It is good to see that there are still some people out there that are sane.
The gaggle issue is as those that responded: Ludicrous. I agree totally. In everything we do there is inherant danger. I have been making a point that there are many double standards in our organisation. How can we possibly continue to develop a waning sport with the burden of bureaucracy that is thrust upon us? Poor Mike will be falling over by now, that there is somebody out there that agrees with him. Something for all to ponder: What creative ideas do we have to help our sport survive? >From: Mike Borgelt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: [aus-soaring] Sharing a Thermal >Date: Sun, 07 Apr 2002 10:08:31 +1000 > >At 05:30 PM 6/04/02 +1000, you wrote: > > > >Ok then, granted, but you must agree that there have been people killed. > > > >Having gained agreement on this, then lets look at winching: has there >been > >a fatality due to not being able to release? I think there may have been > >one or two (flame suit on). > > > >Winching clubs are going to be required to have cable cutters on their >feed > >gear for 'just in case' due to this 'unaceptable' risk (yes to all those > >about to comment that this requirement has bben pushed forward, but my > >understanding is that it is enevitable). > > > >I would rate my chances of having a mid air in a gaggle as higher than a > >hookup on a winch. > > > >I stand on my ground: banning gaggle flying does not cost money. > > > >Comments? > > >How do you propose to enforce this ban on gaggle flying? > >How do you deal with two pilots pair flying cross country? > >How do you get around the glider pilot psychology of following and/or being >attracted to other gliders? I think the 3 seagulls on the badges should be >replaced by fluffy white sheep - we could pretend they were cumulus clouds >if outsiders asked. > >(In passing, we are inventing ever more bizarre and arbitrary contest rules >to try to prevent these things and the only thing that has any hope is the >simultaneous start. With loggers this can be done safely) > >The last time I saw any stats on winching the chances of a serious accident >were about 5 times higher than for aerotow. Maybe we should ban winching(a >good idea for other reasons). We don't do that for really only one reason, >it is perceived as cheaper than aerotow for the individual. Don't worry >about what it does to enthusiasm, membership retention etc. > >As for banning gaggle flying not costing money, suppose you are at 1300 >feet about to enter circuit and another glider is already in a thermal >nearby. You land and pay for another launch and more seriously, expose >yourself to the launch risks again. Are they higher or lower than sharing >that thermal? This exposes the fallacy of your facile "solution". > >Bob Ward is correct that many collisions aren't caused by gaggling as such. >He and I were near participants in a head on at 160 knots closing less than >2 years ago. >Only prevented by good lookout on both our parts. Andrew Georgeson saw the >whole thing from 400 meters to one side and commented on the simultaneous >break. >We weren't even flying out of the same field. The lesson is that >cloudstreets are attractive. > >If we are going to winch a cable cutter on the winch is probably a good >idea. The aim is to prevent SINGLE POINT failures from killing you. On >aerotow there is a release at the tug end and it is also possible to land >on tow. It is easier if there is good communication so if your tug doesn't >have a good radio to make communication easy between tug and glider - get >one! Likewise a reel for the towrope makes it easier to to use longer >ropes. You tug pilots might like to contemplate the fact that a longer rope >puts more distance and time between you and the accident caused by the git >in the glider. > >Mike > > > >Borgelt Instruments - manufacturers of quality soaring instruments >ABN 75532924542 >Box 7474 Toowoomba M.C. >Queensland 4352 >Australia > >Tel 0746 355 784 >mob 0428 355 784 > 0429 355 784 >fax 0746 358 796 > >International >phone: int'l+ 61 7 46 355 784 >Cellphone:int'l +61 4 28 355 784 > int'l +61 4 29 355 784 >fax : int'l+ 61 7 46 358 796 > >email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >website:www.ozemail.com.au/~mborgelt > > >-- > * You are subscribed to the aus-soaring mailing list. > * To Unsubscribe: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > * with "unsubscribe aus-soaring" in the body of the message > * or with "help" in the body of the message for more information. > _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com -- * You are subscribed to the aus-soaring mailing list. * To Unsubscribe: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * with "unsubscribe aus-soaring" in the body of the message * or with "help" in the body of the message for more information.
