once pulled the airbrake rather than the cable release but fortunately it was right at the top and very obvious.
..."after a save but firm landing"... - this guy was so lucky that he made it over the trees and not stall. He could have easily crashed badly. Thats a scary flight and so many mistakes made
My dad flew commercially, privately and also RC. All the time, he talked through every check and was scanning for anything out of the ordinary... This pilot should have run an ABC check as soon as he was on the slope...check check check .....
@@zendesigner The launch procedure is not wrong. There is only one thing during a bungee launch you need after normal checks. The air brakes out because you don't want an early take off and the wheel brake is also held on. Which most gliders happens to be at the full extent of the air brake control. Once the bungee is stretched you then close the air brake which is also releasing the wheel brake. So there only is a single step in the launch when the ground crew clears you.
I really wonder what the duty instructor was doing?. What was the ground crew doing? And what on earth was the tyro pilot doing? You do not hurry up the ground crew so you can get airborne. As a former accident investigator for Air Cadets remember: Accidents are like puddings - you need all the ingredients in just the right quantity.
You would have to ask the pilot, but I think he wanted to feel the air over the wings rather than get a quick launch . He did say one wing heavy. Clearly didn't do his checks though.
I have a glider airfield just a kilometer away from me, so I considered stepping into the sport... But after watching a few videos I think that's not my cup of tea. So many mishaps and accidents due to seemingly simple user errors. Forgot to extend landing gear, forgot to use air brakes while landing, forgot to retract air breaks at launch, low speed turn and stall, etc. ... things that are quite obvious even to the unexperienced observer. And these guys and girls are no idiots. They went through the whole licensing process and passed it. There seems to be something in gliding that makes people do weird things... and I would certainly not be an exception.
True, but on this type of launch the pilot is holding tension in the bungee with the wheel brake, the air brakes are in fact open. When the brakes are closed the glider is pulled forward by the bungee and is launched. Unfortunately on this occasion the pilot has either not locked the brakes correctly or they have come open subsequently. For winch launches and aerotow you are right in what you say, the person attaching the strop to the hook would ask the pilot whether the brakes and canopy are closed and locked.
When the pilot cleared the trees on landing, you can see his left hand on a handle, was that the spoiler handle? Are the breaks activated at the aft end of the spoiler handle? What model is the sailplane?
On a bungee launch, you have to hold it on the wheel brake. The wheel brake is at the end of the airbrakes. He would have done his checks, maybe a little rushed, but the brakes need to be open for this launch method. The problem came when they weren't fully locked when he released the wheel brake.
I'm sorry, but it wouldn't. He needed the airbrakes fully open to bring the wheel brake into operation, then close and lock them once the glider started to move.
Not sure why glider pilots hardly ever use a written check list while it may seem waste of time every accident can be traced back to human performance.
You need to pay attention, this guy was to preoccupied with flapping his gum and his pre-flight was garbage. He should've left the ground work to his buddies and gone when they were good and ready and double and triple check his pre-flight until the moment of take off. He needs better discipline as a pilot or he's going to hurt someone else and kill himself.
Let's not forget that this guy shared this video to help others avoid making the same mistake. We don't know anything about his pre-flight checks in general as the video doesn't start at the beginning. I think his request to 'let me fly it' is not an attempt to rush the launch. He is asking for the wing holder to release the wing so he can feel the effect of the wind (which will necessarily be quite significant for a bungee launch). That's actually a very sensible thing to do.
No he didn't. He flew all the way to the ground, and didn't crash into the trees just by chance. He could have landed earlier, and in trying to do that he might even have noticed that the spoilers were open.
I always thought that's terrible advice. If you walk away from a chain of mistakes and you don't learn anything because "any landing you can walk away from", maybe the next one you won't walk away from.
First of all, familiar or not, what a shitty glider design. I am a fellow glider pilot and I would not fly this thing to save my fucking life. Terrible visibility, terrible placement of controls. Any glider design that you need a "cushion" in order to achieve proper seating in or reach the controls, is just just fucking awful. Secondly, yes, he didn't spend the right amount of time to do his pre-takeoff checks. Where I've learned to fly, you always do a full spoiler travel and back to fully retracted before take off, just to know they operate, and just to be sure that they are safely tucked in. I couldn't even imagine taking off without doing that. That said, he did a great job diving before the trees and preserve that airspeed, considering that most panicked pilots just pull on the stick. Also he did a good job making last moment adjustments like that aileron-induced side slip just before he flares, to avoid the trees to the left. He's a good pilot no doubt, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to solve this scenario, in a poorly designed glider he wasn't familiar with, with the spoilers deployed.
I don't necessarily disagree with anything you say. But 'Olympia' was designed in 1930's - the ergonomy of the cockpit reflects the times. Also I believe the seat design assumes the pilot wears a parachute.
Eneri Giilaan- Nice try, THEY are called SPOILERS. I learned to fly in the 80's. Their only job is to spoil Lift/Drag. No one should call them 'Air brakes'. Now some gliders have 'Dive Brakes' which are 'speed limiting' but very few.
There was a glass glider built back then that had a drag shoot the pilot deployed in the landing pattern, probably on final glide, that didn't effect the wing. I guess you could call that an 'air brake'.
The commercial airlines have spoilers on their wings. They spoil lift so the pilot can raise the angle of attack to slow the plane. Now like the F-14 has 'Air Brake' behind the canopy but again that is not a part of the wing.
I got my *glider pilot* license in the 70's - so in case you consider that important I would 'win' by default? In any case - the planes I flew back then (K-8, Ka-6(CR), ASK-13, ...) all had Schempp-Hirth-type *airbrakes*. And as I said- that was more or less the norm for these older gliders. The Olympia here is even older design (late 1930's) and you are free to guess whether it utilized 'spoilers' or 'airbrakes' (the answer is 'airbrakes'). Here is a link to some educational material by the British Gliding Association discussing the difference: members.gliding.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/2-11-AIRBRAKES-_-SPOILERS-2017.pdf You can now consider yourself educated. And one additional note: please tune down your tone a bit in the future.
Airbrakes??? Try spoilers or flaps depending on location. No such thing as airbrakes...dive brakes but no relation. The title error makes the author of the video seem like he is not knowledgeable.
Superphilipp smart ass about that. I've been a pilot for over 34 years with the various ratings that come with it. I guess I figured out a few things in that amount of time. now this is a smart ass. Have a good life and if you need to make a pit stop in the air don't forget to hit the air brakes.
I have no where near the experience of you - some glider time several decades ago. However I was discussing this same thing some months ago (below) - and for what its worth I will copy here one of my messages (in a slightly updated form: My take from personal training (in Finland late70's) and for example the training material of the British Gliding Association is this: 1) The terminology seems to indeed differ at least between US and Europe 2) In Europe: if the 'thingies' mainly destroy lift but have smaller effect on drag - they are called 'spoilers'. 3) In Europe: if the 'thingies' mainly increase drag with smaller effect on lift - they are called 'airbrakes'. 4) When applying 'spoilers' the glide ratio decreases but IAS (indicated air speed) is not affected and thus the pilot doesn't have to touch the stick to change the attitude. 5) When applying 'airbrakes' the glide ratio is not affected primarily - but in order to hold the same IAS (and avoid stalling) the pilot must push the stick forward for more nose down attitude - and the end result is a reduced glide ratio as in case (4) above. 6) My personal opinion is that because of the differences of how to handle the plane in the situations (4) and (5) it is quite understandable to have two separate terms for the devices. 7) I also understand that it is not always that clear whether the main effect of sticking some blades out of your wing surfaces is the increase of drag or the reduce of lift. So there is also a rationale for using only one common term 'spoilers'.
Doran Jaffas as a glider pilot and a pilot who has flown this aircraft type, there are such things as airbrakes haha 😂, and are totally different to spoilers and definitely definitely different to flaps.
Airbrakes is the well known terminology in the ENGLISH LANGUAGE!! I'm guessing that the author of the previous statements nationality is most probably American??
Well, after a series of mistakes, the pilot did remember to fly the aircraft first, which probably saved him.
All credit to the pilot for publicly admitting his mistake so others can learn from it!
bloody he'll that was the most scary flight I have ever seen
Ahahha
I swear i thought he was going to spin when he pulled over the trees at the end
I also note the Pilot did not seem familiar with how to open the Canopy which is another lesson worth learning.
Thanks for having the courage to put this video up as a service to other pilots!
I can relate to incidents from my own flying when focusing on a particular problem prevents You from quickly sorting out what is really going on. There is a psychological term for this that I can not recall. Was doing touch and gos with a new to me motorglider some years ago and in one flight the airbrakes did not lock properly on takeoff. I was completely focused on engine ice as a problem until I had made a 180 back to the airport then noticing that the airbrakes had extended slightly... guess if I felt stupid afterwards. Focus on flying the aircraft is always priority one, this pilot did that well.
Back in the dear old days of Kent Gliding Club(early 80's) the cable was never attached until the pilot had announced "Brakes Closed and locked".
It was always
"Cable on please"
"Brakes Closed and locked?"
"Breaks Closed and locked!"
"Open"
"Open"
"Close"
"Close"
Then you got out of the way fast!
I fly at GRL and the "brakes closed and locked" challenge/response is still used by some (but not all!).
This does not work with bungee due to the need to hold the airbrakes open to stop the glider from rolling forwards as the runners build up the tension in the rope.
I did a holiday course at Challock in 1983, when Glyn Richards was the CFI. I might go back in 2023 and have another try!!! LOL!!!
@@davidcooper2496 .I just remembered that some gliders are fitted with a wheel brake , actuated when you fully engage the airbrakes. Another reason for keeping them open before bungee launch.
@@wurlitzer895 .Glyn Was a legend. Not sure what he's up to now....was teaching Tiger moth students last time I heard . Instructor, stunt flyer, winch builder etc.
This launch is unique in that you need to keep the airbrakes open (lock the wheel) until ready to launch. Hence the process of putting the brakes away and 'lock' is where the error occurred. The pilot was flying in a plane he did not know and hence most likely was not used to the process of putting the brakes away and locking them away. He may have put them away (not locked them) and the brakes slowly crept open hence partially ruining the aerodynamics of the plane.
.
To me the biggest lesson here when flying a new plane is not only putting the brakes away but fully understanding if they have been locked.
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Thank you to for airing this video - I will keep this as a mental note.
It's important to istall a Gopro before choosing the right cushion an learning how to get out of the plane quickly.
He did well in the end - skill and being very lucky! Brave to post this for the greater good. Thank God he saved himself and the glider - all those trees, I was expecting a wing to come off or the aircraft to yaw/slew around or cartwheel!
No checks seemed apparent. The summing up nearly says it all. But there didn't seem to be a plan to land ahead etc should something go wrong. In powered flight, after all the preflight checks etc on the active runway one makes several decision points before going airborne to cater for Eg engine failure or similar, and then there's checks and double checks during the take off roll to cater for emergency and to ensure that the aircraft will fly safely.
My father and friends were glider pilots (tug, winch/pulley etc), I'm merely an outsider, but looking at that hill/bungee launch? No margin for error - always best to have lots of runway in front of you than behind you. Looking at that launch situation reminded me of flying free flight and RC model gliders.
The pilot was on the back foot from the start - rushed, changed seating position, new aircraft, new launch method. Better to be on the ground wishing that you were in the air, than in the air wishing that you were on the ground!
I'm no expert btw, but that all looked wrong to me - but to a glider pilot it could all be business as usual - no go around in a glider and only one way landing back?? As I wrote no margins for error.
That looked really scary. I have witnessed a glider launch on aero tow with open brakes, struggle up to release height and then come down rapidly with a heavy landing. The very experienced (but old) pilot said afterwards that he couldn't understand where all the sink was coming from. Presumably he was coming down so fast that he didn't even notice his breaks on the downwind check.
But even having 3-4 m/s of sink shouldn't make you risk the glider. It is possible, after all. So breaks open should ruin your flight, but not make it unsafe.
Believe it or not I actually think he's an excellent pilot.
He didn't deserve to die in a situation like this and he remembered the rule so very many others pilots flying passengers around forget (and consistently kill), Fly The Plane.
He flew the plane, had enough excess speed to clear those trees, got it on the ground safely, acknowledged his error and posted it so others can see how easily Reason's Swiss Cheese Model of causal events occur.
I concur. We make a lot of mistakes while flying. The art of piloting is not being overrun by the sum of those mistakes.
I agree, he's not a bad pilot. but he would have been an excelletn pilot if he had plan B, wich he didn't
Thanks very much for sharing this. It'll benefit an pilot who views it.
A part of the pre flight checks and everything else behind it, I think that pilot did a great job to land in that field. Everything was against him. In 3:18 I though he will hit those trees but he pulled out and flown over them. When he did that, in 3:21 after he moved stick forward there was another tree which could not been seen before past those trees below of the glider in that moment. When the pilot somehow managed avoid it (I know, the wing cut some branches indeed), there was another tree 3:25 and he needed to work out as well. God, and all this in the unexpected approach, quickly descending glider (because of unknown reason at that moment) and limited options for a landing. Great that pilot saved him self and the glider.
Pulling up to go over trees is an intuitive but very dangerous maneuver. As the aircraft is probably traveling at minimum velocity rather than minimum sink again due to intuition pulling back makes a stall or spin very likely with no altitude to do any recovery. A good recipe for a fatal outcome.
I wonder if the ground crew could have seen the open spoilers too. It could have been as simple as a radio call (if they had radios).
They could be closed but unlocked, and thus opened after launch.
The right wing tapped the top of the last tree ...Damn lucky . Should have slipped into the first large field .
Probably would if he turned right after.
Before every takeoff on our winch the mandatory call out is "Canopy locked, spoilers locked and left hand on the release". Note: when winching it is important that your wing does not hit the ground so this is the reason for hand on release. If your wing might hit the ground you release before it happens. We also train spoiler coming open during the launch. Someone rushing the launch can always be a problem so take your time and get everything done.
We also had a spoiler open out landing at our airport because the pilot did not realize his spoiler was open. No damage or injury but a simple look at the wing or knowing where the spoiler handle should be would have prevented this. Also towpilot signaled that the spoiler was open but the glider pilot thought the signal was release. In 2020 towpilot or ground launch to glider signals should be with a radio and visual signals. If you have to tell a pilot he has a problem tell the pilot exactly what to do so they don't have to think and it saves time. "Close your spoiler" is a lot more clear than "Check your spoiler or controls" No excuse today not to have radio communications.
Not sure that the pilot "walked safely away": I think he may have crawled after he'd kissed the ground. Excellent video!
I may be biased, but I like having that money to noise converter thingy up front.
That's why you check 3 things after launch (at least with winch start): cable dropped, no signals from people on the ground, spoilers closed.
Nice low level flying, it's time for the "Mach loop" pal... Well done, no damage, unhurt, well done!
The guy sounded like a bit of a loose cannot from the start.
Yes,he seemed rather hyper. If I’d had any say,I’d have stopped him launching.
So many things can become a flight hazard. I had a scary, truncated flight in a single seater when I left wellingtons on and they snagged.
As soon as he realised he was going to be landing he had a hand on the air brake. I guess he didnt notice the airbrake handle was in the wrong position at that point because he was sat further back in the seat or just unfamiliar with the closed and open position.
Seems he was not familiar with the canopy either..
Good lessons, the only thing that really matters is the pilot is safe - kept his head and flew the plane (although that tree-hop.... not much choice really)
It was a good learning video but I disagree with the BGA’s findings. They have missed the big picture. The biggest problem that was only addressed at the last moment was Plan B; it didn’t exist. The other factors placed this pilot in the unenviable position where a Plan B was required, urgently. Never put your aircraft where your brain hasn’t already been.
this time i'm with you trevor. Bad launch procedure, no designated outlanding field in front of this glider site. no procedure like speed, decouple twice , check brakes, fly.. This club should be ashamed of themselves, not the pilot. it's just symptoms of bad training practices.
I'm a novice when it comes to powered and unpowered flight - but I agree (from what's been drilled into me), with you guys and have mentioned such in my own reply. There was no planned ahead, land ahead field, and no margin for error, yet four major errors were made. Thank God he got away with it.
Talking out of your arse ..................
You can usually hear when the air brakes are open. Also he states that when he got out of the glider he realised the air brakes were open!! Didn't he try and check/use then on finals?
He was really lucky to walk away from that one.
They are NOT air brakes. They ARE spoilers.
u2mister1
Spoilers were the ineffective devices used on older gliders. The more modern ones ,like this model, are fitted with air brakes.
I don't know where you are from but in the UK airbrakes is the correct term.
@@keegan773 Yea...... and wings push the plane up/s
I saw this happen on a first solo the first time I was ever at a glider club. Airbrakes popped out about 200ft up on a winch launch. Luckily it didn't induce a cable break and the pilot wisely chose to fly the full launch (to a rather lower than normal height!) before attempting to diagnose or fix the issue. Once the cable was released the airbrakes were quickly put away and the pilot entered the circuit for a normal landing (followed by a few stern words from both the instructor and the CFI). Could have been much worse!
Hope he bought the winch man a beer. Think it would be pretty hard to do what he did unless the winch man saw it get slow and gave it more power.
I once pulled the airbrake rather than the cable release but fortunately it was right at the top and very obvious.
..."after a save but firm landing"... - this guy was so lucky that he made it over the trees and not stall. He could have easily crashed badly. Thats a scary flight and so many mistakes made
If it flies funny: check the wings!
He couldn’t see the wings as his head was rearward of the root.
If it flies funny, check the air brakes are closed!
My dad flew commercially, privately and also RC. All the time, he talked through every check and was scanning for anything out of the ordinary... This pilot should have run an ABC check as soon as he was on the slope...check check check .....
All those people at the launch and nobody noticed the brakes were open?
@@samcoolegliding3524 simple radio from ground to close the airbrakes should be enough. But I guees everyone in this video is a fucking moron.
@@harleydavidson5271 On a hillside bungee launch the airbrakes have to be open whilst the slack is taken up....
@@joelwhitaker2274 then the launch procedure is wrong.. and also there is no designated outlanding field when a launch goes wrong it looks like.
@@zendesigner The launch procedure is not wrong. There is only one thing during a bungee launch you need after normal checks. The air brakes out because you don't want an early take off and the wheel brake is also held on. Which most gliders happens to be at the full extent of the air brake control. Once the bungee is stretched you then close the air brake which is also releasing the wheel brake. So there only is a single step in the launch when the ground crew clears you.
I really wonder what the duty instructor was doing?. What was the ground crew doing? And what on earth was the tyro pilot doing? You do not hurry up the ground crew so you can get airborne. As a former accident investigator for Air Cadets remember: Accidents are like puddings - you need all the ingredients in just the right quantity.
Airspeed and sink rate was obvious visually!
let me fly it Brian!
You would have to ask the pilot, but I think he wanted to feel the air over the wings rather than get a quick launch . He did say one wing heavy. Clearly didn't do his checks though.
I have a glider airfield just a kilometer away from me, so I considered stepping into the sport... But after watching a few videos I think that's not my cup of tea. So many mishaps and accidents due to seemingly simple user errors. Forgot to extend landing gear, forgot to use air brakes while landing, forgot to retract air breaks at launch, low speed turn and stall, etc. ... things that are quite obvious even to the unexperienced observer. And these guys and girls are no idiots. They went through the whole licensing process and passed it. There seems to be something in gliding that makes people do weird things... and I would certainly not be an exception.
Ground crew is supposed to ask the pilot if his spoilers (air brakes) are closed and locked.
True, but on this type of launch the pilot is holding tension in the bungee with the wheel brake, the air brakes are in fact open. When the brakes are closed the glider is pulled forward by the bungee and is launched. Unfortunately on this occasion the pilot has either not locked the brakes correctly or they have come open subsequently. For winch launches and aerotow you are right in what you say, the person attaching the strop to the hook would ask the pilot whether the brakes and canopy are closed and locked.
Why didn't the ground grew mention about the air breaks?
Michael Lancaster
They may have been closed but not locked on launch then sucked open as he gained speed.
Need them open for the wheel brake on this launch type
What gliding club is this?
How is it possibly to call this landing "safe"
It was extremely close to a disaster.
When the pilot cleared the trees on landing, you can see his left hand on a handle, was that the spoiler handle? Are the breaks activated at the aft end of the spoiler handle? What model is the sailplane?
My guess is he didn't notice the handle was in the back/open position on landing because he was sat further back due to no cushion.
He didn't do his basic checks before take off. How does is someone like this able to fly solo?
On a bungee launch, you have to hold it on the wheel brake. The wheel brake is at the end of the airbrakes. He would have done his checks, maybe a little rushed, but the brakes need to be open for this launch method. The problem came when they weren't fully locked when he released the wheel brake.
Oh my got 😱 has it opened around all of the flight.
A good preflight check, would have prevented the problem.
I'm sorry, but it wouldn't. He needed the airbrakes fully open to bring the wheel brake into operation, then close and lock them once the glider started to move.
Not sure why glider pilots hardly ever use a written check list while it may seem waste of time every accident can be traced back to human performance.
I guess not many places use written lists. However, in my club you have to tell it from heart before you even start your first flight.
I learnt to glide with the air cadets and they do use and FRC for pre take off checks
You need to pay attention, this guy was to preoccupied with flapping his gum and his pre-flight was garbage. He should've left the ground work to his buddies and gone when they were good and ready and double and triple check his pre-flight until the moment of take off. He needs better discipline as a pilot or he's going to hurt someone else and kill himself.
Let's not forget that this guy shared this video to help others avoid making the same mistake. We don't know anything about his pre-flight checks in general as the video doesn't start at the beginning. I think his request to 'let me fly it' is not an attempt to rush the launch. He is asking for the wing holder to release the wing so he can feel the effect of the wind (which will necessarily be quite significant for a bungee launch). That's actually a very sensible thing to do.
Glad you lived.
Where’s the toilet paper ?
Ah, come on, this was a former Buccaneer pilot from the RAF or RN... 😂
Sorry... 😔
But thanks for sharing this!
he said: let me die let me die
Shut up and go through the pre-flight!
Crazy
well he did good job
No he didn't. He flew all the way to the ground, and didn't crash into the trees just by chance. He could have landed earlier, and in trying to do that he might even have noticed that the spoilers were open.
Слава Богу!!!!
Any landing you can walk away from .......
Gixer750pilot Yes but some are better than others...
I always thought that's terrible advice. If you walk away from a chain of mistakes and you don't learn anything because "any landing you can walk away from", maybe the next one you won't walk away from.
Tinchote
Spot on.
good landing, but very bad flight
Hilarious.
First of all, familiar or not, what a shitty glider design. I am a fellow glider pilot and I would not fly this thing to save my fucking life. Terrible visibility, terrible placement of controls. Any glider design that you need a "cushion" in order to achieve proper seating in or reach the controls, is just just fucking awful. Secondly, yes, he didn't spend the right amount of time to do his pre-takeoff checks. Where I've learned to fly, you always do a full spoiler travel and back to fully retracted before take off, just to know they operate, and just to be sure that they are safely tucked in. I couldn't even imagine taking off without doing that. That said, he did a great job diving before the trees and preserve that airspeed, considering that most panicked pilots just pull on the stick. Also he did a good job making last moment adjustments like that aileron-induced side slip just before he flares, to avoid the trees to the left. He's a good pilot no doubt, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to solve this scenario, in a poorly designed glider he wasn't familiar with, with the spoilers deployed.
I don't necessarily disagree with anything you say.
But 'Olympia' was designed in 1930's - the ergonomy of the cockpit reflects the times. Also I believe the seat design assumes the pilot wears a parachute.
What the hell are airbrakes. They are spoilers. They spoil the lift of the wing.
Different things.
Many gliders - especially older ones have what are called 'airbrakes'.
Eneri Giilaan- Nice try, THEY are called SPOILERS. I learned to fly in the 80's.
Their only job is to spoil Lift/Drag.
No one should call them 'Air brakes'.
Now some gliders have 'Dive Brakes' which are 'speed limiting' but very few.
There was a glass glider built back then that had a drag shoot the pilot deployed in the landing pattern, probably on final glide, that didn't effect the wing. I guess you could call that an 'air brake'.
The commercial airlines have spoilers on their wings. They spoil lift so the pilot can raise the angle of attack to slow the plane. Now like the F-14 has 'Air Brake' behind the canopy but again that is not a part of the wing.
I got my *glider pilot* license in the 70's - so in case you consider that important I would 'win' by default?
In any case - the planes I flew back then (K-8, Ka-6(CR), ASK-13, ...) all had Schempp-Hirth-type *airbrakes*. And as I said- that was more or less the norm for these older gliders. The Olympia here is even older design (late 1930's) and you are free to guess whether it utilized 'spoilers' or 'airbrakes' (the answer is 'airbrakes').
Here is a link to some educational material by the British Gliding Association discussing the difference:
members.gliding.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/2-11-AIRBRAKES-_-SPOILERS-2017.pdf
You can now consider yourself educated. And one additional note: please tune down your tone a bit in the future.
Airbrakes??? Try spoilers or flaps depending on location. No such thing as airbrakes...dive brakes but no relation. The title error makes the author of the video seem like he is not knowledgeable.
Smartass
Superphilipp smart ass about that. I've been a pilot for over 34 years with the various ratings that come with it. I guess I figured out a few things in that amount of time. now this is a smart ass. Have a good life and if you need to make a pit stop in the air don't forget to hit the air brakes.
I have no where near the experience of you - some glider time several decades ago. However I was discussing this same thing some months ago (below) - and for what its worth I will copy here one of my messages (in a slightly updated form:
My take from personal training (in Finland late70's) and for example the training material of the British Gliding Association is this:
1) The terminology seems to indeed differ at least between US and Europe
2) In Europe: if the 'thingies' mainly destroy lift but have smaller effect on drag - they are called 'spoilers'.
3) In Europe: if the 'thingies' mainly increase drag with smaller effect on lift - they are called 'airbrakes'.
4) When applying 'spoilers' the glide ratio decreases but IAS (indicated air speed) is not affected and thus the pilot doesn't have to touch the stick to change the attitude.
5) When applying 'airbrakes' the glide ratio is not affected primarily - but in order to hold the same IAS (and avoid stalling) the pilot must push the stick forward for more nose down attitude - and the end result is a reduced glide ratio as in case (4) above.
6) My personal opinion is that because of the differences of how to handle the plane in the situations (4) and (5) it is quite understandable to have two separate terms for the devices.
7) I also understand that it is not always that clear whether the main effect of sticking some blades out of your wing surfaces is the increase of drag or the reduce of lift. So there is also a rationale for using only one common term 'spoilers'.
Doran Jaffas as a glider pilot and a pilot who has flown this aircraft type, there are such things as airbrakes haha 😂, and are totally different to spoilers and definitely definitely different to flaps.
Airbrakes is the well known terminology in the ENGLISH LANGUAGE!! I'm guessing that the author of the previous statements nationality is most probably American??