Craig Muhonen wrote:Hello Hawks, my dad and I (both fixed wing pilots of old) played allot of golf at Torre Pines, over the years, and watched all the 'flyers' at the glider port. We often wondered about the 'right of way options' that each of the different aircraft have in that 'ridge lift'. We know about the right of way the small boat, and big boat sailors use, is there something similar in the air?
We generally follow all the standard rules. Pass to the right of approaching aircraft, etc.
The sailplanes haven't flown there in over a decade, but we would generally clear the launch window when they were towing up. They had a loud horn on the winch that would notify everyone when launching.
When Remote Control gliders (RC's) are flying, we're supposed to blow a whistle whenever entering their normal flight "window" from any direction (including launching). We're also supposed to only have one manned glider in the window when RC's are flying.
The concessionaire has had a long history of various "special unwritten rules" designed to maximize their income. For example, they had a ridiculous "tandem right of way" rule that they claimed superseded all other rules (including the universal "pass on the right" rule). Tandems are the big money maker at Torrey. They also had an unwritten rule that their students (another money maker) had priority over non-students when it got crowded (again favoring income over safety). Both of those rules have been "officially" rescinded, but I've still heard their instructors quoting those "rescinded" rules since that time.
Some of these "special rules" (particularly the "tandem right of way rule") have been the cause of accidents. That's just another reason (of many) that I have been calling for oversight since 2007.
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 2:53 pm
It helps us all. 