[Free]

Hope somebody saves this before it disappears.

[JoeF]

SandGougeBasebarCorner.JPG (14.24 KiB) Viewed 5412 times

Clip. Case where Safe-Splat arrangement might have helped.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Great Post Free!!!!!



It was painful watching the continual PIO that he never seemed to get under control.   

He was lucky to have a nice sandy landing zone within easy glide.   

This is why Joe Greblo teaches a HANG CHECK with the 4 "C"s:

• Connection - Verify that you are in fact connected to the glider and everything is properly routed.
• Clearance - Verify that you are hanging at the right height above the bar. This further verifies that you're connected to the glider.
• Crotch - Verify that your legs are through both leg loops and that they are indeed fastened.
• Chin Strap - Verify that your chin strap is holding a helmet onto your head.

Joe also teaches a visual and tactile hook in check just before launch. Turn around and actually look at it.

Thanks again for a good post Free!!     

[AirNut]

I've followed this debate/controversy/argument/trench war/food fight/contretemps/battle of the ideologies for years and have never made a post on this topic until now.

I think that most of this discussion misses the point. And Tad's rants simply represent a more extreme form of missing the point. All those who believe that they have a magic solution to the problem and that everyone else is wrong have missed the point. Those who think that one method of avoiding FTHI is better than another have also missed the point.

The real point IMO is that no method (including the lift-and-tug) is infallible. No method can completely prevent failure to hook in, or indeed any other form of pre-flight set-up error. When you life depends on it and your are doing something dangerous, and doing it repeatedly, 99.99 percent reliability is no good, only 100 percent will do. The problem is therefore in our nature as human beings. How can we perform at the 100 percent reliability level when carrying out a complex task such as preparing for gravity-defying flight? How can we be sure that we don't get distracted and forget a step? The last-gasp before take-off check, the LGBTOC, whether lift-and-tug, four C's, or whatever, is just another way of coping with this problem, but it is also subject to the same human fallibility. The very thing that we think with (the old gray lump) is a flaky instrument and can't be totally relied upon (some gray lumps are more flaky than others ). In other words, I think this whole topic is a human factors issue, not an issue of methodology although, obviously, methodology is not unimportant.

The LGBTOC is just another pre-flight check, and this includes the lift-and-tug, the four C's or whatever else you can come up with. All such checks depend on having the discipline to actually do them. The lift-and-tug is no exception, contrary to what Tad would have you believe. I can image a scenario, admittedly a bit far-fetched, in which a pilot is about to take-off, does the lift-and-tug, gets distracted by something, unhooks to deal with that, then gets pressured to launch quickly for some reason (maybe his best mate has just crashed in the LZ and he needs to get down there fast). He then forgets to repeat the lift-and-tug, with the inevitable result. Tad would have you believe that something like this can't happen, that his method will always save the day. But in the end, human frailty can defeat just about any method or any plan.

The real problem, regardless of the actual pre-flight method that you use, is to have the mental discipline to be rigorous in actually applying the method. If any part of the pre-flight ritual is interrupted, then the checks need to be repeated. Your LGBTOC needs to be done and not skipped, regardless of whether it's lift-and-tug, the four C's, the Aussie method, or even three resounding blasts on a Mukkinese Battle Horn (whatever floats your boat). They are all of no-use if you skip doing them or allow a distraction to compromise them. The only thing keeping you from a mistake is the degree to which you can apply this rigour. On this point, we need to be like someone with Howard-Hughes-level OCD: always make the checks, and if distracted, repeat the checks, and if distracted again, repeat them again. And for the older pilots with deteriorating memory (like me), the problem is even worse: "Did I actually just do step 8, or was it step 7, or am I only imagining that I just did step 8?".

The real point is that no method is infallible. Don't let Tad or anyone else convince you otherwise. It's all about having the discipline to follow rigorously and without fail in any circumstance whatever method you personally have decided to use. It's your decision and you need to slavishly apply it in all circumstances, and apply it as if your very life depends on it.

Because it does.

[AirNut]

P.S.

For those of you interested in acquiring a Mukkinese Battle Horn, the only completely foolproof method of avoiding FTHI, I'm thinking of starting a completely new thread to expound the unique qualities of this life-saving device.

I might even post it on Tad's site.

[Free]

The real point is that no method is infallible. Don't let Tad or anyone else convince you otherwise. It's all about having the discipline to follow rigorously and without fail in any circumstance whatever method you personally have decided to use. It's your decision and you need to slavishly apply it in all circumstances, and apply it as if your very life depends on it.

Because it does.

Thanks for weighing in, and yes, its inevitable that you will be dealt with by Tad at Kite Strings.
I'll just add, without the actual U$hPA requirement wording, is simply- you must demonstrate an effective method of knowing you are hooked in immediately prior to launch.
Its not about a check list.
Its about using some method to assure you are hooked in the last seconds before launching. A lift and tug accomplishes this, and it is one step beyond in addition to all previous check list satisfactions.

A lift and tug could have easily caught this deadly brainfart.
I always liked to launch with a tight strap anyway, for control of the glider.

[Bob Kuczewski]

The real point is that no method is infallible.

There's a quote that "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance".

Let me adapt it to say that "In hang gliding, the price of safety is eternal vigilence".

AirNut's point is well stated. We cannot rely on any system outside of ourselves, and instead we must work to instill in ourselves the commitment to eternal vigilance regarding hooking in and safety. As soon as you begin to think that any system - lift and tug included - is going to relieve you of the worry about launching unhooked ... you're in trouble.

There's nothing wrong with lift and tug and launching with a tight hang strap when it can be done safely. I think pilots should be taught those skills along with many others so they have them in their tool kit. But the more important point that I'll credit Tad with is the fear of launching unhooked. That fear should always be present because the danger is always present. Fear is an appropriate response to danger, and checking - again and again by whatever means are available - is an appropriate response to fear.

[Free]

There's nothing wrong with lift and tug and launching with a tight hang strap when it can be done safely. I think pilots should be taught those skills along with many others so they have them in their tool kit. But the more important point that I'll credit Tad with is the fear of launching unhooked.

Ok..

That fear should always be present because the danger is always present.

Yeah..

Fear is an appropriate response to danger, and checking - again and again by whatever means are available - is an appropriate response to fear.

The point you are distorting is not what Tad Earickson has preached.
It's not about "checking - again and again. It's about checking just BEFORE you launch.
A hook in check is different than checking again and again. That's OCD.
A hook in check is a separate, last check before launching.
Pick the glider up with intent to fly, do a hook in check.
B4 U fly.
Always

It's your short term memory that will kill you the quickest.

[Free]

AirNut's point is well stated.

Actually, I think he missed the point and turned it into something else, just as you have done.
Maybe he will make another post on the subject.

We cannot rely on any system outside of ourselves, and instead we must work to instill in ourselves the commitment to eternal vigilance regarding hooking in and safety. As soon as you begin to think that any system - lift and tug included - is going to relieve you of the worry about launching unhooked ... you're in trouble.

No one says a lift and tug, two seconds before starting your launch run, relieves "of the worry" about launching unhooked.
The point is to always have that worry.
But that's not to say that last, often repeated action, within seconds before launch, doesn't do wonders for those symptoms of worry.

There's nothing wrong with lift and tug and launching with a tight hang strap when it can be done safely.

If there is some reason this can't be done safely, then how is it safe to launch at all?

[Bob Kuczewski]

AirNut's point is well stated.

Actually, I think he missed the point and turned it into something else, just as you have done.

I disagree. I think Airnut's main point was about mental discipline and that applies to any methodology a pilot uses to confirm their hook-in status before launch.

There's nothing wrong with lift and tug and launching with a tight hang strap when it can be done safely.

If there is some reason this can't be done safely, then how is it safe to launch at all?

"Lift and tug" as a hook in check assumes that the pilot is able to allow the glider to rise to the point of tensioning the harness so that the tension can be felt by the pilot BEFORE making an irreversible commitment to launch. That assumption is implicit because it wouldn't do any good to do a hook in check after it's too late to abort the launch. Also implicit is that the glider must be allowed to put enough tension on the harness to actually be felt as a "tug" (hence the name "lift and tug").

There are several problems with this technique in high wind launch conditions.

First of all, the "tug" from the hang strap will come from the glider's trim point which is typically set at a relatively slow flying speed and a relatively high angle of attack. In a high wind launch situation, the pilot will typically be holding the downtubes at a point well forward of the trim point which puts all of the downward force on the glider at that same forward point. The location of that forward point will determine the angle of attack of the wing in the wind (absent any torque also applied by the pilot - see "Third..." below). The moment the pilot transfers a single ounce of downward force anywhere aft of that grip point, that will increase the glider's angle of attack by some amount. So by transferring enough weight to the hang loops to lift part of the harness and then get a perceptible "tug" the pilot will increase the angle of attack of the wing by some amount. Depending on the circumstances that could be the difference between safety and a loss of control on launch. Why would a pilot expose himself to that risk when there are alternative (and safer) ways to verify hook-in status?

Second, depending on the launch terrain and wind conditions, lifting the glider by as much as a foot to get an affirmative "tug" could easily expose all or part of the glider to significantly different wind conditions. This is most dangerous in crosswind situations where the wind experienced by each wing may already be somewhat different in both speed and angle. Again, why would a pilot expose himself to greater danger and uncertainty by raising his wing prior to launch when there are alternative (and safer) ways to verify hook-in status?

Third, in windy conditions, it's often advisable for the pilot to apply a nose-down torque to the glider with a combination of hands low on the down tubes (pulling in) and upper arms and/or shoulders high on the down tubes (pushing out). This torque helps keep the glider's nose down and increases the pilot's ability to control the glider in windy launch conditions. While it might be possible to maintain that torque by carefully sliding the glider up to get the "tug", such a manuver isn't easy and would contribute to another source of complication and danger. Yet again, why would a pilot expose himself to greater danger and uncertainty by raising his wing prior to launch when there are alternative (and safer) ways to verify hook-in status?

Fourth (and somewhat related to the previous point), any action taken by the pilot at the moment of launch which is not taken for the explicit purpose of performing the best possible launch is a diversion from the pilot's focus on the launch itself. Whether that action is a "lift and tug" or a "turn and smile for the camera" or anything else, it is a diversion from the task of performing the best possible launch the pilot can perform in those conditions. When you perform a launch, you perform a launch. If you have to perform a combination launch / hook-in check, then you're compromising your launch. Period. If that compromise were an absolute necessity, then there would be no other alternative. But there is an alternative. A pilot can perform a "turn and look" hook-in check moments before launch and then devote their full attention to the launch itself. The pilot might decide that the best launch technique is with a tight hang strap ... or not. But that decision is based on performing the best possible launch and not as a compromise to serve a purpose that is much better served by a visual hook-in check.

To summarize, I would say that none of these compromises of launch safety are justified to perform a hook-in check that could have been done - and done even better - just seconds earlier (you'll find many pictures of me doing just that prior to launch scattered on this forum). There's nothing wrong with the lift and tug, and I've said that I think it's a good habit to develop. And if you find yourself in a situation where you don't feel comfortable doing the lift and tug, then you can use that discomfort to heighten your attention to being sure that you are hooked in before launch ... or simply not fly.