My Flying

Today I thought, as the glider rapidly approached the runway with that sinking bottomless feeling you get in your gut, we break this aeroplane! And it hard, very hard, hard enough for my head to get thrown forward and bashed back into the headrest.

But yet, after emerging from the cockpit, slight stirred and a little shaken, all the pieces were still attached and the main tyre was still inflated. Man, do they build these planes tough.

So how did all this happen?

Long story, but basically we have been having lots of issues with the winch lately. Coughing, spluttering and sometimes even dying during the early stages of the launch. These situations are very tricky to handle because when the winch stops pulling, the parachute opens and the glider, still having momentum, rolls into/over the shoot. This has two potential problems (a) the steel links on the chute impacts and breaks/damages the canopy or (b) the glider rolls over the cable and if the winch gets going again there is the possibility that the cable/chute will snare the glider pulling it uncontrollably down the runway and possibly even into the air. Both scenarios are definitely not wanted.

Last week and the instructor cr@pped me out for not pulling the plug soon enough. The shoot first partially opened as the winch hesitated, then fully opened. It was then I pulled the release. We were still on the ground at the time.

So today I'm watching the chute like a hawk. During the first launch of the day the glider starts to slowly accelerate and I can feel some light jerking and I know something isn't too well down at the other end of the runway; I'm ready to pull. Just as the plane get's airborne, the chute partially opens and bang, I pull the plug and push the nose down.

The instructor F(6) immediately takes control pulls up the nose and veers the plane off to the left. He then lines up the runway, pulls the brakes and bam, we are down hard from about 3 to 4 metres up.

So what happened? He tells me I was over eager pulling the plug and the reason he veered the plane off to the left was that he didn't want to land on the cable that was still being pulled down the runway. The risk, he tells me, is that the cable could snag the aeroplane and pull uncontrollably down the runway. Fair enough, but I don't understand why he landed us so hard.

But did I release too soon? I'm not convinced. How was I supposed to know whether the winch was not going to play up again. The way I figured it, in those few split seconds, was that rather pull the plug a few metres from the ground and land ahead than have to wonder if the winch would get us up and perhaps cough it higher up at a more risky altitude. Anyways.

Two launch attempts later by the instructor (solo) and flying is abandoned for the day due to it being too risky with a faulty winch.

Again frustration is starting to set in; faulty winch last week and this week again results in no flying again.