Tragic warning Karlton. Seems obvious in retrospect, but all too easy to overlook in the heat of flying. I would like to second the warning to bungee launch enthusiasts. Check that stake *regularly* because it will come out. After thinking about how not to get hurt again, I think I have a simple, unobtrusive solution to this risk. A personal experience illustrates: I usually bungee in parks and such were it takes a piece of shovel handle to generate enough torque to drive my spiral dog stake into the ground, so I seldom check the stake and have never had problems. Then I flew at the beach last summer. The soil was obviously very sandy and soft, so I chose a damp area and angled the screw about 30* away from the direction of launch and screwed in the stake as far as it would go. I started off w/ gentle launches and checked the stake for signs of wiggling loose after every flight. After a dozen flights of increasing launch tension, the stake hadn't moved at all. I continued flying, checking after every other flight, then every three or four. After about an hour the stake had a half inch of air space on the back side, but I felt quite secure in its holding strength. I hadn't checked for about six flights and got that fateful thought "I better check that next time" -- just like "This will be my last flight." At about 3/4 stretch (~30lb pull on two 3/8" surgical tubes) I heard a funny sound and turned to see a silvery thing floating halfway between me and where the stake should have been. The stake hit me square on my left leg, fortunately, handle first at the ankle, then the tip on my knee. I got a bump a bit larger (in all directions) than a large chicken egg on my ankle that hurt w/ every step for about 3 months. I thought I was doing due diligence with for the risky situation, but just got a bit complacent and actually got off very lucky compared to the winch-man you speak of. I've been thinking at length about getting hit, and how not to again, and I think I have a solution. I propose attaching a hi-start parachute (or two) to the top of the stake, or maybe tied on the bungee/line a couple from the stake if opening is too slow. This wouldn't stop the stake like some which are chained to the ground by other stakes, but with the drag of the 'chute the stake wouldn't be deadly. Haven't run any field tests yet, but it wouldn't be hard to increase the flying safety significantly in this way. Just think--all the NHRA fans can get a little fix as the stake comes shooting along with drogue 'chutes deployed :) Cheers! Tony Rogers > Just off the FAI soaring list please get the word out about safety... "FATAL ACCIDENT DURING MODEL GLIDER TOWING > On the day in question, after "about 30 launches", the stake anchoring the pulley to the ground was pulled out by the force of the towline and struck one of the towers, a sixteen year old, in the back of the head which tragically killed him. RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
