Airspeed is What You Need - DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 9:15 pm
From Steve Murillo (who has flow from aircraft carriers):
Arthur Simineau and I decided to go to Crestline this past Saturday. Winds on launch were light and variable, I'd guess 2-8 mph, blowing mostly straight in with the occasional minor cross from the NW.
I'm flying a Sport 2 155. As I approached launch with Art on my nose, hang check and hook in check were standard. Standing on launch with wings balanced, wind at almost zero, I could see what I thought was a nice breeze coming up the hill. I called for "clear" and Arthur obliged.
I began my launch as I normally do, which was not enough. About half way down the ramp I did not feel the glider picking up off my shoulders as has been the case in almost every launch I've ever had.
By this time I was committed. I pulled in slightly on the nose and accelerated through the remainder of the ramp, using it all, barley clearing, but getting airborne. Art later reported that he observed the control bar falling, not rising, and thought to himself "this is going to hurt".
The fact that my adrenaline kicked in at the last second gave me enough umph to get into the air. But here's the lesson learned: When in doubt, especially at a strange launch, KEEP THE NOSE DOWN AND CHARGE THE HILL!
Had I started the first half of my run as aggressively as the second half, I would not be writing this. We Kagel pilots are so used to the fairly strong winds and steep launch at Kagel, we are used to getting airborne in just a few steps. But Crestline launch is less steep, and the winds that day were very light. The perfect one-two combination to put an unwary pilot on the ropes!
Lesson learned, and I hope someone else will benefit from this.
Sincerely,
Steve R. Murillo
Arthur Simineau and I decided to go to Crestline this past Saturday. Winds on launch were light and variable, I'd guess 2-8 mph, blowing mostly straight in with the occasional minor cross from the NW.
I'm flying a Sport 2 155. As I approached launch with Art on my nose, hang check and hook in check were standard. Standing on launch with wings balanced, wind at almost zero, I could see what I thought was a nice breeze coming up the hill. I called for "clear" and Arthur obliged.
I began my launch as I normally do, which was not enough. About half way down the ramp I did not feel the glider picking up off my shoulders as has been the case in almost every launch I've ever had.
By this time I was committed. I pulled in slightly on the nose and accelerated through the remainder of the ramp, using it all, barley clearing, but getting airborne. Art later reported that he observed the control bar falling, not rising, and thought to himself "this is going to hurt".
The fact that my adrenaline kicked in at the last second gave me enough umph to get into the air. But here's the lesson learned: When in doubt, especially at a strange launch, KEEP THE NOSE DOWN AND CHARGE THE HILL!
Had I started the first half of my run as aggressively as the second half, I would not be writing this. We Kagel pilots are so used to the fairly strong winds and steep launch at Kagel, we are used to getting airborne in just a few steps. But Crestline launch is less steep, and the winds that day were very light. The perfect one-two combination to put an unwary pilot on the ropes!
Lesson learned, and I hope someone else will benefit from this.
Sincerely,
Steve R. Murillo