http://ozreport.com/1.007.0
Bad Day in the Paddock
Davis Straub - 1997/12/27
This report is about a pilot who got hurt today. If you don't want to read about this or see the photos, then this is the time to stop. I used my camera to get some close shots of the results of a fairly bad accident. There were a good number of people standing about around the victim being useless. Some resented my being there with a camera. They didn't seem to close their eyes though.
Belinda and I, Nicki Hamilton and every one on the Canadian team (other than Roger) went out to the paddock at about 3 PM today (the day before the start of the Australian Nationals). It has been blowing all day (and for the last 3 weeks) at about a steady 15 mph and we saw no reason to go out earlier.
I was there to help Belinda fly if the winds calmed down, but they didn't. After taking a few shots I wandered over to the next lane to get a shot of Tova in her purple lyrca flight suit standing next to Conrad Lotten. Maybe we'll print that shot later.
As I took the photo a car drove up and the driver yelled out for Conrad that there had been a bad accident and a pilot had gone in head first about 5 lanes down the paddock. We hadn't seen it. Conrad is an emergency room doctor.
We raced down to the broken glider to find Steve Blenkinsop lying on the ground surrounded by some of his Australian team mates and other pilots. Steve is a top Australian pilot and the Australian dealer for Icaro. His new Laminar ST was lying next to him with the sail ripped and the leading edges and a down tube broken.
Steve was not in good shape. Conrad immediately placed a neck brace on him as shown in this photo:
http://ozreport.com/pub/hurtpilot.jpg
dead
According to witnesses Steve had locked out on tow and dove straight into the ground after getting one wing almost vertical and turning almost backwards to the tow line. It wasn't clear to me if he had released or not or if the weak link broke. What was clear was that the weak link hadn't broken in time and that he hadn't released in time. I'll speculate that as an advanced pilot he was trying to save the tow.
Conrad continued to work with Steve, checking for movement in the hands and arms (he could move them), and eye movement. Conrad noted that one eye didn't track, but that there seemed to be no damage to the eye orbit. This indicated possible internal brain bleeding and pressure on nerves.
Steve suffered significant facial cuts and Conrad tended to these as shown below:
http://ozreport.com/pub/hurtpilot2.jpg
dead
An ambulance had been called and showed up quickly. Given the problems with eye co-ordination Conrad called for Steve to be taken to Griffith for a cat scan. Hopefully Medevac'ed from Hay.
I have towed with the Laminar ST and it is quite a handful on tow. It skates about the sky. The same design that makes the Laminar ST very easy to handle in the air makes it also difficult to tow. You have to be on top of it. One day at Forbes last year I had 9 tows in one day on my Laminar ST. I didn't feel that bad towing it, but it is no Falcon.
I have heard the same about the Moyes CSX. Rohan Holtkamp told me after seeing Steve's accident, that he had added a fin to his CSX to help out on tow. I towed a Moyes SX 164 last year and it was rock solid. SX's have a reputation for being solid tow machines. Of course, the Exxtacy rides on rails.
It would seem that if you are towing with a CSX or Laminar ST, you had better be prepared to correct quickly or get off the line as soon as it gets out of hand. Don't try to save it. Also, be light on the weak link. You need that margin of safety. I'm sure glad that mine broke last year.
Bad Day in the Paddock
Wouldn't it be a lot easier if you just specified the Good Days in the Paddock?
This report is about a pilot who got hurt today.
Pilot or Davis Show caliber dope on a rope?
If you don't want to read about this or see the photos, then this is the time to stop.
Fuck you, Davis...
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14312
Tow Park accidents
Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/11/12 14:49:58 UTC
gasdive,
One of the stated goals of this site is to promote HG. MOST views on this site are NOT from members but from visitors, they have no ignore button.
Having Tad run around every day giving the impression that there is a massive weekly slaughter of pilots at tow parks due to their horribly dangerous devices surely doesnt promote HG. Especially when the safety records are quite excellent.
Like Jim said, theyve gone a decade with no fatalities at their tow park. Pretty damn good I say.
Yet listening to Tad, you would think guys were dying all over the place
He's been nothing but misleading and negative and ignored multiple warnings from me. So He's GONE
We're trying to promote hang gliding here and having you running around every day giving the impression that there's a massive weekly slaughter of pilots at tow parks due to their horribly dangerous devices surely doesn't promote hang gliding - 'specially when the safety records are quite excellent.
I used my camera to get some close shots of the results of a fairly bad accident. There were a good number of people standing about around the victim being useless.
Exactly like what all you fuckin' assholes were doing BEFORE the fairly bad accident.
Some resented my being there with a camera.
That's not very fair. They should just resent you from being there on general principle.
They didn't seem to close their eyes though.
Well, when people have their heads up their asses what's it really matter one way or the other?
Conrad is an emergency room doctor.
So then I guess he's not much of a resource about doing anything about the stupid shit that precipitates these emergencies.
We raced down to the broken glider to find Steve Blenkinsop lying on the ground surrounded by some of his Australian team mates and other pilots.
Well, at least they'd made sure that he didn't get into his harness until after it was connected to his glider.
Steve is a top Australian pilot...
OBVIOUSLY.
...and the Australian dealer for Icaro.
What does he sell in the way of releases to get these things airborne at places like Hay?
Seems to be a problem with the photo, Davis. Did u$hPa have you take it down?
According to witnesses Steve had locked out on tow and dove straight into the ground after getting one wing almost vertical and turning almost backwards to the tow line.
Aw FUCK! Sounds like he wasn't...
http://ozreport.com/rules.php
2015 Big Spring Nationals at Big Spring, Texas
2.0 EQUIPMENT
Appropriate aerotow bridles
Competitors must use appropriate aerotow bridles as determined by the Meet Director and Safety Director and their designated officials. Bridles must include secondary releases (as determined by the Safety Director). Bridles must be able to be connected to the tow line within two seconds. The only appropriate bridles can be found here:
http://OzReport.com/9.039#0
ProTow
and:
http://ozreport.com/9.041#2
More Protows
Pilots who have not already had their bridles inspected during the practice days must bring their bridles to the mandatory pilot safety briefing and have them reviewed. Pilots with inappropriate bridles may purchase appropriate bridles from the meet organizer.
...using an appropriate aerotow bridle as determined by the Meet Director and Safety Director and their designated officials. How the hell do you think something like that managed to happen?
It wasn't clear to me if he had released or not or if the weak link broke.
And there's no fuckin' way any of you total douchebags is ever gonna be able to determine that or what total piece o' shit he was using for a release or what flavor of magic fishing line he was using as the focal point of his safe towing system so we'll just get on with praying for Steve's full and speedy recovery.
How 'bout anyone else? Why would somebody say "It wasn't clear TO ME..." unless it WAS clear TO EVERYONE ELSE? Nobody amongst this group of the top pilots on the planet competing for the world championship thought to see whether his release was open or closed and/or whether or not the focal point of his safe towing system had worked?
Bullshit. I know how to read you lying motherfuckers a lot better now than I did pre Kite Strings.
What was clear was that the weak link hadn't broken in time and that he hadn't released in time.
No shit, Sherlock. Thanks for clearing that up for us.
I'll speculate...
You'll...
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec
Jim Rooney - 2013/02/09 18:30:26 UTC
Sorry for the interruption.
Please continue with the speculation.
I'll be over here, doing something productive.
Jim Rooney - 2013/02/12 18:00:27 UTC
Your second statement is why.
I just buried my friend and you want me to have a nice little discussion about pure speculation about his accident so that some dude that's got a pet project wants to push his theories?
Deltaman loves his mouth release.
BFD
I get tired as hell "refuting" all these mouth release and "strong link" arguments. Dig through the forums if you want that. I've been doing it for years but unfortunately the peddlers are religious in their beliefs so they find justification any way they can to "prove" their stuff. This is known as "Confirmation Bias"... seeking data to support your theory... it's back-asswards. Guess what? The shit doesn't work. If it did, we'd be using it everywhere. But it doesn't stand the test of reality.
AT isn't new. This stuff's been worked on and worked over for years and thousands upon thousands of tows. I love all these egomaniacs that jump up and decide that they're going to "fix" things, as if no one else has ever thought of this stuff?
But back to the root of my anger... speculation.
Jim Rooney - 2013/02/28 01:17:55 UTC
Well said Billo
I'm a bit sick of all the armchair experts telling me how my friend died.
Ah but hg'ers get so uppity when you tell them not to speculate.
Jim Rooney - 2013/03/07 18:24:58 UTC
You're the one advocating change here, not me.
I'm fine.
These are only questions if you're advocating change. Which I'm not. You are.
You're the one speculating on Zack's death... not me.
Hell, you've even already come to your conclusions... you've made up your mind and you "know" what happened and what to do about.
It's disgusting and you need to stop.
You weren't there. You don't know.
All you have is the tug pilot report, who himself says he doesn't know... and HE WAS THERE... and he doesn't know.
Ever heard of "Confirmation Bias"?
Because you're a textbook example.
You were out looking for data to support your preconceived conclusion, rather than looking at the data and seeing what it tells you... which is why this is the first time we've heard from you and your gang.
Go back to Tad's hole in the ground.
While you're there, ask him why he was banned from every east coast flying site.
...WHAT?
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
Jim Rooney - 2011/08/28 06:15:12 UTC
You may not know, but Davis is a friend of mine.
Are you sure, Jim? When was the last time you checked? How'd that last dick sucking go?
...that as an advanced pilot he was trying to save the tow.
Yeah Davis...
According to witnesses Steve had locked out on tow and dove straight into the ground after getting one wing almost vertical and turning almost backwards to the tow line.
- That's what he was trying to do. Thought he could fix a bad thing and didn't wanna start over. Just like you...
http://ozreport.com/pub/images/fingerlakesaccident2.jpg
http://ozreport.com/pub/images/fingerlakesaccident3.jpg
...at Finger Lakes.
If he HADN'T been an advanced pilot he'd have just frozen.
It's the intermediate pilots who have the best chances of survival in these low level lockouts... Not so inexperienced that they just freeze and not so hot that they think they can fix bad things instead going with the inconvenience of releasing and starting over.
This is why when you go up for a tandem instructional flight you're best off opting for a low time Hang Three with under a hundred tow flights in his logbook.
And as long as you motherfuckers sit on all the information about the placebo release and weak link your speculation is gonna be better than anybody else's speculation 'cause you been at an around all this plenty long enough to understand what's what and who's who.
- And nobody had ANY IDEA whether or not he made or attempted to make the easy reach to his unspecified industry standard release.
Conrad continued to work with Steve, checking for movement in the hands and arms (he could move them), and eye movement. Conrad noted that one eye didn't track, but that there seemed to be no damage to the eye orbit. This indicated possible internal brain bleeding and pressure on nerves.
Oh good, let's hear all about the aftermath of the pooch screw and forget about the fact that we haven't heard one single syllable about any element of Steve's tow equipment, what the air was doing at launch, what asshole was driving the static line.
Yeah, great. Anybody get a chance to snap a shot or two of Steve's tow setup? Just kidding.
An ambulance had been called and showed up quickly.
I'm so relieved.
Given the problems with eye co-ordination Conrad called for Steve to be taken to Griffith for a cat scan. Hopefully Medevac'ed from Hay.
I have towed with the Laminar ST and it is quite a handful on tow. It skates about the sky. The same design that makes the Laminar ST very easy to handle in the air makes it also difficult to tow. You have to be on top of it.
Yeah, that's probably why a top Australian pilot and the Australian dealer for Icaro competing at the Worlds ends up locked out and...
42-1520
...standing on his fuckin' ear a few feet off the deck.
53-1704
Skittish glider, top Australian pilot, predisposed to thinking he can fix a bad things rather than starting over. Probably hadn't ever towed one of those before. (You did say it was NEW, right?) Obviously nothing at all to do with launching into the crap conditions that nobody else was flying with the same sorta total crap "equipment" that we see him on here at Hazelwood...
03-02421
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7200/14097626583_03972773c6_o.png
...six years later.
One day at Forbes last year I had 9 tows in one day on my Laminar ST. I didn't feel that bad towing it, but it is no Falcon.
Well yeah, you've been at an around all this plenty long enough to understand what's what and who's who and Steve's just a top Australian pilot and the Australian dealer for Icaro.
I have heard the same about the Moyes CSX.
Oh good, let's talk about other gliders from other manufacturers now. That way we can keep not talking about anything of any actual substance or relevance.
Rohan Holtkamp told me after seeing Steve's accident, that he had added a fin to his CSX to help out on tow.
Was there some kind of indication that a fin WOULD have helped out on that tow?
I towed a Moyes SX 164 last year and it was rock solid. SX's have a reputation for being solid tow machines. Of course, the Exxtacy rides on rails.
Cool! One can never have too much totally irrelevant information to derail interest in the factors going into a near fatal lockout crash.
It would seem that if you are towing with a CSX or Laminar ST, you had better be prepared to correct quickly or get off the line as soon as it gets out of hand.
Yeah? I fly an HPAT 158 and it's always seemed to me that it was better NOT to be prepared to correct quickly or get off the line as soon as it gets out of hand. Do they teach this alternative strategy at Quest or Cloud 9 so I can get properly wired for flying a CSX or Laminar ST?
Don't try to save it.
Not so fast. Let me write that down... Don't try to save it. OK... Got it. Please continue.
Also, be light on the weak link.
How light? OBVIOUSLY this top Australian pilot and Australian dealer for Icaro was WAY too heavy on the weak link. So what should we muppets be using to very clearly provide protection from excessive angles of attack, high bank turns, and the like for that form of towing? Gs, pounds, fishing line flavor, knots, installation?
You need that margin of safety.
Fuck yeah!
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24534
It's a wrap
Davis Straub - 2011/07/31 17:55:25 UTC
To break under load before the glider does.
You sure don't want your glider breaking under load in a lockout the way Steve's almost did before it hit the ground and disintegrated.
And speaking of Steves...
http://ozreport.com/13.003
Forbes, day one, task one
Davis Straub - 2009/01/03 20:50:24 UTC
Forbes Airport, New South Wales
Steve Elliot came off the cart crooked and things went from bad to worse as he augured in. He was helicoptered to Orange and eventually to Sydney where the prognosis is not good. I'll update as I find out more.
Why do you think Steve Elliot wasn't using a weak link that didn't give him much safety margin? I'm guessing it was a lot stronger than Steve Blenkinsop's 'cause the second crash ended a lot worse. Twelve years later ferchrisake. When will we ever take these lessons to heart and get serious about safe towing?
I'm sure glad that mine broke last year.
And I'm sure glad that yours held long enough at Finger Lakes to get your fucking face smashed into your demo Sport 2.
And I'm also sure glad that Zack Marzec's broke when it did two and a half years ago and totally destroyed the reputations of all you sleazy fishing line salesmen and put a permanent end to over three decades worth of light weak link scam.
Care to say anything about ACTUAL RELEASES, Davis? Didn't think so.
Davis down under
Presently in Hay, New South Wales
Not down under anywhere near far enough, Davis. But I never give up hope.
