Sylmar Hang Gliding Association

On May 13 (Monday), after helping out others to launch, I was the last
pilot, and I blew it, when self launching.
The winds were switchy and erratic. I didn't want to stand there longer than it takes to pick up and balance, and launched quickly into what seemed to be a short window of relatively steady air.
After a step or two the glider was already flying and I already lost my footing.
Then the the right wing dropped sharply, putting me into a steep dive to the right. My weight shift was quick and aggressive, but the right wing tip got caught in the bush, and it was over really fast.
I broke down and packed the glider in the bushes, and carried it to the bottom of the paraglider launch saddle, when Tony showed up with his friend. They helped me to load the glider and I drove to the ER.
As the bad luck would have it, that day I broke my tradition of wearing long pants when flying, and had shorts on
So, scratched, bruised, embarrassed. Later the ER doctor called me home, to tell me, I had a fractured right wrist...
One DT is broken, no sail punctures, there might be more damage, I could not assess there, I'll do a sail off inspection anyway.
Complacency.
I could have avoided this by being alert, performing more aggressive launch with lower AOA and longer run.
Instead, I rushed it, had a weak run and premature takeoff with low airspeed, a half ass launch
This has nothing to do with ongoing launch ramp modifications. The process of reconstruction of the ramp, after grading the top is in the right direction, by making small changes and changing one thing at a time.

I showed up on Monday to fly, choosing to fly later in the day, believing the day would still be good enough to have good flights into the late afternoon. When I arrived to the LZ, I could see the distinctive shape of a glider, but down lower where it should not be.

Everyone was relieved to see the pilot moving about as the other pilots in the air quickly landed just in case some rescue attempt needed to be made. There was a helo that over flew the area to assess the situation.

Sucks about the wrist Vrezh, glad you're mostly unharmed.

I think the message you spell out is a very good one. I recall overhearing you before you left the top of the mountain saying that you had also forgotten your radio, which is to say, that you felt rushed to get in the air in effort to hopefully make Crestline.

In retrospect, I think making Crestline that day was possible largely due to the strong west push that we dealt with for the majority of the flight.

Vrezh, I am glad you are ok, let us know if we can help.....Alex

Sorry about the wrist Vrezh. Thank you again for making sure I got off the ramp safely -- without your help on the nose I might have been simply blown off the launch ramp in the gusts.

re: the west push: I have an igc tracklog showing some interesting west / wsw I should be able to make a movie of.....eventually

Diabetic Mike

As Safety Officer, I am embarrassed not to have seen your post sooner, but thanks to Greg Angsten for including it in the weekly blast.

Glad you are OK and that you walked away relatively unscathed.

I don't know if there is a lesson for us here or not. As you pointed out, the winds were erratic and switchy. Never a good combination. The problem is the unpredictability of the flight envelope that these sorts of conditions present.

Joey has been practicing a high winds solo launch technique wherein he stands on top of the control bar of his glider, feet spread, holding the glider to the ground, and waits for the winds to come straight in. Once he has that, he begins an aggressive run. The secret is that the glider is already flying while on the ground, so there is never a transition from stall or borderline stall to flying status. Reportedly this affords Joey considerable more control through the launch regime.

I am not advocating this technique, since it is new to me and probably to most pilots. But the logic agrees with me and I've seen Joey use this technique effectively in high winds.

Joey is quick to point out that this technique only works for higher performance gliders. He does NOT recommend this for Falcons.

Again, glad you are OK, and thanks for posting.

Vrezh -- so sorry you tweaked your own wing. Downtubes are so much easier to fix. Thanks for your good analysis of conditions and pilot reactions too. Man, it sucks to be humbled by the Gods of Wind and Mountain.

Best wishes for a quick recovery.
Katherine

Did anyone fly to Crestline that day?? Glad you are OK for the most part

Glad you're okay (mostly), Vrezh. I understand the complacency but I've been hearing (and experienced) about a left wing lift on launch. Joe P. and I talked about it a couple of weeks ago. There may have been some influence from the change in airflow caused by the new ramp that exacerbated your complacency.

Just saying.

There's just something about aerobatics pilots that makes them pretty competent doing the mundane stuff, like launching and landing...What Joey is doing is pretty much SOP for the "How do I launch when it's gnarly-ridiculous and I'm alone in Hidden Valley?" crew. (Not to detract from his amazing skills!)