[RCSE] The Evil Discus Death Menace

[Scobie Puchtler or Sarah Felstiner]

Ok, gliderland,

There may in fact be SOME legitimate safety concerns with discus launching,
and it is very much worth rationally thinking about what they might be, and
how or whether to address them in the competition environment. For a while
there it looked like no one was going to even bother with that, since
hurling overstated condemnations of discus launching is so much cheaper and
easier. Still, I have to take respectful issue with a strain of posts in the
last few weeks that seem to be trying to pre-establish tip launched hlg's as
fundamentally lethal. Given some honest insight, and an open mind, I don't
think that such an extreme conclusion can be reasonably reached.

So, let's open our minds for a few minutes and try to resist the really
awful temptation to create yet another US vs. THEM situation here. Discus
planes are brilliant in their originality. They have alot to offer the
overall hobby in terms of access to really satisfying launch heights,
whether in competition or NOT. It is fairly clear that many folks will only
achieve elite launch heights using discus launched glider, and it would be
great if that could be nothing but a good thing....again, regardless of the
flying environment: competition, or otherwise.

I think it's really fair for pilots in competition to be concerned about
being struck by ANY glider. Further, it seems reasonable to think that
discus pilots, being necessarily new to the technique may not have the
accuracy we more easily assume (sometimes wrongly) to be inherent to
overhand style. MAYBE, just maybe, there is an inherent accuracy difference
that won't be overcome over time, though I personally think that's a
seriously premature conclusion. We've seen things thrown overhand our entire
lives and tend to think of other methods as 'abnormal'. I've even now seen
posts that are trying to pressure folks into sticking with overhand because
it seems more macho to them. Where's the contribution in that skewed
insight? Are we working extra hard this year to make sure that gliding stays
all male? I digress.

In the comp. environment, Perhaps CD's will need to be especially
conscientious for a few years until the overall skill level improves, which
it absolutely and inevitably will. Out of control launchers, or just folks
who place launch immediacy above safety, whether discus, or otherwise, may
need some sanction.

The idea that 'the first really bad accident will shut things down for
everyone' is a fear tactic as old as the hills. A bad accident is a bad
accident. It could happen with any type of plane at any contest, especially
if people aren't thinking and being creative about how to mix fun, safety,
and the risk that goes along with any flying sport, manned or not. How it
get's reacted to will have everything to do with the overall health of the
flying community involved, what positive steps they've taken to be
reasonable about safety, and how well they work together and avoid
divisiveness.

Skill and accuracy comes with the progress and acculturation of any new
technique. Many folks couldn't hit the side of a barn with a frisbee, for
instance, which uses a fairly rotary throw technique, because release timing
is so critical. But a good frisbee golfer could tell you what knothole in
which barn board he was going to peg, and peg it. I'm not convinced that
most discus throwers won't eventually be able to name their patch of sky
before they throw right to it. Some already can. Make it a part of the
culture that accuracy is expected and admired, and people will figure out
how to be accurate, guaranteed. Ego's won't permit any other outcome.

Another temptation is to watch the rotation of a discus launcher and
immediately conclude, often without any personal experience, of course, that
the whole system is like a giant unprotected Cuisinart blade, 360 degrees of
pure menace. Ok, it's  fair to say that the rotation of a 60" glider at the
end of someone's arm takes up a fair amount of acreage (I never claimed that
I thought full-hlg-size discus launching was issue-free), but as Dick Barker
or anyone else who has put in some actual time throwing these things can
tell you: MUCH of the rotation in a discus launch is relatively slow (not
even CLOSE to the final release speed) and serves as a chance to 'float' the
glider into a favorable wind-up position for the final 'centripetal whip'
that leads to that potentially awesome launch height. Also, many perfectly
awesome discus launches do NOT require a full 360deg. Because the slower
portion of the launch arc is not creating much centrifugal force, the
chances of the glider just 'slipping out of the launcher's hand' in any
random direction is really incredibly small.

I am not a competitor, more of an observer of the sport/hobby and it's
progression. I don't have all the answers, I don't claim to have the
solutions, and I'm  not trying to tell anyone what to do. But I have thrown
a bunch of planes, discus and other, and while I personally prefer slightly
smaller tiplaunchers where the swing can be on a more vertical plane,  and
often barely use 180 degrees of arc, I still think that the full size discus
planes are beginning to get an unnecessarily bad rap. It's also my opinion
that these premature assumptions are occluding what could be a much more
useful conversation about what to actually DO and CHANGE to take ADVANTAGE
of the increased access to launch height that these unique designs offer to
gliderland. I'm really glad to see some posts coming in that take a much
more opportunistic as opposed to cynical and pessimistic approach.

Paul Naton made some great points in his provocative initial post that
deserve a thread that doesn't deteriorate into an
us-vs.-them-its-all-about-danger-liability-and-other-bad-things mentality.

Anyone up for serious consideration of completely NEW modes of hlg
competition format? What about a sort of micro cross-country paradigm in
which the overall field conditions must be artfully used to  get one's
glider to show up at a series of checkpoints. Some of those points might be
near lift in a given round at a given moment, others of course wouldn't be.
Ability to read lift, work lift, avoid sink or penetrate it efficiently,
range upwind, range downwind AND our old pal launch height would ALL still
be emphasized, but real and elaborate strategy might increase significantly,
without the frantic launch and relaunch (and accompanying stopwatch timing)
being quite as emphasized (though in some situations it would still be
incredibly important to be able to relaunch quickly to try again). A ten
minute round in which you can launch any time you want. If you think you can
complete the task in the last two minutes because your theory is that the
lift will be perfect for it at that moment, no problem, that's when you
launch. If you have to launch three times trying for the task, points could
take care of taking your score down a bit compared to the guy who got the
task in his (or HER!) very first launch. Just a few thoughts. If you see
problems in managing a contest that's set up in this way, that's great!
Think of it as an opportunity to think up some solutions before you post
back!

For what it's worth,

Lift,
Scobie in Seattle


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