Volume 8 Issue 3
March 2002
Upcomeing Events...
July 1-9, 2002--1-26 championships hosted by the Schweitzer 1-26 Association in Colorado. Go to the trips page on the OSC website for moredetails and links.
There are also plans to visit Salida again this year, probably preceding the championships. Our participation will be decided soon!
Soaring in February...
Lift slowly returned in March. Jaime Alexander
had the longest flight of the month (36 minutes) while giving an intro ride. Several
safety flights were accomplished and an instructor was recertified. OSC also
gave 3 introductory flights in March.
Flight Operations Corner
April 16, 2002
This last weekend was the second of two very productive Saturdays for us. We are moving along on getting those Safety Requirements done. Please be aware of your own status concerning completion of these tasks. Video tapes of the Safety Seminar and related materials are available from me and Bob
Moser at his office. If you have checked out a tape please do not delay in viewing and returning it as someone else needs it. My records show that nine of us still need some or all or the requirements (Seminar, Ops Quiz, Safety Flight) .
Our new By Laws Flight Rules emphasize the A, B, C, Bronze, SSA badges. I need to compile a record of what badges each of us has achieved. So please let me know what you have. I have records of those I have awarded but it wouldn't hurt to verify with me your status. It is sure good to see all our ships back and flying! Thanks to everyone.
Jaime Alexander
Flight Officer
About the Aircraft...
N9295Z has returned! On the 12th of April Bill brought it back to Blair and
we assembled it on the 13th.
Rope Breaks
Now that we are getting back into flying, it is probably a good time to review possible courses of action if the rope should break or the tow plane loses power. The following is an exert from a rope break study I did that is available in the glider trailer for all to review.
Taking off on 31. The following diagram shows the fields that are available for landing to the north and a few of the hazards. Green areas are possible landing areas, and red areas are to be avoided. The first thing to note is that there is 600ft of land-able field from the end of the runway to the road. There is minor hazard marked by the red dots (to low concrete markers) which will need to be avoided. If you can’t get down on this overrun area then the next option is to take the road if there is no oncoming traffic. Traffic driving to Blair should be able to see and avoid a glider landing in front of them.
There is a rather long driveway to a house (red rectangle) which is also a possible landing area. If high enough, the long field northwest of the tree farm is available. The tree farm is ringed with 25 ft trees and there could be fences so this area should be avoided.
Taking off on 13. The takeoff to the south provides many more emergency options. The diagram below shows the possible landing options. The first thing to note is that there is approximately 300ft on a diagonal to the south from the end of the runway to the road. This would provide another option if you can get the glider down on the end of the runway but can’t stop before the fence. If you are too high for this then take the field just southeast of the runway. This field is at least 400ft across which is plenty of room to land and stop. If higher still, then take the long field which stretches out to the south.
Fences need to be avoided at all costs. If approaching a fence and it is obvious that you won’t be able to stop before hitting it, then plant a wing and kick full rudder in the direction of the down wing. This will force a ground loop. You might damage the plane but you should not be hurt. Also, strong winds might dictate that a downwind landing might less desirable then landing in one of the available fields. I would think the threshold for this decision to be 25kts.
Finally, when a rope break or loss of power situation occurs with the tow plane it might not be readily apparent at first. Several years ago we were launching a glider to the southeast to take to a flying breakfast to give glider rides. Just after breaking ground, the tow pilot radioed the glider pilot that he had a problem. The glider pilot should have been able to hear this message but he elected to not release and the tow pilot did not give the mandatory release signal. According to the glider pilot the tow plane was maintaining a minimal rate of climb (the engine was not making full power and running rough) so he didn’t release.
If you are a tow pilot and encountering engine problems, would you want to have a glider stay on tow and degrade your performance while you try to solve the problem? Another time I was taking off on tow and at 100ft the towplane started to put out a lot of smoke. The tow pilot was not aware he had a problem. I released and landed on the remaining runway. I didn’t have a radio to tell the tow pilot he had a problem but I figured once I released he would land as soon as possible which he did. In this case a broken oil line was dripping oil on the manifold. On a longer tow, could a fire have developed? So, don’t always expect a wing waggle or tow line suddenly falling away as the only signs that there might be an emergency requiring an immediate release.
Please check out the complete study in the glider trailer.--Bob Craig
"Omaha Soaring Club" is the official newsletter of Omaha Soaring Club Incorporated. Articles are written by and for OSCI members unless otherwise noted.
