The Bob Show

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1257
New Pledge of Allegiance / School Prayer

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/04/28 19:31:43 UTC

I get a lot of political email...

I never had the slightest doubt. Guess that doesn't leave you a lot of time to read...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=802
AL's Second flight at Packsaddle how it went

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/10/23 16:29:29 UTC

As for Nobody's request for me to read a document, I haven't found the time yet. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to read everything that everyone asks me to read. I would eventually like to form committees with expertise in each area, and I've asked you (Tad) to be a part of that, but I think you get more enjoyment as a keyboard warrior than in actually sitting down to accomplish positive goals.

...anything about how to run hang gliding safely and competently.

...but I try to limit my posting to only the best.

Hard to fault you in that department.

This prayer (titled "New Pledge of Allegiance") was supposedly written by a 15 year Arizona old school kid who is said to have gotten an "A+" for his work.

1. Yeah. It was SUPPOSEDLY written by a 15 year Arizona old school kid who IS SAID to have gotten an "A+" for HIS work.
2. What's a 15 year Arizona old school kid? A twenty-one year old who's needed to repeat grade levels a minimum of three times?

I can't confirm the validity of the authorship...

No shit. Try:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/newprayer.asp

...but the prayer stands on its own merit.

Indeed it does.

NOW I SIT ME DOWN IN SCHOOL
WHERE PRAYING IS AGAINST THE RULE.

FOR THIS GREAT NATION UNDER GOD
FINDS MENTION OF HIM VERY ODD.

IF SCRIPTURE NOW THE CLASS RECITES,
IT VIOLATES THE BILL OF RIGHTS.

AND ANYTIME MY HEAD I BOW
BECOMES A FEDERAL MATTER NOW.

OUR HAIR CAN BE PURPLE, ORANGE OR GREEN,
THAT'S NO OFFENSE; IT'S A FREEDOM SCENE...

THE LAW IS SPECIFIC, THE LAW IS PRECISE.
PRAYERS SPOKEN ALOUD ARE A SERIOUS VICE.

FOR PRAYING IN A PUBLIC HALL
MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE WITH NO FAITH AT ALL...

IN SILENCE ALONE WE MUST MEDITATE,
GOD'S NAME IS PROHIBITED BY THE STATE.

WE'RE ALLOWED TO CUSS AND DRESS LIKE FREAKS,
AND PIERCE OUR NOSES, TONGUES AND CHEEKS...

THEY'VE OUTLAWED GUNS, BUT FIRST THE BIBLE,
TO QUOTE THE GOOD BOOK MAKES ME LIABLE.

WE CAN ELECT A PREGNANT SENIOR QUEEN,
AND THE 'UNWED DADDY,' OUR SENIOR KING.

IT'S 'INAPPROPRIATE' TO TEACH RIGHT FROM WRONG,
WE'RE TAUGHT THAT SUCH 'JUDGMENTS' DO NOT BELONG...

WE CAN GET OUR CONDOMS AND BIRTH CONTROLS,
STUDY WITCHCRAFT, VAMPIRES AND TOTEM POLES...

BUT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED,
NO WORD OF GOD MUST REACH THIS CROWD.

IT'S SCARY HERE I MUST CONFESS,
WHEN CHAOS REIGNS THE SCHOOL'S A MESS.

SO, LORD, THIS SILENT PLEA I MAKE:
SHOULD I BE SHOT; MY SOUL PLEASE TAKE!

AMEN

Real bummer that you Tea Party shits haven't yet been able force your flavor of Christianity back into the public school system. Oh well, you'll always have The Bob Show to keep stacking any way you feel like.

Any comment on the last couple of guys...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7462005802_bbc0ac66ac_o.jpg


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bRrpHNa68iY/UQ6Pv9gRZyI/AAAAAAAAjTg/Hc22bx5122Q/s2048/20943781_BG1.jpg

...who were doing what they loved when whatever was going on back there was fixed for them? Just kidding.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=182
US Hawks Training Manual - Outline (Work in Progress!!)

Sam Kellner - 2013/05/22 01:48:24 UTC

Bill,

Can you help me understand just how "syllabus or curriculum" would apply if I were going for Basic Instructor

Bill Cummings - 2013/05/22 03:10:35 UTC

I would ask and instructor from a different area to fax me a copy of his syllabus or curriculum as a guide. You already know all the right stuff all USHPA wants to know is how you would teach it. Maybe the way you would teach it would be far better than anything out there now.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7462005802_bbc0ac66ac_o.jpg

Sam Kellner - 2012/07/03 02:25:58 UTC

No, you don't get an accident report.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/faq.php
Frequently Asked Questions

How will the US Hawks try to be different from USHPA or the HGAA?

The US Hawks will try to be more of a grass roots organization - more like the start of hang gliding. There's nothing wrong with the strong central control exhibited by other organizations, but the US Hawks will appeal to pilots who want more local control and greater personal participation in decision making. We believe that good decisions sometimes require a significant effort to dig into the facts. Sometimes arguments are heated, and that's not something to be feared or rejected. That's the process - painful or not - that leads to better decisions.

Happy birthday, Bob. Now THREE years of US Hawks being the precise opposite of what it purports to be.

Is there a Board of Directors for the US Hawks?

Not yet. The HGAA's early problems arose because different people wanted to take the organization in different directions. That created power stuggles which cost the HGAA some of its early leadership. For now, I'm going to take the US Hawks in the direction that I believe is right. If people want to go along, then they're welcome. If not, there are at least two other alternatives.

Hard to beat a dictatorship for an "organization" to be taken along in the direction the dictator believes is right. Love Bob or leave The Bob Show. And Bob will be the one to make your decision to leave for you.

What a load o' crap.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1395
More abuses at Torrey Pines - Sunday August 11, 2013

Real bummer when the people in positions of power and control violate rules and make up their own as they go along to target someone who's trying to accomplish something positive - isn't it, Bob?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1385
Bob Kuczewski Speaks up for Pilot Oversight at Torrey Pines

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/09/30 17:54:58 UTC

I'm beginning to feel that journalism isn't what it used to be. It seems more and more of what passes for "news" is all fluff and no substance.

You mean like when one of half dozen active participants in your little cult pulls the dump lever on one of the others and kills him on impact and you go for nearly three months before you even acknowledge his absence?



What issues of greater substance were you wading through that pushed him to the back burner for so long?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=903
The hole in Tx's arm where all the $$ goes

Sam Kellner - 2013/08/26 02:20:29 UTC

In the first post of this topic, I said...

Sam Kellner - 2011/12/17 18:00:47 UTC

Letting go of PackSaddle would probably do a lot more good for flying in Reg11.
Sam

Just over a year later...

RE: [HHPA] 8-25-13
Posted By: mickdhoward mickdhoward
With three veteran pilots returning to active flying and new pilots already in training and with aerotow operations at Gloster, Luling and Columbus with several new trike pilots planning to complete training for tug duty by next year, 2014 should be an active year for hang gliding in our area.

Having fantastic soaring conditions, several aerotow tow operations and winch towing (truck and boat mounted) operations, this area will be the envy of the US flying community - roll on 2014.

Bill Cummings - 2013/08/26 05:01:53 UTC

So with Pack Saddle removed from the flying equation it's starting to look like other options are filling in what was thought to be a void that would never again be filled.

Where I started out in northern Minnesota, in our area, we didn't even have a hill site to lose. We were flatlanders'. If we didn't tow we were bottom dwellers. Our closest soarable ridge was more than two hundred miles away. You couldn't swing that every night after work.

Sam you were right. Like Bob K. inferred (or maybe even you and he effectively said,) If a group sinks the majority of their collective money resources into a rental, once you get your thirty day notice to vacate, what do you have to show for your investment?

Pilgrim - 2013/10/15 22:48:34 UTC

Some interesting facts:

1. Since Pack closed going on two years ago, many pilots in the area have had little or no airtime in Texas.

The way things have been going in Texas in recent years that's probably been a GOOD thing for them.

We have to go out of state now. Several pilots gave up and left the sport. From my count, this is at least twice the number of new pilots coming into the sport here.

2. There are only two commercial aerotow operations in Texas from Houston to San Antonio to Austin.

3. There have been three times the deaths in Hang Gliding in the last two years (all aero tow) than occurred in the last 30 years.

What the fuck are you talking about?

- "Hang gliding" means worldwide.

- Terry Mason and Kevin O'Brien were Texas and weren't aerotow.

- Zack Marzec didn't get killed because of aerotow. He got killed because his fishing line prevented him from aerotowing when he really needed to be. Pretty much the same deal as your buddy Eric...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=699
Pilgrim's USHPA membership

Pilgrim - 2011/07/26 23:53:51 UTC

I knew Eric and considered him a friend.
I was there when the accident happened.
I met Eric's dad at Pack to help spread Eric's ashes.
Eric was a very talented and special young man.
I miss Eric and think of him often even until this very day.
May God Bless Eric.

...Aasletten. What's that they say about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

4. One of the tow operations only opens on weekends and spends most of the time making money by giving tandems.

SELLING tandems - at exorbitant prices - to thrill riders who will never come back. So they can really afford to piss all over people dedicated to hang gliding.

5. The other operation is not really open to the public.

No aerotow operations are open to the public.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052
Poll on weaklinks

Jim Rooney - 2013/03/05 19:42:58 UTC

I'm tired of arguing with crazy.
As I said many times... there are those that listen with the intent of responding... you unfortunately are one.

You've done a great job of convincing me never to tow you.
Thank you for that.
Mission accomplished.

Just the worms willing to kiss tug driver ass and fly with Marzec Links as their Pilots In Command.

It is by invite/reservation only. It accommodates only a very few people on a vary random basis and operates out of a completely private airstrip.

And at mainstream operations...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/28 19:39:17 UTC

Weak links break for all kinds of reasons.
Some obvious, some not.

The general consensus is the age old adage... "err on the side of caution".

The frustration of a weaklink break is just that, frustration.
And it can be very frustrating for sure. Especially on a good day, which they tend to be. It seems to be a Murphy favourite. You'll be in a long tug line on a stellar day just itching to fly. The stars are all lining up when *bam*, out of nowhere your trip to happy XC land goes up in a flash. Now you've got to hike it all the way back to the back of the line and wait as the "perfect" window drifts on by.

I get it.
It can be a pisser.

But the "other side"... the not cautions one... is not one of frustration, it's one of very real danger.
Better to be frustrated than in a hospital, or worse.
No exaggeration... this is the fire that the "other side" is made of. Best not to play with it.

6. The only other tow operation is a private club that is on the verge of collapse. After a death...

Kevin O'Brien. Had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with aerotowing.

...and a serious injury this year...

Nothing's coming to me. Did I miss something?

...they have all but shut down. Something about all the tug pilots leaving the club.

Yeah, it's hard to find people stupid enough to stick with that job for more than a couple of months.

In summary, the loss of Pack has been absolutely devastating to hang gliding in Texas.

Hang gliding in Texas has been absolutely devastating to hang gliding in Texas. Fuckin' lunatic asylum.

We all go to Colorado, or Oklahoma, or Arkansas, or Wyoming or Arizona now.

ATTENTION!!! Any responsible competent pilots in Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wyoming, Arizona...

Just the facts...

Bullshit.

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/10/17 07:14:03 UTC

Hi Pilgrim,

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of any site (foot launch or not). And since I don't have a tow rating (yet), that's one less site that I can fly.

You only need a tow rating for aero - asshole.

On the other hand, $10,000 per year and $15,000 to fix the road is a lot of money for any club to put out.

Drop in the bucket compared to...

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3398
A broken humerus, guess the cost.



...the cost of some idiot's totally unnecessary standup landing attempt. And, by the way, it was idiot standup landing training/focus that put John Seward into a fatal downwind turn back into Packsaddle six and a half months before the plug was permanently pulled.

For better or worse, I think that fits the title of this topic.

Your comment about landowner relationships is probably the most important lesson to learn. It would be nice if this country were full of wide open spaces where we could fly unencumbered, but that's not what we have. We need to do all the things you mentioned to be respectful and grateful to the land owners who allow us to fly.

And don't forget to keep your noses firmly inserted in the asses of the dickheads who fly the Dragonflies and control the public airports.

I am sorry that you lost the site.

I'm sorry it was lost. I'm not sorry Pilgrim lost it.

Sam Kellner - 2013/10/17 13:30:25 UTC

Charles,

OOPS!!!

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=699
Pilgrim's USHPA membership

Pilgrim - 2011/07/22 22:37:08 UTC

Howdy Sam,
I am running undercover for now as all this US Hawks stuff is new to me.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=903
The hole in Tx's arm where all the $$ goes

Sam Kellner - 2011/12/20 05:29:50 UTC

Ah, Pilgrim again,

Still not ready to admit your identity?

You weren't supposed to say his NAME - and confirm that this was Charles...

Charles Schneider - 53534 - H4 - 1995/04/24 - Jeffrey Hunt - AT FL PA VA AWCL CL FSL RLF TUR XC

...Schneider.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=756
Discussion with Tad about Towing / Foot Launch

Zack C - 2011/08/12 13:09:22 UTC

So much for "the suppression of free speach cannot and should not be allowed"...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hhpa/message/11624
Tad(what else)

Charles Schneider - 2010/11/11 16:28:57

Good morning Zach,

Stand strong with your beliefs. In this great country of ours, where we have chosen to settle debates and discuss ideas with words, not bombs and IED's, the suppression of free speach cannot and should not be allowed. They chose to superss free speach at AFFA and now they "have no turmoil" on their site. It is also excruciatingly boring and without much merit. I have been very grateful for the marvelous and lively dialoug this HHPA forum provides (and I personally hope continues to provide). You guys are an amazing group of very talented pilots with a lot to contribute. Long live freedom of speach.

You probably miss Pack more than anyone.

With Cowboy-up in Tx. thru the cooler months, maybe it will ease the crunch.

Yep...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=21033
barrels release without any tension except weight of rope..

Bart Weghorst - 2011/02/25 19:06:26 UTC

I've had it once where the pin had bent inside the barrel from excessive tow force. My weaklink was still intact. The tug pilot's weaklink broke so I had the rope. I had to use two hands to get the pin out of the barrel.

No stress because I was high.

As long as you're high, anyway.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=903
The hole in Tx's arm where all the $$ goes

Bill Cummings - 2013/10/19 19:18:42 UTC

Platform towing is way cheaper and a little safer than aero towing.

It's A LOT safer than aero - unless you throw a Sam Kellner into the mix.

Aero towing is launching from a less stable platform (glv --dolly)...

1. Bullshit. We have ZERO stability problems with properly designed dollies.
2. Drop the GLV crap. NOBODY calls them that.

...and the state of the art of aero towing requires a threaded bridle to release.

Yes.

Not a pilots best tow bridle/release option.

Bullshit. Name something as good or better.

The threaded bridle's inherent capture problem upon release is answered with a back up threaded release on the three point tow method.

1. Two point. Fuck you.

2. As shoddy and wrap prone as Industry two point bridles are, name someone who's ever been scratched because of a wrap - 'cept, of course, assholes who...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC4tdHAzh_M


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7596/16577980269_1a9a0078a8_o.png
12-014409

...deliberately release from the bottom.

In order for a wrap to matter...

- It's pretty much gotta happen in a low level lockout - and those aren't terribly survivable no matter what happens.

- There can be no proper secondary weak link - it's almost a dead certainty that it'll vaporize. And if there isn't... Who gives a rat's ass? Big plus for the gene pool.

- Secondary and tug release efforts have to fail or come too late.

3. Even with the shoddy and wrap prone crap that Industry puts up all the time the idea that you could line up a situation that matters with a primary AND secondary wrap is the kind of bullshit that Peter Birren uses to justify his miserable existence.

4. This system:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8318603266/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8305308635/


is bulletproof (after you make the four-string a three string)...
- instant both-hands-on-the-basetube primary release actuation
- virtually zero possibility of a primary wrap
- totally zero possibility of a secondary wrap
- instant both-hands-on-the-basetube secondary release actuation

Choose to fly with inferior crap and get killed as a consequence - tough shit. You made the determination that your life wasn't worth the effort of doing things right and you'd have just proved yourself right.

5. And I've explained all this to you before:

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=727
Input from Tad please.

And you responded:

Bill Cummings - 2011/07/30 18:52:14 UTC

If pilots only read as far as this it will undoubtedly prevent and injury and possibly a towing death. (So read on.)

Thank you, Tad, for taking the time to answer my question. My plan will be to read and re-read the links on your post.

Thank you, Bob K., for setting up this message board. Tad's post address many other problematic towing issues and comes up with well thought out solutions.
The US HAWKS site is a great resource for pilots.

And I'm getting sick and tired of you assholes continually pointedly ignoring those solutions.

And I one hundred percent guarantee you we won't be hearing Bob Navier-Stokes-Equations Kuczewski pointing anything out.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/07/31 04:08:46 UTC

It's only as good as the good people who take the time to post here.

Thanks to each of YOU.

By the way, the theory behind free speech is that the benefits of hearing ALL points of view will usually outweigh the benefits of silencing those with whom the majority disagrees. There are benefits to both, but in the long run, truth tends to be more valuable than harmony.

Go fuck yourself, Bob.

6. When you go surface instead of aero you toss the ability to blow tow with both hands on the basetube 'cause - for all intents and purposes - nobody's bothered to do the engineering and make the technology available.

...you can pro tow to mitigate the release capture possibility but as the name implies you need to be a pro to do it safely.

Like Zack Marzec for example. Did it totally safely over the course of his aerotowing career 'cept just one time.



Good thing he had a Rooney Link to arrest that dangerously steep climb he was forced into, wasn't it, Bill?

...there is a greater risk, pro towing, of being locked out "over the top" by a tug pulling too fast or when encountering a thermal.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=22233
Looking for pro-tow release

Zack C - 2011/06/16 03:14:35 UTC

I've never aerotowed pilot-only but it is my understanding that this configuration pulls the pilot forward significantly, limiting the amount he can pull in further.

Davis Straub - 2011/06/16 05:11:44 UTC

Incorrect understanding.

Incorrect understanding.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

Davis Straub - 2013/02/09 17:45:21 UTC

I have no idea of the circumstances he faced.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052
Poll on weaklinks

Davis Straub - 2013/03/05 13:43:19 UTC

There was no conclusion.

---
Edit - 2013/10/28 04:18:00 UTC

See:
http://www.kitestrings.org/post5295.html#p5295

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=903
The hole in Tx's arm where all the $$ goes

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/10/21 05:33:34 UTC

Hi Bill,

That's a nice collection of truck towing videos!!

Yeah Bob! That's really cool!!

Sam Kellner - 2013/10/21 15:41:38 UTC

So Bob,

Those videos should be all you need.

Well...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7462005802_bbc0ac66ac_o.jpg


http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1081
Platform towing /risk mitigation / accident

Sam Kellner - 2012/07/03 02:25:58 UTC

No, you don't get an accident report.

ALMOST all you need.

You ready to start towing?

Yeah Bob... How 'bout taking a little hop with your good buddy Sam? What's the worst that could happen?

And/Or... Maybe you could go back to Wallaby and have Malcom show you how to use a loop of 130 pound fishing line...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bRrpHNa68iY/UQ6Pv9gRZyI/AAAAAAAAjTg/Hc22bx5122Q/s2048/20943781_BG1.jpg


...to keep you from getting into too much trouble!

[Zack C]

Nothing's coming to me. Did I miss something?

A week or two before Kevin's death a pilot attempted an aerotow (dolly launch) with nose wires that weren't fully secure. After the glider/dolly got up to speed the nose wires released and the glider popped up off the cart at a high pitch attitude. The weak link broke and the glider stalled and pounded in. Without nose wires to brace it the control frame provided little protection and the pilot suffered significant injuries from which he is still recovering. The glider was mostly undamaged.

The glider was a fairly recent Sport 2. It's likely the nose wires were installed correctly (hard for them not to be...) during setup but partially dislodged when the glider was secured by the nose wires to the utility vehicle Kevin rebuilt for transportation to the launch area.

I was not present the day of the incident.

The pilot sent an accident report to USHPA but did not distribute the report outside the club.

Just the facts...

Bullshit.

Yep.

Zack

[Tad Eareckson]

A week or two before Kevin's death...

It would be nice to get a specific date on that. (Kevin's flight was 2013/06/23.)

...a pilot attempted an aerotow (dolly launch)...

Two point?

...with nose wires that weren't fully secure.

Notice how equipment, procedures, instruction in this game that are just partially broke tend to be a lot more dangerous than the ones that are totally broke?

After the glider/dolly got up to speed the nose wires released and the glider popped up off the cart...

Wild guess: 'Cause he didn't have a release he could use to abort a tow when he needed to?

...at a high pitch attitude.

Possibly because the guy was at least smart enough to understand that pulling in wasn't gonna improve the situation any.

The weak link broke...

Wild guess: 130 pound Greenspot with some technique used to hide the knot from the main tension to get it to break consistently?

...and the glider stalled and pounded in.

Yet another example of the 130 pound Greenspot Pilot In Command increasing the safety of the towing operation - by depriving him of the option to climb out as high as possible and either toss his 'chute or, if the air was smooth, maybe even fly it down at trim and land it.

Without nose wires to brace it...

Meaning despite the total absence of nose wires the control frame was still in position keeping the glider in totally airworthy shape from trim speed and slower until impact.

...the control frame provided little protection and the pilot suffered significant injuries from which he is still recovering.

1. "Still recovering" leaves open a wide range of possibilities.

2. Sounds a lot like what happened with Dave Collins on 1989/07/03 at Hyner when he was trying to do the idiot fucking spots for his idiot fucking Three when he flew his Mark IV into the ground - like THIS:

4:45
Hang Gliding Spot Landings, The Good and The UGLY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3nnTrBJEdI
HGAviator - 2013/08/11
dead

and the nosewire failed at PacAir's idiot fucking chintzy elbow sleeve that the nose catch engages. I've reported previously on that career ender at:

http://www.kitestrings.org/post142.html#p142

The glider was mostly undamaged.

And Zack Marzec's was in remarkably good shape after HIS Rooney Link increased the safety of Quest's towing operation.

The glider was a fairly recent Sport 2. It's likely the nose wires were installed correctly (hard for them not to be...) during setup but partially dislodged when the glider was secured by the nose wires to the utility vehicle Kevin rebuilt for transportation to the launch area.

Sounds a lot like what was happening when Wills Wing first met platform towing:

http://www.kitestrings.org/post1599.html#p1599

Inexcusable and unforgiveable. And inexcusable and unforgiveable that the hang gliding "community" tolerates assholes like Jerry Forburger.

I was not present the day of the incident.

Columbus - right?

The pilot sent an accident report to USHPA but did not distribute the report outside the club.

Yeah, what happens in Houston STAYS in Houston - and, for that matter...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1081
Platform towing /risk mitigation / accident

Sam Kellner - 2012/07/03 02:25:58 UTC

No, you don't get an accident report.

...the rest of Texas as well.

Yep.

This wasn't an aerotow incident.

- The critical problem occurred prior to the glider going on the dolly. Echoes of the 1998/12/30 Charly Schmaderer fatality at Wallaby - missed the basetube end with the bolt and got to thirty feet before the control frame disassembled.

- If the nose wires came off because the lock button wasn't set properly it was an assembly/preflight incident.

- If the lock button WAS set properly and the wires came off - either because the wires were pulled in any direction you wanna name and/or the front of the keel was pulled down - it was a serious design flaw.

-- And NO, Wills Wing doesn't get to pull THIS:

The Sport 2 has been designed for foot launched soaring flight. It has not been designed to be motorized, tethered, or towed. Wills Wing makes no warranty of the suitability of the glider for towing.

BULLSHIT as they've been very obviously profiting from selling their gliders to be towed - often exclusively - for at least three decades.

-- And YES, the owner's manual DOES SAY:

Special care must be taken in any form of towing. In particular, in platform towing, it is critically important that the nose line be attached so that there is no possibility of inducing a spontaneous disengagement of the bottom front wires. In particular, there must be no way that the nose line can pull forward on the nose wires, the nose tang, or anything attached to either.

But... Bullshit. If the nose wires can't handle a forward pull the glider can't be safely launched with a wire assist or - for that matter - ground handled into launch position.

-- Also... If that assembly is ACTUALLY that vulnerable to failure for the stated reasons it's a total shit design. It's brain dead easy to design a max convenient nose attachment or modify what they've got to make the connection one hundred percent bulletproof - you could just drill the lock button and run a safety ring through it.

And, of course, it's really great to see the way USHGA and Wills Wing are working with members and customers to ensure that nobody else gets half or totally killed for being stupid enough to transport a glider to launch on a glider transport vehicle (Lockout, Morningside, Andy Jackson (where Wills Wing test flies all of their gliders prior to shipment) come to mind).

And kudos to the pilot as well. Everybody and his dog knows what happens to crash reports submitted to USHGA. If the incident got limited press - à la Terry Mason - the report gets shredded. If it makes the eleven o'clock news and goes viral on the Jack and Davis Shows - à la Zack Marzec - it gets redacted, whitewashed, and fictionalized.

Zack C - 2010/12/13 04:58:15 UTC

I had a very different mindset too back then and trusted the people that made my equipment. Since then I've realized (largely due to this discussion) that while I can certainly consider the advice of others, I can't trust anyone in this sport but myself (and maybe the people at Wills Wing).

Can't trust anyone in this sport PERIOD.