HGFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 9 March | April 2018 V ic Hare thinks he may have found one on the practice day while practising a final glide back to the airfield. Flying at approximately 80km/h with VG on, and about 1000ft above the ground, the nose of the glider suddenly got ripped skywards. By the time he pulled the basebar back in to his shoulders he was way past vertical and still with some speed. Vic thought the best way out was to not pull in any further and allow the glider to complete a loop, which he did, staying positive all the way through. After checking out his wing afterwards, he could see four inner battens protruding 250mm from the trailing edge. In 36 years of flying the Forbes area I had never experienced anything like this. Three days later, while flying Task 2 of the comp, I'd taken the first start gate four or five minutes late and went chasing the four gliders out in front. The rest of the field hung back for a later start. When the front four turned and went west way off course, I pushed on ahead berating myself for being so stupid to be out there on my own with a blue start to the day. I got a good climb first thermal, but was getting low looking for the second. A scan in front showed a dark brown paddock slightly off to the right with dams showing the wind sucking strait into it. At 1100ft, as I came in over the start of the paddock, I could feel the glider getting sucked in. As the vario hit a crescendo, I started to roll right with VG still on. Suddenly my right wing fell away and the nose rolled down into a vertical dive. With my arms fully extended there was no response from the glider. Speed was way past Vne and increasing. Then the glider started to recover. I pulled in the basebar to level out, but it almost got ripped from my hands as the nose pulled up. I was going vertical hanging from the basebar for dear life. By the time I'd pulled myself back up to the basebar to try and get the nose down I was past vertical, about 35 or 40 degrees, with my speed almost gone. I can remember thinking, “Oh, sh*t, this is going to be violent, my only chance of not getting smashed up is to hang on to the basebar as tight as I can." As the glider went to neutral at about 45 degrees past vertical and started to fall, my legs fell down below me so I was hanging near vertical from the basebar. I think this placed my weight forward of the glider’s CG since the glider flipped over forward and didn’t tail slide. The sudden flip ripped me backwards by the arms (but I wasn’t letting go). My legs got thrown outwards by the rotation. The inertia of my body weight stopped the forward rotation of the glider, leaving it pointing straight at the ground, with me in a normal flying position with arms fully stretched. As the speed came on, the glider started to recover straight away. I pulled in and levelled out into a smooth 500 ft/min. After six seconds of thinking, ‘What’s next?’, I banked the glider up and climbed out, not game enough to change my circle. Going through 5000ft, Jonny and Attila from the second start came in under me which put me more at ease. It took a good hour to put the experience behind me – although I still get flashbacks. To me, the rest of the flying at Forbes was just fantastic. The next day Nikky tumbled, leaving the top of a thermal (at speed with full VG on), above the inversion layer at 8000ft. The glider pitched over, dived straight down, tucked and disintegrated. It totalled the glider and the chute got ripped to bits by a fence – luckily, Nikky just walked away. Not to be outdone, Rob Larkin hit a single strand powerline while landing on the second last day and got a helicopter ride to hospital with three fractured vertebrae and electrical burns to his feet. Thankfully, Rob fully recovered with no problems, but had to throw away his burnt socks. There must have been something in the water this year. I won’t speculate on the passing of Emma Martin. It is devastating for everyone who knew her. Such a beautiful intelligent vibrant young woman and dedicated hang glider pilot. She is sadly missed by all her hang gliding family. See full results at [www.forbesflatlands.com/ results/results-2018]. Forbes Was Unusually Different This Year… Good summer rains before Christmas had left the Forbes area with a tinge of green ground cover. Rain just before the comp caked the soil and sealed the fine dust. As a result, the usual big dust devils were most difficult to spot. They were still there, but they were hiding. by Guy Hubbard Human Factors Air (the environment) - Man (I’m safe) - Ship (the aircraft) I’M SAFE I llness? Do I have an illness or any symptoms of an illness or disorder? M edication and other drugs? Have I been taking or mixing prescription, over-the-counter or recreational drugs? S tress? Am I under psychological pressure from my job or personal circumstances? Am I worried about financial matters, health problems or family matter? A lcohol? Have I been consuming alcohol within the previous eight hours? Is my blood alcohol level less than 0.02? Would my average alcohol consumption be greater than ‘very low risk’? F atigue? Am I tired or inadequately rested? E ating and Drinking? Am I adequately nourished and hydrated?