For you/me:

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Contest Safety
Why contest safety?

• For you/me
• Special kind of flying, pilots Where are the
  traps?

• For all of us
• We can do something to reduce the accident rate.
• Attract more pilots to contests.
• Rules committee listens to what pilots want!

• Preview
• What are the dangers of contest soaring (NTSB)?
• What are patterns, scenarios?
• How can we avoid them? Safety psychology.
• Can rules/procedures changes reduce the accident
  rate?

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How many pilots think about crashes
Only a Bozo would do that. Cant we rely on
pilot judgment? Oh, x was a terrible pilot
Experienced pilots wouldnt do that. Ive
been flying 30 years, and Ive never had a
problem with that
Reichmann. Holighaus. Gerbaud. Bowman. Experience,
great skill do not make you immune Cannot rely
on personal experience to spot dangers
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  NTSB JC serious crashes at contests 1983-2001
"Please indicate your number one safety concern
for this contest season."
 
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Contest Accident Summary
1. Overall level (understated!) 1 fatality / 2
years, 1 serious injury / year, many gliders
totaled. About 500 pilots on seeding list
You/I face a serious risk. Willing to face
another 20 years like this?
2. Categories Pilot concern Midair (the other
guy near miss experience). Fact Outlandings
remain 1. Surprise Crashes at and near home
airport!
Look at 1) Close-in/airport crash, 2)
Outlandings, 3) Midairs.
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1. Crashes after finish at home airport
2. Crashes near home airport
199? Ionia ASW20 Substantial Final glide, landed short
1994 Ionia ASW20 Substantial 1 mile out. Did not get back off tow.
1995 Uvalde ASW24 Destroyed Racetrack N. of airport on final glide
1997 Minden ASW20 Serious 8 Miles out. Sink, wind, too much to land, not enough for pattern.
1997 Hobbs Ventus2 Fatal 2-3 miles out on final glide, strong headwind. Passed field, low circle, turned downwind, wires, stall/spin.
 
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Why is stall/spin such a problem? (reminder)
1. No close calls to warn you, very hard to
survive
2. Its not the spin, its the setup. Spin at
the end of a attention overload sequence.
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Low finish scenario
Attention overload. Habits fool you down low Need
high proficiency. Note gear up landings!
Wind
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2 mile out crash scenario
Airport 2 miles
Wind 18 G 26
X
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Coffin corner on final glide Where would you
thermal or land?
2000
1500
1000
500
0
10
5
0
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What can you do to avoid end of flight crash?

1. Dont do low final glides until you know the
   fields!
2. Fences, wires, hills, ditches, approaches, draw
   map?

• Safety psychology
• You wont have time to think.
• You will be very tempted.
• Early in the sequence this is how pilots kill
  themselves
• Focus conscious attention on flight mechanics,
  how subconscious is deceiving you.
• Plan, visualize high stress situations
• Decide now to give up and land early.
• Decide now to do a rolling finish early.
• Decide now not to do low final glides/finishes.
• Even if others fly by!

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What can rules do to make the end of the flight
safer?

• Approach
• Can a rules change reduce accidents?
• Will it make the contest less fair or meaningful?
• Will it reduce fun too much?
• Here 1 only.
• Up to you find the balance.
• Right balance is different for sports regionals /
  15 M worlds.
• Will present many ideas, not proposals.

• Move the ground down 1000.

• High finish.
• 500-1000 minimum finish altitude.
• Any lower, you get distance points only.
• Followed by normal downwind, base, final.

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High finish removes coffin corner
3000

• Not safety finish
• 50 is not enough. 500 min.
• Cannot give speed pts for rolling finish
• Crucial dont press on from critical zone
• But I made it back But I got so close

2500
2000
Glide home
1500
Stop, thermal, look at fields
1000
500
0
5
0
10
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High finish pro and con

•  Pro High finish should sharply reduce
  stall/spin, low finish, near airport crashes,
  midair in pattern.
• Only truly Bozo crashes left, not attention
  overload.
• High finish makes no difference to the race.

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High finish alternatives
1. Post-finish aerobatics box. Do that loop.
Do an outside loop. Strafe the spectators!
2. Pass 1000 2 miles out, then finish low over
the airport. Pros -High energy finish,
-Eliminates close-in crashes,
-Preserves fun low finish. Cons
-Retains potential for low finish crackup,
-Potential for collision in pattern.
Low fast finish is fun. Is white-knuckle final
glide really that fun?
3. Do nothing. Rely on safety talks, pilot
judgment. Pro Retains fun of low (over
ground) final glides. Con Will result in
injured and killed pilots, totaled gliders.
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Outlandings -- still 1
1. Stall/spin
 
2. Terrain impact
3. Miscellaneous
   
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Outlandings
Patterns in outlanding crashes
1. Stall spin.

• 2. Attention overload, long setup to stall/spin.
• Bad weather high winds, storms, etc.
• Last minute decisions, last minute thermaling,
  last minute field selection/changes.
• On way to, and near airports! Unexpected sink.

What can you do to avoid these crashes?
1. Understand computers, safety altitudes!
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Final Glide Calculation
Mc3 301
Mc0, 401
Computer assumes lift sink. Appropriate for
final glide
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Safety altitude calculation
Mc3 301
Mc0, 401
Never!

• Moral the only time you need it, the lift sink
  calculation fails!

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Safety altitudes
Safety calculation should be much more
conservative than final glide calculation
assume sink all the way! Alps 201! Worst
case not average.
Instrument makers separate glide (201, 100fpm
sink) for alternates. You/me Understand the
trap, keep a large margin! No headed to airport,
found unexpected sink!

• What else can you do?
• Plan ahead for high stress decisions.
• Recognize the beginning of the sequence.
• You will be tempted!
• If youre in trouble, likely everyone else is too!

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Outlanding crashes what can rules and
procedures do?
Less flying in bad weather, terrain
1. PST, AAT, MAT 2. All AST to be MAT come home
for speed points. 3. No fixed minimum time
distance points instead PST Objections later
4. Field guides pictures, approaches, obstacles,
not just useless GPS. Fly from known field
to known field.
5. Move the ground down! Count you as landed
out at X (500? 1000?) (Over valley floor).
Yes, have dug out. Many crashes have circling
first! Point gives incentive to become
conservative at 1,500, not 500
6. How to end race? Not Sorry, the gate is
open.
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Mid-air collisions
1983 Minden Std. Cirrus Fatal Leaving thermal. Flying together?
Std. Cirrus None Landed
1984 Ephrata ASW20 Fatal While joining gaggle
Ventus A None Bailed out OK
1984 Ephrata Zuni II None Nose to tail while thermaling
ASW20 None
1988 Chester LS4 None Thermaling midair. Landed
LS4 None Bailed out
1988 Minden Discus A None Thermaling midair. Bailed out.
Discus B None Landed
1991 Uvalde Discus B Minor 20 glider gaggle. Bailed out
SZD 55 Fatal 20 glider gaggle.
1991 Hinckley Pegasus ? Final approach. 1 above/behind.
Kestrel 19 Serious Had radio contact
1997 Ionia ASW20 None Winglet damage. Landed
? None ?
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Mid-air collisions

• Many different kinds, situations for midair.
• 1 issue for racing pilots important bar to
  participation?

What can you do?

1. Listen to safety talks!
2. Thermal entry, exit, sharing is not easy.
3. No wild pull up/push in flight.
4. Be like Karl.
5. Somebody is the other guy! Is it you?

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Midair collisions what can rules/procedures do?
1. Change rules to reduce gaggling/leeching/start
gate roulette
a. Reduce incentive to do it (race structure) b.
Reduce ability to do it (start procedure)
2. PST/MAT/AAT - PST reduces GLS - MAT
AAT?

• Issues
• Unpopular with some pilots important!
• PST MAT AAT collision worries? No data yet.
• Does affect race. Race vs. Contest
• If you like race, dont complain about the
  gaggles!

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Midair collisions what can rules do?
3. Starts PEV, multiple start points, no
call-back
Pro Reduce leeching of specific pilots.
Con Reduce roulette/gaggle? Impedes
ability to leech, not incentive to leech.
May still gaggle at 4950, spoilers open,
watching starts Adds luck factor
4. Increase incentive to be lone wolf. Then
everyone leaves early!
a) Reduce devaluation when there are lots of late
starts.
b) Point bonuses for early starts, start order?
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Midair collisions wild ideas that just might
work
5. Allow team flying, as in bicycle races.
Pro A team can leave early break away from
gaggle (worlds) Con Many. New pilots?

• 6. Allow thermal detectors
• Will be made, cheap, good display for lookout.
• Will not make soaring easy, any more than the
  vario did.
• Will end gaggling, leeching, start gate roulette.
• Will increase landout safety.

7. Challenge change AST so gaggle/leech/roulette
is not attractive?
Spread out more?

1. 1 mile radius/FAI turnpoints for AST
2. Smaller races, heats?

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Bottom line

• Landouts, low finish energy are still the biggest
  source of crashes.
• Most crashes in high stress / attention overload
  situations.

• Rules Simple steps can substantially cut
  fatality, serious injury rate,
• by keeping pilots away from those situations.

1. High finish for speed points.
2. MAT AAT PST, no min time.
3. Reduce devaluation for late starts.
4. Field mapping at popular sites.
5. ..Lets think of some more!

• Proper balance depends on race. More for
  regionals!

• Philosophy

1. Incentives vs. fairness (e.g. close-in landing,
   rolling finish)
2. Race vs. Contest
3. Trust pilot judgment vs. keep race away from
   fire
4. Attitude towards crashes. No more Bozo, alien
   abductions.
5. Apply the Bowman lesson to the rest of racing.

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What can you do?

• Safety psychology thought patterns that lead to
  bad decisions.
• Listen hard to Charlie Spratt speech.
• Mentally prepare, visualize high stress/quick
  decision situations.
• Recognize beginning of pattern that leads to
  trouble.
• Landout crash sequence.
• Close in slow finish sequence.
• Recognize bad thoughts high stress, attention
  narrowing, subconscious flying the plane.
• Make your own decisions whats safe for the big
  boys is not necessarily safe for you me.
• Few will be remembered as fast. Many can be
  remembered as safe.
• Tell the rules committee how you feel!

Objective
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