11/26 Report on Hansford

[Dean S]

Hansford, I'll wager that at least some of your lines broke when the wing re-inflated. The worst deflation I've had to date happened about two years ago at Marshall on my Artax (1-2). Doug Gotthard was standing on launch and witnessed it first hand. I had about the same terrain clearance as you and faster than I could understand what was happening the left half of my wing violently collapsed and was pulled down below me on my left. My momentum carried me forward and above the wing to the left turning me 180 degrees. At this point I was looking down on my canopy, which was now in a tight little ball, and was facing the opposite direction back towards launch. I dropped below the wing without getting tangled in the lines and the wing blew open with a sound that Doug described much like a gun going off. After I cleaned out my shorts I took a straight line to the LZ. In flight I noticed I had a broken line trailing behind me. Once on the deck I inspected the glider and found a total of 3 broken lines in the upper cascades which I'm certain occurred upon re-inflation. What was even more odd about my event was that it occurred after 6 p.m., a time which we normally associate with smooth, mellow conditions, go figure. If I remember correctly, the day you and I flew down range had good conditions, certainly nothing that warranted the collapse you suffered. I believe there was an Air Shark cruising the range that day and unfortunately you became his lunch.

So our events seem very similar except that your event continued to a much harsher end. Dixon White wrote an article in the USHPA mag not too long after my event and it focused on rogue air masses. He described personal events much like the ones you and I had and emphasized that they happened so fast there was zero time for counter measures. He called the events wind anomalies and admitted he didn’t buy other pilots tales of similar events until it happened to himself. His events also occurred while flying in seemingly benign conditions. I think what you and I, as well as many others that have been flying for any length of time, experienced in the air can be equated to the Rogue Wave phenomenon that occurs in the ocean. Simply put - SH*& HAPPENS!

That single event I had at Marshall dramatically changed the way I fly today. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is or how calm the conditions appear to be, if I’m close to the terrain I’m always on my guard expecting the worse to happen. More than once that state of mind has saved my hide.