[JoeF]

http://www.peterlynnkites.com/news/0603news.htm
Peter Lynn Kites

[JoeF]

WheetBasebar001.JPG (30.13 KiB) Viewed 4934 times

Bob Grant noted about landing in wheat fields:
"That wheat can really grab your base bar quickly" and examples with a video

Go to the 4:00 station in the video for quick start on topic.
Concern over the "safe splat" question over the matter may be valuable.

[JoeF]

Weeds, tall grass, shrubs ... whipping about basebars might act as firm ropes to bring potentially lethal whacks. Consider the physics that may be going on in the incident by David Williamson described by him below:

Whack and Weeds
Sure, Joe, you can quote anything I post. I enjoy the idea of the Torrey Hawks, although I never got further than rigging a glider at Torrey Pines as the wind was too light.
Cheers,
Dave Williamson.

  I was skimming over the top landing with my feet trailing, for an overshoot, five weeks ago. The grass was short, as it is grazed, but some thinly scattered, thin stalked weeds had grown in the previous week. I was on the uprights with a pint-pot grip and I was just wondering whether I was too fast to attempt sliding my feet to slow down, when the glider nosed in with a wack, even though I had pneumatic wheels on. I went head first from 20 m.p.h. to zero in an instant and may have been briefly knocked out as I certainly had some temporary short-term memory loss. I've done lots of crop landings, some with passengers, and never had a problem as I always flared above the crop without touching it. In this case though, I never imagined that such thinly-spread stems would exert such force on the base-bar as to cause this, but I think that's what must have happened. I had a couple of cracked ribs, at the back, due to both arms being wrenched back when I hurtled through the A-frame.  

[JoeF]

Another hang glider had an eye-opening incident with plants grabbing his basebar; he recalled in his analysis an early quote from Pagen:

Landing in high weeds or crops — Sometimes, the weeds in our landing fields grow fast in the course of a couple of months and we are caught with a surprise challenge. Treat such cover just like rough ground and flare well to come down vertically. Running is out of the question and very high weeds.

Be aware that high weeds may they grab your base bar and pull your nose down. This is not a problem as long as you were aware of the possibility and flare before the weeds pull you in. Treat the tops of the weeds like the ground and flare accordingly. Usually you can let your legs drag in the weeds, but not your bar. Crops are handled similarly although we do everything in our power to avoid landing in crops …

[JoeF]

Bright Star Swift version.
[ Safe-Splat ]

Note: Swifts have appeared with various frontal items from bare raw tubing fronts to wheels to skids to inclines.
I do not know if the clip is a spoon-like item or not.

BrightStarSwiftSAFESPLAT.jpg (16.22 KiB) Viewed 4879 times

BrightStarSwiftSAFESPLAT02.jpg (16.38 KiB) Viewed 4879 times

BrightStarSwiftSAFESPLAT05.jpg (17.13 KiB) Viewed 4876 times

Is that epoxy fiberglass covering some base core material?
tag: safesplat

[brianscharp]

I do not know if the clip is a spoon-like item or not.

Pictured is a plywood skid.


Your edit poses a new question.

Is that epoxy fiberglass covering some base core material?

That might be a lighter design, but plywood was used. I can't be certain the one pictured is not some modification, but I doubt it.

Off topic though, the major modification I noticed was the addition of rudders.

[JoeF]

Brian, thanks. Maybe the shown is a part cored with plywood and finished with fiberglass-epoxy.

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CO2 cartridges and inflatable parts? Come in for a splat and deliberate puncture the cartridges; let out the CO2 into the inflated parts to guard neck and spine?

Teasers:
http://www.airseasafety.net/images/immersion-suit-inspection.jpg

http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/imgcache/product/resized/000/805/702/catl/youth-tonight-show-inflatable-chub-suit-349_1000.jpg?k=4ea73c4e&pid=805702&s=catl&sn=nbcuniversalstore
http://fuzzandfur.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/hantama2.jpg

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Say HG is NOT configured for water landings. But ditching in water becomes the challenge. What Safe-splat theories might be noted? We have some comment on water landing already. This may be a continued area for study and comment. Toward that, here is an article that is not facing HG, but other aircraft: http://www.pilotworkshop.com/tips/ditching-technique Ditching Technique Featuring Bob Nardiello. For HG ditching, will the pilot have quick disconnects? Will HG pilot drop away from wing prior to impact? Differently the wing and pilot could be designed for deliberate water landings. But the case where such preparation had not been made, then consider the scenes.

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http://www.dievhart.com/images/hg/9190412.jpg Sailplane wing-tip holder.

[brianscharp]

Brian, thanks. Maybe the shown is a part cored with plywood and finished with fiberglass-epoxy.

Maybe, but mine and the others I've seen are simply a high grade piece of plywood with no finish.

[JoeF]

Different Swift clip. Unknown materials for the skid:

DiffererentSwiftDetailclip.jpg (16.76 KiB) Viewed 4847 times

[JoeF]

and