• Re: Water landing in Bellevue, Wa?

    From Richard Pfiffner@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Sep 10 08:39:57 2022
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ

    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard

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  • From Frank Whiteley@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Sep 10 08:37:00 2022
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 9:15:39 AM UTC-6, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ
    Lake Chelan https://tinyurl.com/4pjhx5an

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  • From John Sinclair@21:1/5 to All on Sat Sep 10 08:15:38 2022
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Richard Pfiffner on Sat Sep 10 14:09:33 2022
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 11:39:59 AM UTC-4, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ
    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard
    I would love to have some first hand info on the damage to this ship. Old Bob, The Purist

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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Richard Pfiffner on Sat Sep 10 14:33:36 2022
    On 9/10/2022 8:39 AM, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ

    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard
    Same tough wave situation the next day, caught another pilot, but he avoided the same fate
    by starting his motor. He's pilot that lives in the and does most of his flying there, but
    still misjudged the weather.

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From kinsell@21:1/5 to Richard Pfiffner on Sat Sep 10 16:44:06 2022
    On 9/10/22 09:39, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ

    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard

    It has the potential to do a bunch of damage. Hour long interview with
    pilot of a Lake Tahoe landing is here:

    https://www.soaringthesky.com/

    N.B. Lake Tahoe is not in Bellevue, WA.

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  • From Hank Nixon@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Sep 10 17:35:51 2022
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 5:09:35 PM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 11:39:59 AM UTC-4, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ
    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard
    I would love to have some first hand info on the damage to this ship. Old Bob, The Purist

    Photos on the AIG site pretty much tell the story.
    Does not look like a "normal" low energy water landing.
    Maybe damaged during recovery.
    FWIW
    UH

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  • From Charles Longley@21:1/5 to Hank Nixon on Sat Sep 10 21:56:06 2022
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:35:53 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 5:09:35 PM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 11:39:59 AM UTC-4, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ
    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard
    I would love to have some first hand info on the damage to this ship. Old Bob, The Purist
    Photos on the AIG site pretty much tell the story.
    Does not look like a "normal" low energy water landing.
    Maybe damaged during recovery.
    FWIW
    UH
    It was a hard downwind landing with the gear up.

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Hank Nixon on Sun Sep 11 04:15:56 2022
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:35:53 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 5:09:35 PM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 11:39:59 AM UTC-4, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ
    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard
    I would love to have some first hand info on the damage to this ship. Old Bob, The Purist
    Photos on the AIG site pretty much tell the story.
    Does not look like a "normal" low energy water landing.
    Maybe damaged during recovery.
    FWIW
    UH
    UH, I was able to obtain some detailed pics last evening from a friend in WA, the damage was much worse than the AIG pics detail. Someone hit the water very hard causing separation of wing skins and other damage. First thought was to buy it and send to
    Poland for rebuild, second thought is don't waste time on it. OBTP

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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Charles Longley on Sun Sep 11 06:50:46 2022
    On 9/10/2022 9:56 PM, Charles Longley wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:35:53 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 5:09:35 PM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 11:39:59 AM UTC-4, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ
    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard
    I would love to have some first hand info on the damage to this ship. Old Bob, The Purist
    Photos on the AIG site pretty much tell the story.
    Does not look like a "normal" low energy water landing.
    Maybe damaged during recovery.
    FWIW
    UH
    It was a hard downwind landing with the gear up.

    What does the manual recommend for gear position in a water landing?

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From Charles Longley@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Sun Sep 11 08:04:50 2022
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 9:50:56 AM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 9/10/2022 9:56 PM, Charles Longley wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:35:53 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 5:09:35 PM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 11:39:59 AM UTC-4, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
    On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 8:15:39 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    AIG has a DG-1000s up for bid………………..anybody got the skinny on this? Cause is listed as extreme turbulence caused lake landing!
    Bet there’s a good story there?
    JJ
    Gear up. Got caught in the wrong part of the mountain wave landed in Lake Chelan. Don't know much else.

    Richard
    I would love to have some first hand info on the damage to this ship. Old Bob, The Purist
    Photos on the AIG site pretty much tell the story.
    Does not look like a "normal" low energy water landing.
    Maybe damaged during recovery.
    FWIW
    UH
    It was a hard downwind landing with the gear up.
    What does the manual recommend for gear position in a water landing?
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
    Down

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  • From Charles Longley@21:1/5 to Charles Longley on Sun Sep 11 08:59:43 2022
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 11:54:32 AM UTC-4, Charles Longley wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 11:29:57 AM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T
    The theory is it stops it from submarining. The bottom of the fuselage is curved and acts like a wing once it hits the water. You also want your spoilers closed and flaps faired with the wing. Otherwise they will probably get ripped off. The checklist
    doesn’t say anything about jettisoning the canopy. I would worry about it hitting the tail personally. They make small seatbelt cutter/canopy crackers that might be a good idea for your parachute harness.

    Charlie
    I was just up in Alaska hunting moose with family and friends in side by side UTV’s. They carried something similar to this- https://www.amazon.com/StatGear-SuperVizor-Emergency-Rescue-Escape/dp/B01CMVW5SE/ref=asc_df_B01CMVW5SE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=
    df0&hvadid=312181831593&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12827036533152560598&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011918&hvtargid=pla-525016896121&psc=1

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  • From Charles Longley@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sun Sep 11 08:54:31 2022
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 11:29:57 AM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage. Nick
    T
    The theory is it stops it from submarining. The bottom of the fuselage is curved and acts like a wing once it hits the water. You also want your spoilers closed and flaps faired with the wing. Otherwise they will probably get ripped off. The checklist
    doesn’t say anything about jettisoning the canopy. I would worry about it hitting the tail personally. They make small seatbelt cutter/canopy crackers that might be a good idea for your parachute harness.

    Charlie

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  • From Nicholas Kennedy@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 11 08:29:56 2022
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage. Nick
    T

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  • From Ramy@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sun Sep 11 09:48:26 2022
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy

    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage. Nick
    T

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  • From Charles Longley@21:1/5 to Ramy on Sun Sep 11 09:53:58 2022
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 12:48:28 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T
    Yeah it’s a tough deal. I know the pilot of the DG-1000 pretty well. I think he did a good job in the heat of battle. He walked away without injuries anyway. Hopefully he’ll do a write up so we can all learn from it.

    Charlie

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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Ramy on Sun Sep 11 09:54:50 2022
    Do you recall if those gliders had the gear extended?

    On 9/11/2022 9:48 AM, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy

    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage. >> Nick
    T


    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From George Haeh@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 11 10:07:22 2022
    Back in the 70s in my first club, a Blanik LT-13 landed short in the adjacent river. Some helpful canoeists got their craft under the wings and floated it to shore.

    We dried it out and continued to fly it. The Blaniks flew into the 90s, a decade after I had moved on.

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  • From Hank Nixon@21:1/5 to Ramy on Sun Sep 11 11:08:23 2022
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 12:48:28 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T

    Gear down and as slow as possible into wind. Closing the spoilers will keep them from being bent back. I could not do that because I had a log the size of a telephone pole in front coming quickly. We replaced the spoiler arms.
    I would be good to unlatch forward hinged canopies if time permits. I'm not sure what would be best for side hinged. I think I'd want the protection of the canopy. Parallel to shore far enough away to not hit bottom. It will submarine but I have never
    heard of one going on it's back. That likely would only happen if the nose hits. bottom.
    Don't kid yourself into thinking you will do all the refinements. You will be too stressed.
    Put all the effort into the lowest energy at touch down.
    The rest is a big splash.
    Oh- and it will float for a good while due to wings being hollow and full of plenty of air. I easily swam mine to shore.
    I know one guy that has done it twice, in different ships, with no meaningful damage
    Been there- done that.
    UH

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Hank Nixon on Mon Sep 12 14:04:19 2022
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 2:08:25 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 12:48:28 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T
    Gear down and as slow as possible into wind. Closing the spoilers will keep them from being bent back. I could not do that because I had a log the size of a telephone pole in front coming quickly. We replaced the spoiler arms.
    I would be good to unlatch forward hinged canopies if time permits. I'm not sure what would be best for side hinged. I think I'd want the protection of the canopy. Parallel to shore far enough away to not hit bottom. It will submarine but I have never
    heard of one going on it's back. That likely would only happen if the nose hits. bottom.
    Don't kid yourself into thinking you will do all the refinements. You will be too stressed.
    Put all the effort into the lowest energy at touch down.
    The rest is a big splash.
    Oh- and it will float for a good while due to wings being hollow and full of plenty of air. I easily swam mine to shore.
    I know one guy that has done it twice, in different ships, with no meaningful damage
    Been there- done that.
    UH

    I was once a passenger for a glider water landing. I was lucky to have a superb pilot behind me. Gear was down. Perfect low-energy touch down, and my impression was that we skied on the main wheel for a short distance before the ship settled onto the
    water. A thick curtain of water came washing over the canopy, briefly reducing visibility to zero, but we never submarined. Once at rest, we were floating high enough that only one wing tip could touch the water at a time. The breeze kept rocking us,
    lifting the one wing off the water while tipping the other down, and then back again. That only lasted a few minutes. Soon both wings were on the water, and there it stayed. I don't think the ship went any deeper.

    ...david

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  • From Jonathan St. Cloud@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Sep 12 21:30:17 2022
    There was a story a few decades ago about a Cirrus near Seattle doing a water landing. The guy lost a gear door, but quickly found it. As I remember the glider was aired out as much as possible and was back flying the contest the next day. This was
    before computers in the cockpit.


    On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 2:04:21 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 2:08:25 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 12:48:28 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T
    Gear down and as slow as possible into wind. Closing the spoilers will keep them from being bent back. I could not do that because I had a log the size of a telephone pole in front coming quickly. We replaced the spoiler arms.
    I would be good to unlatch forward hinged canopies if time permits. I'm not sure what would be best for side hinged. I think I'd want the protection of the canopy. Parallel to shore far enough away to not hit bottom. It will submarine but I have
    never heard of one going on it's back. That likely would only happen if the nose hits. bottom.
    Don't kid yourself into thinking you will do all the refinements. You will be too stressed.
    Put all the effort into the lowest energy at touch down.
    The rest is a big splash.
    Oh- and it will float for a good while due to wings being hollow and full of plenty of air. I easily swam mine to shore.
    I know one guy that has done it twice, in different ships, with no meaningful damage
    Been there- done that.
    UH
    I was once a passenger for a glider water landing. I was lucky to have a superb pilot behind me. Gear was down. Perfect low-energy touch down, and my impression was that we skied on the main wheel for a short distance before the ship settled onto the
    water. A thick curtain of water came washing over the canopy, briefly reducing visibility to zero, but we never submarined. Once at rest, we were floating high enough that only one wing tip could touch the water at a time. The breeze kept rocking us,
    lifting the one wing off the water while tipping the other down, and then back again. That only lasted a few minutes. Soon both wings were on the water, and there it stayed. I don't think the ship went any deeper.

    ...david

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  • From Hank Nixon@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Tue Sep 13 05:45:42 2022
    On Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 12:30:19 AM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    There was a story a few decades ago about a Cirrus near Seattle doing a water landing. The guy lost a gear door, but quickly found it. As I remember the glider was aired out as much as possible and was back flying the contest the next day. This was
    before computers in the cockpit.
    On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 2:04:21 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 2:08:25 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 12:48:28 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T
    Gear down and as slow as possible into wind. Closing the spoilers will keep them from being bent back. I could not do that because I had a log the size of a telephone pole in front coming quickly. We replaced the spoiler arms.
    I would be good to unlatch forward hinged canopies if time permits. I'm not sure what would be best for side hinged. I think I'd want the protection of the canopy. Parallel to shore far enough away to not hit bottom. It will submarine but I have
    never heard of one going on it's back. That likely would only happen if the nose hits. bottom.
    Don't kid yourself into thinking you will do all the refinements. You will be too stressed.
    Put all the effort into the lowest energy at touch down.
    The rest is a big splash.
    Oh- and it will float for a good while due to wings being hollow and full of plenty of air. I easily swam mine to shore.
    I know one guy that has done it twice, in different ships, with no meaningful damage
    Been there- done that.
    UH
    I was once a passenger for a glider water landing. I was lucky to have a superb pilot behind me. Gear was down. Perfect low-energy touch down, and my impression was that we skied on the main wheel for a short distance before the ship settled onto the
    water. A thick curtain of water came washing over the canopy, briefly reducing visibility to zero, but we never submarined. Once at rest, we were floating high enough that only one wing tip could touch the water at a time. The breeze kept rocking us,
    lifting the one wing off the water while tipping the other down, and then back again. That only lasted a few minutes. Soon both wings were on the water, and there it stayed. I don't think the ship went any deeper.

    ...david
    There is one club in Italy that used to have the drying out instructions on the club house wall. It was apparently not uncommon. This was near Lago di Como.
    UH

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Hank Nixon on Tue Sep 13 06:29:45 2022
    On 9/13/2022 5:45 AM, Hank Nixon wrote:
    ..

    There is one club in Italy that used to have the drying out instructions on the club house wall. It was apparently not uncommon. This was near Lago di Como.
    UH

    If you see a pilot putting his wallet, phone, and inReach a plastic bag before stepping
    into the cockpit, perhaps he should be pulled aside for additional training...

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Tue Sep 13 10:14:14 2022
    On Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 9:29:49 AM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 9/13/2022 5:45 AM, Hank Nixon wrote:
    ..

    There is one club in Italy that used to have the drying out instructions on the club house wall. It was apparently not uncommon. This was near Lago di Como.
    UH
    If you see a pilot putting his wallet, phone, and inReach a plastic bag before stepping
    into the cockpit, perhaps he should be pulled aside for additional training...
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From jfitch@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Tue Sep 13 11:08:28 2022
    There have been two Lake Tahoe landings in the last couple of years. One, done at low energy, resulted in no damage to the glider other than getting it wet. The other, probably at much higher energy, blew up the wing leading edges and damaged the wing
    root drag structure. Nevertheless, both gliders were totaled by insurance. Since there are many steel parts sealed in the wing and fuselage (including push rods with holes in them to allow water ingress) they needed numerous holes to be cut for part
    inspection and/or replacement necessitating complete refinishes, in both cases exceeding the value of the glider. It is a little different situation than say a 1-26.

    So land in the water if you must, but don't expect to fly it the next day, or perhaps, ever.
    On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 9:30:19 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    There was a story a few decades ago about a Cirrus near Seattle doing a water landing. The guy lost a gear door, but quickly found it. As I remember the glider was aired out as much as possible and was back flying the contest the next day. This was
    before computers in the cockpit.
    On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 2:04:21 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 2:08:25 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 12:48:28 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T
    Gear down and as slow as possible into wind. Closing the spoilers will keep them from being bent back. I could not do that because I had a log the size of a telephone pole in front coming quickly. We replaced the spoiler arms.
    I would be good to unlatch forward hinged canopies if time permits. I'm not sure what would be best for side hinged. I think I'd want the protection of the canopy. Parallel to shore far enough away to not hit bottom. It will submarine but I have
    never heard of one going on it's back. That likely would only happen if the nose hits. bottom.
    Don't kid yourself into thinking you will do all the refinements. You will be too stressed.
    Put all the effort into the lowest energy at touch down.
    The rest is a big splash.
    Oh- and it will float for a good while due to wings being hollow and full of plenty of air. I easily swam mine to shore.
    I know one guy that has done it twice, in different ships, with no meaningful damage
    Been there- done that.
    UH
    I was once a passenger for a glider water landing. I was lucky to have a superb pilot behind me. Gear was down. Perfect low-energy touch down, and my impression was that we skied on the main wheel for a short distance before the ship settled onto the
    water. A thick curtain of water came washing over the canopy, briefly reducing visibility to zero, but we never submarined. Once at rest, we were floating high enough that only one wing tip could touch the water at a time. The breeze kept rocking us,
    lifting the one wing off the water while tipping the other down, and then back again. That only lasted a few minutes. Soon both wings were on the water, and there it stayed. I don't think the ship went any deeper.

    ...david

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  • From Matthew Scutter@21:1/5 to jfitch on Tue Sep 13 13:15:05 2022
    On Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 8:08:30 PM UTC+2, jfitch wrote:
    There have been two Lake Tahoe landings in the last couple of years. One, done at low energy, resulted in no damage to the glider other than getting it wet. The other, probably at much higher energy, blew up the wing leading edges and damaged the wing
    root drag structure. Nevertheless, both gliders were totaled by insurance. Since there are many steel parts sealed in the wing and fuselage (including push rods with holes in them to allow water ingress) they needed numerous holes to be cut for part
    inspection and/or replacement necessitating complete refinishes, in both cases exceeding the value of the glider. It is a little different situation than say a 1-26.

    So land in the water if you must, but don't expect to fly it the next day, or perhaps, ever.
    On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 9:30:19 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    There was a story a few decades ago about a Cirrus near Seattle doing a water landing. The guy lost a gear door, but quickly found it. As I remember the glider was aired out as much as possible and was back flying the contest the next day. This was
    before computers in the cockpit.
    On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 2:04:21 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 2:08:25 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 12:48:28 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T
    Gear down and as slow as possible into wind. Closing the spoilers will keep them from being bent back. I could not do that because I had a log the size of a telephone pole in front coming quickly. We replaced the spoiler arms.
    I would be good to unlatch forward hinged canopies if time permits. I'm not sure what would be best for side hinged. I think I'd want the protection of the canopy. Parallel to shore far enough away to not hit bottom. It will submarine but I have
    never heard of one going on it's back. That likely would only happen if the nose hits. bottom.
    Don't kid yourself into thinking you will do all the refinements. You will be too stressed.
    Put all the effort into the lowest energy at touch down.
    The rest is a big splash.
    Oh- and it will float for a good while due to wings being hollow and full of plenty of air. I easily swam mine to shore.
    I know one guy that has done it twice, in different ships, with no meaningful damage
    Been there- done that.
    UH
    I was once a passenger for a glider water landing. I was lucky to have a superb pilot behind me. Gear was down. Perfect low-energy touch down, and my impression was that we skied on the main wheel for a short distance before the ship settled onto
    the water. A thick curtain of water came washing over the canopy, briefly reducing visibility to zero, but we never submarined. Once at rest, we were floating high enough that only one wing tip could touch the water at a time. The breeze kept rocking us,
    lifting the one wing off the water while tipping the other down, and then back again. That only lasted a few minutes. Soon both wings were on the water, and there it stayed. I don't think the ship went any deeper.

    ...david

    A Discus 2 landed in a lake on the final practice day of the 2016 World Championships in Lithuania. It was recovered, dried out, and flew the contest, placing 3rd. It still is flying for the French team many years later, so I don't think a well-executed
    water landing is quite that dire, at least not in all cases.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to All on Tue Sep 13 17:14:17 2022
    And for that perfect water landing checklist! Gear down and locked -

    And the un-answered question -

    Does one want to land with the main wheel free to rotate or with the wheel brake engaged??

    MG

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Hank Nixon@21:1/5 to Matthew Scutter on Tue Sep 13 16:39:27 2022
    On Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 4:15:07 PM UTC-4, Matthew Scutter wrote:
    On Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 8:08:30 PM UTC+2, jfitch wrote:
    There have been two Lake Tahoe landings in the last couple of years. One, done at low energy, resulted in no damage to the glider other than getting it wet. The other, probably at much higher energy, blew up the wing leading edges and damaged the
    wing root drag structure. Nevertheless, both gliders were totaled by insurance. Since there are many steel parts sealed in the wing and fuselage (including push rods with holes in them to allow water ingress) they needed numerous holes to be cut for part
    inspection and/or replacement necessitating complete refinishes, in both cases exceeding the value of the glider. It is a little different situation than say a 1-26.

    So land in the water if you must, but don't expect to fly it the next day, or perhaps, ever.
    On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 9:30:19 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    There was a story a few decades ago about a Cirrus near Seattle doing a water landing. The guy lost a gear door, but quickly found it. As I remember the glider was aired out as much as possible and was back flying the contest the next day. This was
    before computers in the cockpit.
    On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 2:04:21 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 2:08:25 PM UTC-4, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 12:48:28 PM UTC-4, Ramy wrote:
    And that’s the catch. Trying to make a perfect low energy water landing into the wind with closed spoilers and no flaps in very stressful situation is easier said than done.
    The last 3 water landings I am aware of all ended with a write off. The pilot is usually unharmed so still better option than landing in trees or rocks.

    Ramy
    On Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 8:29:57 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I think they want the Gear down so the plane doesn't skip back into the air and lawndart in with a nose low attitude and submarine.
    The Gear should add some real "bite" to water and end the water landing quickly with the canopy hopefully intact and up.
    Should a pilot open and or Jettison the canopy?
    You don't want to get trapped in there.
    Who knows.
    Many planes have landed in the water and been retrieved with little damage.
    Nick
    T
    Gear down and as slow as possible into wind. Closing the spoilers will keep them from being bent back. I could not do that because I had a log the size of a telephone pole in front coming quickly. We replaced the spoiler arms.
    I would be good to unlatch forward hinged canopies if time permits. I'm not sure what would be best for side hinged. I think I'd want the protection of the canopy. Parallel to shore far enough away to not hit bottom. It will submarine but I
    have never heard of one going on it's back. That likely would only happen if the nose hits. bottom.
    Don't kid yourself into thinking you will do all the refinements. You will be too stressed.
    Put all the effort into the lowest energy at touch down.
    The rest is a big splash.
    Oh- and it will float for a good while due to wings being hollow and full of plenty of air. I easily swam mine to shore.
    I know one guy that has done it twice, in different ships, with no meaningful damage
    Been there- done that.
    UH
    I was once a passenger for a glider water landing. I was lucky to have a superb pilot behind me. Gear was down. Perfect low-energy touch down, and my impression was that we skied on the main wheel for a short distance before the ship settled onto
    the water. A thick curtain of water came washing over the canopy, briefly reducing visibility to zero, but we never submarined. Once at rest, we were floating high enough that only one wing tip could touch the water at a time. The breeze kept rocking us,
    lifting the one wing off the water while tipping the other down, and then back again. That only lasted a few minutes. Soon both wings were on the water, and there it stayed. I don't think the ship went any deeper.

    ...david
    A Discus 2 landed in a lake on the final practice day of the 2016 World Championships in Lithuania. It was recovered, dried out, and flew the contest, placing 3rd. It still is flying for the French team many years later, so I don't think a well-
    executed water landing is quite that dire, at least not in all cases.

    Quite true. getting the glider out of the water and drained quickly is pretty important. In one case I am aware of the manufacturer (SH) advised, but did not mandate, replacement of the steel push rods. They have drain holes. They did indicate, however,
    that if they were not replaced, the glider would not pass the 3000 hour inspection. The cost of parts is not terrible. Cutting the required access holes requires time but is not a particularly big deal.
    Landing in water certainly is not a first option, but it is far better than crashing in trees.
    Insurance companies regularly "total" gliders that should not be. The shortage of readily available repair resources is a factor.
    UH

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Wed Sep 14 13:53:29 2022
    [email protected] wrote:

    And for that perfect water landing checklist! Gear down and locked -

    And the un-answered question -
    Does one want to land with the main wheel free to rotate or with the wheel brake engaged??

    And should the electrics be switched off?

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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to John on Wed Sep 14 06:20:51 2022
    On 9/14/2022 4:53 AM, John wrote:
    [email protected] wrote:

    And for that perfect water landing checklist! Gear down and locked -

    And the un-answered question -
    Does one want to land with the main wheel free to rotate or with the wheel brake engaged??

    And should the electrics be switched off?

    I think so, right after your last transmission about your situation. It would reduce the
    damage to wet instruments.

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Sinclair@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Wed Sep 14 08:27:35 2022
    On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 6:21:00 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 9/14/2022 4:53 AM, John wrote:
    [email protected] wrote:

    And for that perfect water landing checklist! Gear down and locked -

    And the un-answered question -
    Does one want to land with the main wheel free to rotate or with the wheel brake engaged??

    And should the electrics be switched off?

    I think so, right after your last transmission about your situation. It would reduce the
    damage to wet instruments.
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications












    I couldn’t figure out why both wings had extensive damage to the leading edges, but landing downwind would result in the fuselage hitting the water well above stall speed. On a ship with a nose wheel ( DG-1000, G-103, K-21, G-2) the nose will come down
    as drag from the water increases! Nose digging in will bring the fuselage to an abrupt stop, causing the wings to flex forward. The spar is strong enough to withstand the flexing, but the wing skins under compressive load are NOT!
    I would think that landing with gear down would only increase the nose pitch-down moment on any ship with a nose gear?
    JJ

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Wed Sep 14 12:34:37 2022
    On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 11:27:37 AM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 6:21:00 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 9/14/2022 4:53 AM, John wrote:
    [email protected] wrote:

    And for that perfect water landing checklist! Gear down and locked -

    And the un-answered question -
    Does one want to land with the main wheel free to rotate or with the wheel brake engaged??

    And should the electrics be switched off?

    I think so, right after your last transmission about your situation. It would reduce the
    damage to wet instruments.
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
    I couldn’t figure out why both wings had extensive damage to the leading edges, but landing downwind would result in the fuselage hitting the water well above stall speed. On a ship with a nose wheel ( DG-1000, G-103, K-21, G-2) the nose will come
    down as drag from the water increases! Nose digging in will bring the fuselage to an abrupt stop, causing the wings to flex forward. The spar is strong enough to withstand the flexing, but the wing skins under compressive load are NOT!
    I would think that landing with gear down would only increase the nose pitch-down moment on any ship with a nose gear?
    JJ
    JJ, that ship hit harder than most realize, why the pilot did not turn into the wind and slow the thing down is a good question. I have some nice photos of the damage and I suspect that there is much more damage than one realizes. The Spar fuselage
    attachment is probably damaged as well, it is indeed sad to see the damage on this ship, could have been reduced significantly if landing into the wind at as slow as speed as possible. OBTP

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  • From jfitch@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Wed Sep 14 14:02:46 2022
    JJ, I think what happens is that the curved underside of the cockpit hits the water and gets sucked down suddenly, Bernoulli and all that. Along time ago you might remember a Pegasus kissing the water surface at redline, sucking the skin off the fuselage.
    Gear down helps to break up this shape. At least two gliders that I am familiar with recommend gear down for water. One of those (a Pik20D) which also recommended gear up for a soft field landing (less damage, it was claimed).

    One of the Lake Tahoe landings clearly the abrupt stop was when the wing leading edges hit. The D-tubes were crushed back like they'd hit something hard, and the root rib and immediate area showed massive drag stress. If you've ever come off of
    waterskiis at say 50 knots you know that the stop is sudden! Fast powerboat racers wear drag chutes for this reason, to keep from being crushed by the water if they come out.
    On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 8:27:37 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 6:21:00 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 9/14/2022 4:53 AM, John wrote:
    [email protected] wrote:

    And for that perfect water landing checklist! Gear down and locked -

    And the un-answered question -
    Does one want to land with the main wheel free to rotate or with the wheel brake engaged??

    And should the electrics be switched off?

    I think so, right after your last transmission about your situation. It would reduce the
    damage to wet instruments.
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
    I couldn’t figure out why both wings had extensive damage to the leading edges, but landing downwind would result in the fuselage hitting the water well above stall speed. On a ship with a nose wheel ( DG-1000, G-103, K-21, G-2) the nose will come
    down as drag from the water increases! Nose digging in will bring the fuselage to an abrupt stop, causing the wings to flex forward. The spar is strong enough to withstand the flexing, but the wing skins under compressive load are NOT!
    I would think that landing with gear down would only increase the nose pitch-down moment on any ship with a nose gear?
    JJ

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Hank Nixon@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Wed Sep 14 14:16:32 2022
    On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 11:27:37 AM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 6:21:00 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 9/14/2022 4:53 AM, John wrote:
    [email protected] wrote:

    And for that perfect water landing checklist! Gear down and locked -

    And the un-answered question -
    Does one want to land with the main wheel free to rotate or with the wheel brake engaged??

    And should the electrics be switched off?

    I think so, right after your last transmission about your situation. It would reduce the
    damage to wet instruments.
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
    I couldn’t figure out why both wings had extensive damage to the leading edges, but landing downwind would result in the fuselage hitting the water well above stall speed. On a ship with a nose wheel ( DG-1000, G-103, K-21, G-2) the nose will come
    down as drag from the water increases! Nose digging in will bring the fuselage to an abrupt stop, causing the wings to flex forward. The spar is strong enough to withstand the flexing, but the wing skins under compressive load are NOT!
    I would think that landing with gear down would only increase the nose pitch-down moment on any ship with a nose gear?
    JJ
    The wheel breaks the suction. Kind of like the step in a pontoon on a sea plane.
    I doubt the nose wheel adds enough drag on the plunge to matter.
    Note: fluid dynamic forces are a square function of velocity.
    If there was much wind, lets just guess 15 knots, and assume close to stall 45, at the touch down the velocity into the wind is 30 and velocity downwind is 60. That quadruples the dynamic force of the water on the structure.
    My glider had a root trailing edge compression on one side and I was pretty slow.
    UH

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 14 22:38:50 2022
    I was the pilot that landed in Lake Tahoe most recently and destroyed my LS6. I haven't seen pictures of the DG 1001, so I won't speak to what caused its damage, but I suspect it was something similar to what happened to my glider.

    My landing gear was lowered but not locked, so I effectively landed gear up. I also landed with a relatively flat attitude and at around 45 knots, into the wind. I believe what really damaged the wings was the fuselage being sucked down due to the
    landing attitude and not having the gear down and locked, which caused water displaced from under the fuselage to go up and aft around the leading edge. So really it was momentum transfer of my glider into the water which caused a giant wave to form
    over the root, and not the sudden stop and the inertia of the wing creating a compression load, but I wouldn't doubt that didn't help the situation.

    Both wings were damaged identically, with the root leading edges being displaced 1.5 feet upwards, pulling the lift pins out of the fuselage. Lots of broken and exposed foam from the root to about 2 feet outboard. The upper skins were delaminated from
    the spar from the root to about 6 inches outboard. The damage did extended from the root to basically even with the outboard side of the spoiler box, however the damage is really just the delamination of the bond joint of the upper and lower skins at
    the leading edge, which I think just occurred because the root was bent upwards but everything else stayed in place. There was no crushing of the leading edge at all. If there were compression loading failure, there would of been delamination and
    crushed LE somewhere at the mid span, similar to pushing down on a straw on a table, it fails at the mid point.

    I don't think my wings even went underwater to be honest. I believe that, because I landed in waist high water and didn't hit the bottom, and the fact there was no crushing of the leading edge. Basically all the stopping was done from the fuselage
    below the cockpit. I had spoilers out, and they appear to have no damage, and I had no flaperon damage, but maybe because they are made from Kevlar. I did land with flaps zero and a reason why I landed fast and flat.

    It is my opinion that landing with the gear down and locked has the most influence on whether or not you can fly the next day because at the end of the day. Second being making sure you land tail first, as the drag from tail boom will significantly
    lower the speed at which the cockpit hits the water. I also think landing tail boom first will also make the water in the local area start to move forward and help prevent the wave that goes over the wings from being so damaging.

    Lastly, and everyone should probably practice this, but as soon you make your decision to land in water, make your radio call and turn your avionics off. I did not do that either.

    I encourage everyone to listen to the podcast I did on it which was linked somewhere already. There was a lot of wrong in my flight that everyone could learn from.

    Admiral David






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  • From John Sinclair@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Sep 17 07:05:03 2022
    On Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 10:38:52 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    I was the pilot that landed in Lake Tahoe most recently and destroyed my LS6. I haven't seen pictures of the DG 1001, so I won't speak to what caused its damage, but I suspect it was something similar to what happened to my glider.

    My landing gear was lowered but not locked, so I effectively landed gear up. I also landed with a relatively flat attitude and at around 45 knots, into the wind. I believe what really damaged the wings was the fuselage being sucked down due to the
    landing attitude and not having the gear down and locked, which caused water displaced from under the fuselage to go up and aft around the leading edge. So really it was momentum transfer of my glider into the water which caused a giant wave to form over
    the root, and not the sudden stop and the inertia of the wing creating a compression load, but I wouldn't doubt that didn't help the situation.

    Both wings were damaged identically, with the root leading edges being displaced 1.5 feet upwards, pulling the lift pins out of the fuselage. Lots of broken and exposed foam from the root to about 2 feet outboard. The upper skins were delaminated from
    the spar from the root to about 6 inches outboard. The damage did extended from the root to basically even with the outboard side of the spoiler box, however the damage is really just the delamination of the bond joint of the upper and lower skins at the
    leading edge, which I think just occurred because the root was bent upwards but everything else stayed in place. There was no crushing of the leading edge at all. If there were compression loading failure, there would of been delamination and crushed LE
    somewhere at the mid span, similar to pushing down on a straw on a table, it fails at the mid point.

    I don't think my wings even went underwater to be honest. I believe that, because I landed in waist high water and didn't hit the bottom, and the fact there was no crushing of the leading edge. Basically all the stopping was done from the fuselage
    below the cockpit. I had spoilers out, and they appear to have no damage, and I had no flaperon damage, but maybe because they are made from Kevlar. I did land with flaps zero and a reason why I landed fast and flat.

    It is my opinion that landing with the gear down and locked has the most influence on whether or not you can fly the next day because at the end of the day. Second being making sure you land tail first, as the drag from tail boom will significantly
    lower the speed at which the cockpit hits the water. I also think landing tail boom first will also make the water in the local area start to move forward and help prevent the wave that goes over the wings from being so damaging.

    Lastly, and everyone should probably practice this, but as soon you make your decision to land in water, make your radio call and turn your avionics off. I did not do that either.

    I encourage everyone to listen to the podcast I did on it which was linked somewhere already. There was a lot of wrong in my flight that everyone could learn from.








    Thanks David for that report, lots of real good info in there!

    I believe the DG-1000 photos ( can be viewed at AIG Salvage) show root rib damage caused by the bow wave striking the wings. Much like Sully landing his A320 in the Hudson River. He touched down much faster (170 ) but the video shows water going over
    both wings right after touchdown.
    My take on on what to do if forced to land on water is………..
    Gear down
    Flaps down
    Slow down (spoilers closed)
    Touch down into the wind, nose high, close to shore, parallel to beach.
    Other considerations, make a radio call and turn off all power.

    I never had to make a water landing, but I came close once in a contest at Montague, Ca. The call was Crater Lake. We had good clouds, but only 10K above ground. I stayed in the mountains, but as to terrain rose, the clouds didn’t and I ended up 1000
    feet over Lake of the Woods after not finding any lift on the last cloud. I crossed the small lake to a Cu on the other side………….it worked, but if it didn’t……..my only option was to turn back for a water landing! Not much time to plan the
    thing…..best to be ready with a your own check list !
    Stay safe,
    JJ

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  • From RR@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 18 05:20:25 2022
    Just a few corrections / comments

    My take on on what to do if forced to land on water is………..
    Gear down
    Flaps down
    Flaps Neutral (or they will suffer damage on entry)
    Slow down (spoilers closed)
    Touch down into the wind, nose high, close to shore, parallel to beach.
    not too close to shore. One of the biggest dangers of a water landing is you cannot see obstacles under the water. You will want adiquate depth so all you can hit is water.
    Other considerations, make a radio call and turn off all power.

    Close the vents.

    I got all of these correct except for closing the vent. Flew the glider again in less than 24 hrs. Dried out the eltronics in a barograph calibration chamber. Took them all to 30,000 ft overnight. Btw the chamber was originally designed for this as a
    "vacuum descantation chamber".

    The Commodore (Hank had already taken the title of admiral)

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  • From Dave Springford@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 18 09:04:58 2022
    Any chance there is a trailer that is for sale as a result of this unfortunate accident?

    Looking for a trailer for a K-21 if it would fit in a DG-1000 trailer. Root wing chord fit is my concern.

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  • From 2G@21:1/5 to Dave Springford on Sun Sep 18 09:28:14 2022
    On Sunday, September 18, 2022 at 9:05:00 AM UTC-7, Dave Springford wrote:
    Any chance there is a trailer that is for sale as a result of this unfortunate accident?

    Looking for a trailer for a K-21 if it would fit in a DG-1000 trailer. Root wing chord fit is my concern.

    Contact Cobra and put that question to them.

    Tom

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  • From John Sinclair@21:1/5 to All on Tue Sep 27 10:01:47 2022
    On Sunday, September 18, 2022 at 9:28:16 AM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Sunday, September 18, 2022 at 9:05:00 AM UTC-7, Dave Springford wrote:
    Any chance there is a trailer that is for sale as a result of this unfortunate accident?

    Looking for a trailer for a K-21 if it would fit in a DG-1000 trailer. Root wing chord fit is my concern.
    Contact Cobra and put that question to them.

    Tom






    AIG Salvage just posted another “Totaled” bird after landing in water. This one is an LS-6/18 with similar damage to the DG-1000, looks like another case of excessive airspeed at touchdown! Bet a skilled technician could put her back together and get
    himself a nice machine for 10 cents on the dollar
    JJ

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  • From Mark Mocho@21:1/5 to All on Tue Sep 27 12:11:14 2022
    ! Bet a skilled technician could put her back together and get himself a nice machine for 10 cents on the dollar

    Yes, if you value your labor at 10 cents per hour.

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  • From Hank Nixon@21:1/5 to Mark Mocho on Tue Sep 27 12:36:02 2022
    On Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 3:11:16 PM UTC-4, Mark Mocho wrote:
    ! Bet a skilled technician could put her back together and get himself a nice machine for 10 cents on the dollar
    Yes, if you value your labor at 10 cents per hour.

    I would say that JJ knows what he is talking about. He's put a few back together.
    I'm on #27 back from the dead. Have made a bit more than $.10/hour. Also did not get rich doing it.
    UH

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  • From John Sinclair@21:1/5 to Mark Mocho on Tue Sep 27 12:46:57 2022
    On Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 12:11:16 PM UTC-7, Mark Mocho wrote:
    ! Bet a skilled technician could put her back together and get himself a nice machine for 10 cents on the dollar
    Yes, if you value your labor at 10 cents per hour.


    Not necessarily,
    I replaced the root rib which contains a lift fitting and fit a replacement wing on an LS-4 + refinishing the replacement wing for $6000.00 total @ 45.00/hour. There would be a lot of jigging and checking involved in fixing this LS-6, but it shouldn’t
    exceed say 600 hours X $45.00 = $27,000.00?
    JJ

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  • From Mark Mocho@21:1/5 to All on Tue Sep 27 14:48:56 2022
    I believe both of you. But to me, it's a bit more complex than I would feel comfortable taking on. My skill set leans more toward metal fabrication. Major composite projects I leave to the pros.

    As far as getting rich, the saying goes, "If you want to end up with a small fortune in aviation, start with a big fortune."

    Bob Carlton says, "People say there's no money in aviation. Bullsh*t. I KNOW how much I have dumped into aviation."

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  • From kinsell@21:1/5 to John Sinclair on Tue Sep 27 19:58:36 2022
    On 9/27/22 11:01, John Sinclair wrote:



    AIG Salvage just posted another “Totaled” bird after landing in water. This one is an LS-6/18 with similar damage to the DG-1000, looks like another case of excessive airspeed at touchdown! Bet a skilled technician could put her back together and
    get himself a nice machine for 10 cents on the dollar
    JJ

    That would be the LS-6 that went into Lake Tahoe this summer. As noted,
    there is a Soaring the Sky podcast that has a long interview with the
    pilot, detailing what he did right and what he did wrong. The most
    relevant stuff starts at 33 minutes, but the whole interview has good
    insights into his decision making.

    Interesting that prior to the accident, he was refinishing his LS-6 next
    to the Ventus that went into the lake with lesser damage, and that
    contributed to the decision to take risks that ended up in his water
    landing.

    Dave

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  • From Ramy@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Tue Sep 27 19:25:04 2022
    JJ this is the same Lake Tahoe incident David discussed in this thread.

    Ramy

    On Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 10:01:49 AM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote:
    On Sunday, September 18, 2022 at 9:28:16 AM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Sunday, September 18, 2022 at 9:05:00 AM UTC-7, Dave Springford wrote:
    Any chance there is a trailer that is for sale as a result of this unfortunate accident?

    Looking for a trailer for a K-21 if it would fit in a DG-1000 trailer. Root wing chord fit is my concern.
    Contact Cobra and put that question to them.

    Tom
    AIG Salvage just posted another “Totaled” bird after landing in water. This one is an LS-6/18 with similar damage to the DG-1000, looks like another case of excessive airspeed at touchdown! Bet a skilled technician could put her back together and
    get himself a nice machine for 10 cents on the dollar
    JJ

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  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to kinsell on Wed Sep 28 08:46:15 2022
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an
    expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J

    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.

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  • From Mark Mocho@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 28 07:55:50 2022
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an
    expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    When your choices for an off field landing are:

    Rocky terrain
    Hilly or mountainous landscape
    Really tall trees
    A lake or other body of non-turbulent water

    I'll take the lake and be ready to get out and swim. A splash is better than a crash.

    The only other option is a bailout and parachute ride, and you are still faced with the same terrain choices.

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  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to Mark Mocho on Wed Sep 28 09:32:44 2022
    Backing up a bit, not putting one's self in the position where the lake
    landing is the best option seems a bit smarter to me. It takes a string
    of poor decisions to get to the "OH shit!" position.

    Dan
    5J

    On 9/28/22 08:55, Mark Mocho wrote:
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an
    expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    When your choices for an off field landing are:

    Rocky terrain
    Hilly or mountainous landscape
    Really tall trees
    A lake or other body of non-turbulent water

    I'll take the lake and be ready to get out and swim. A splash is better than a crash.

    The only other option is a bailout and parachute ride, and you are still faced with the same terrain choices.


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  • From Ramy@21:1/5 to Dan Marotta on Wed Sep 28 08:26:10 2022
    It is easy to look at a flight after the fact and ask “what was he thinking”. But like any incident, those are results of a chain of events and decisions. No one decides in advance to put themselves over unlandable terrain without options. We always
    rely on multiple things to go more or less as expected when we fly, but when they don’t, you can quickly or slowly loose your margins until it is too late.
    In the case of Lake Tahoe, one must make a much earlier decision at much higher altitude to give up and landout before entering the Tahoe Basin, not an easy decision when you are still high and the flight computer and your intuition says you can make it�
    �� until you don’t.

    Ramy

    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 7:46:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an
    expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J
    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.

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  • From Darren Braun@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 28 11:56:56 2022
    Sorry, the landing in the Lake Tahoe, was the trace made available? Where did he land and I assume the glider did float well enough?
    ..cold water and all, I'd worry about drowning too...
    Darren

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  • From 2G@21:1/5 to Ramy on Wed Sep 28 21:01:11 2022
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 8:26:12 AM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    It is easy to look at a flight after the fact and ask “what was he thinking”. But like any incident, those are results of a chain of events and decisions. No one decides in advance to put themselves over unlandable terrain without options. We
    always rely on multiple things to go more or less as expected when we fly, but when they don’t, you can quickly or slowly loose your margins until it is too late.
    In the case of Lake Tahoe, one must make a much earlier decision at much higher altitude to give up and landout before entering the Tahoe Basin, not an easy decision when you are still high and the flight computer and your intuition says you can make
    it… until you don’t.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 7:46:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an
    expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J
    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.

    In your Lake Tahoe incident, you never had the margin to lose - it was already lost when you entered the basin. What you "lost" was the expected ridge lift to restore your margin. No doubt you were successful at this many times in the past which gave you
    the (misplaced) confidence you could do it again.

    Tom

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  • From Ramy@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 28 21:29:45 2022
    Tom, I agree with you 100%.
    That said, I at least walked the golf course I ended up landing on and concluded that if it comes to that, and it is empty, I can land there. So I had at least one more trick left in my bag before having to land at the lake. I have since checked few
    other options and have yet to find an acceptable one.
    Since then I no longer entering the basin without more margins, which already resulted in one landout.
    But I can see how others can fall in that trap.

    Ramy

    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:01:13 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 8:26:12 AM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    It is easy to look at a flight after the fact and ask “what was he thinking”. But like any incident, those are results of a chain of events and decisions. No one decides in advance to put themselves over unlandable terrain without options. We
    always rely on multiple things to go more or less as expected when we fly, but when they don’t, you can quickly or slowly loose your margins until it is too late.
    In the case of Lake Tahoe, one must make a much earlier decision at much higher altitude to give up and landout before entering the Tahoe Basin, not an easy decision when you are still high and the flight computer and your intuition says you can make
    it… until you don’t.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 7:46:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J
    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.
    In your Lake Tahoe incident, you never had the margin to lose - it was already lost when you entered the basin. What you "lost" was the expected ridge lift to restore your margin. No doubt you were successful at this many times in the past which gave
    you the (misplaced) confidence you could do it again.

    Tom

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  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to Ramy on Thu Sep 29 11:26:12 2022
    What about South Lake Tahoe Airport? I've flown out of Minden and
    Bishop a couple of times and flew out over the lake as well, and never
    saw that airport. I never flew down into the bowl, however.

    Dan
    5J

    On 9/28/22 22:29, Ramy wrote:
    Tom, I agree with you 100%.
    That said, I at least walked the golf course I ended up landing on and concluded that if it comes to that, and it is empty, I can land there. So I had at least one more trick left in my bag before having to land at the lake. I have since checked few
    other options and have yet to find an acceptable one.
    Since then I no longer entering the basin without more margins, which already resulted in one landout.
    But I can see how others can fall in that trap.

    Ramy

    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:01:13 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 8:26:12 AM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    It is easy to look at a flight after the fact and ask “what was he thinking”. But like any incident, those are results of a chain of events and decisions. No one decides in advance to put themselves over unlandable terrain without options. We
    always rely on multiple things to go more or less as expected when we fly, but when they don’t, you can quickly or slowly loose your margins until it is too late.
    In the case of Lake Tahoe, one must make a much earlier decision at much higher altitude to give up and landout before entering the Tahoe Basin, not an easy decision when you are still high and the flight computer and your intuition says you can make
    it… until you don’t.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 7:46:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote: >>>> What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an
    expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J
    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.
    In your Lake Tahoe incident, you never had the margin to lose - it was already lost when you entered the basin. What you "lost" was the expected ridge lift to restore your margin. No doubt you were successful at this many times in the past which gave
    you the (misplaced) confidence you could do it again.

    Tom

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  • From Darren Braun@21:1/5 to Dan Marotta on Thu Sep 29 13:34:10 2022
    On Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 10:26:16 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
    What about South Lake Tahoe Airport? I've flown out of Minden and
    Bishop a couple of times and flew out over the lake as well, and never
    saw that airport. I never flew down into the bowl, however.

    Good airport but it takes 3000 ft get all the way across the lake. So not option if in the bowl at the north end.

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  • From kinsell@21:1/5 to Darren Braun on Thu Sep 29 17:23:27 2022
    On 9/28/22 12:56, Darren Braun wrote:
    Sorry, the landing in the Lake Tahoe, was the trace made available? Where did he land and I assume the glider did float well enough?
    ..cold water and all, I'd worry about drowning too...
    Darren


    A trace exists, but don't know that it's been made publicly available.
    Sounds like he landed in shallow water near the shore at the north end.

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  • From Darren Braun@21:1/5 to kinsell on Thu Sep 29 17:39:40 2022
    On Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 4:23:33 PM UTC-7, kinsell wrote:
    On 9/28/22 12:56, Darren Braun wrote:
    Sorry, the landing in the Lake Tahoe, was the trace made available? Where did he land and I assume the glider did float well enough?
    ..cold water and all, I'd worry about drowning too...
    Darren

    A trace exists, but don't know that it's been made publicly available.
    Sounds like he landed in shallow water near the shore at the north end.

    That would be interesting to see. It could technically happen to any of us but the 6 lake/basin landings and 1 fatality fall into 2 categories:
    1. new(to the area) pilots.. probably not realizing the tremendous amount of risk one must assume entering the basin with only a slim margin.
    2. extremely experienced pilots probably flying 20 years or more in the area.

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  • From kinsell@21:1/5 to Darren Braun on Thu Sep 29 22:38:21 2022
    On 9/29/22 18:39, Darren Braun wrote:
    On Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 4:23:33 PM UTC-7, kinsell wrote:
    On 9/28/22 12:56, Darren Braun wrote:
    Sorry, the landing in the Lake Tahoe, was the trace made available? Where did he land and I assume the glider did float well enough?
    ..cold water and all, I'd worry about drowning too...
    Darren

    A trace exists, but don't know that it's been made publicly available.
    Sounds like he landed in shallow water near the shore at the north end.

    That would be interesting to see. It could technically happen to any of us but the 6 lake/basin landings and 1 fatality fall into 2 categories:
    1. new(to the area) pilots.. probably not realizing the tremendous amount of risk one must assume entering the basin with only a slim margin.
    2. extremely experienced pilots probably flying 20 years or more in the area.



    But this pilot doesn't fit into either of your two buckets. This was a practice day for his third contest there, so quite familiar with the
    territory but not so familiar to be overconfident.

    From the podcast, sounds like the main factor was a bad case of
    get-home-itis, driven primarily by being unexpectedly cold, and having
    some plumbing problems (related to the cold). We all want to make it
    home, but this seemed to be a stronger than normal factor.

    Contest pilots can make poor decisions in the quest for a few more
    points, but that doesn't seem to be a factor here.

    -Dave

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  • From Darren Braun@21:1/5 to kinsell on Fri Sep 30 09:49:27 2022
    On Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 9:38:27 PM UTC-7, kinsell wrote:


    But this pilot doesn't fit into either of your two buckets. This was a practice day for his third contest there, so quite familiar with the territory but not so familiar to be overconfident.

    I assumed he's in the first category after listening to the podcast. The lake is cold and massive and kills thermals for miles(but it is beautiful ; ) and on occasion, tricks pilots with debris clouds.
    Together with timing the dead air flow coming through the Sierra gaps pushing out the usable lift... there is a temporal characteristic to flying out of Truckee and it takes a few years to experience and understand.
    Understanding it doesn't get you back into Truckee though but helps with determinism and where you'll end up.
    Darren

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  • From 2G@21:1/5 to Ramy on Fri Sep 30 11:42:02 2022
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:29:47 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    Tom, I agree with you 100%.
    That said, I at least walked the golf course I ended up landing on and concluded that if it comes to that, and it is empty, I can land there. So I had at least one more trick left in my bag before having to land at the lake. I have since checked few
    other options and have yet to find an acceptable one.
    Since then I no longer entering the basin without more margins, which already resulted in one landout.
    But I can see how others can fall in that trap.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:01:13 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 8:26:12 AM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    It is easy to look at a flight after the fact and ask “what was he thinking”. But like any incident, those are results of a chain of events and decisions. No one decides in advance to put themselves over unlandable terrain without options. We
    always rely on multiple things to go more or less as expected when we fly, but when they don’t, you can quickly or slowly loose your margins until it is too late.
    In the case of Lake Tahoe, one must make a much earlier decision at much higher altitude to give up and landout before entering the Tahoe Basin, not an easy decision when you are still high and the flight computer and your intuition says you can
    make it… until you don’t.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 7:46:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J
    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.
    In your Lake Tahoe incident, you never had the margin to lose - it was already lost when you entered the basin. What you "lost" was the expected ridge lift to restore your margin. No doubt you were successful at this many times in the past which gave
    you the (misplaced) confidence you could do it again.

    Tom

    Ramy, of course I am happy that you walked away from that one. Using a golf course as a backup, however, puts other people's lives at risk. That course is very narrow, and there can be people around, either players or course workers, that are hidden in
    the trees. I have had my own cart hit by a golf ball after I drove out of the trees.

    Tom

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  • From John Sinclair@21:1/5 to All on Wed Oct 12 09:02:03 2022
    On Friday, September 30, 2022 at 11:42:04 AM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:29:47 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    Tom, I agree with you 100%.
    That said, I at least walked the golf course I ended up landing on and concluded that if it comes to that, and it is empty, I can land there. So I had at least one more trick left in my bag before having to land at the lake. I have since checked few
    other options and have yet to find an acceptable one.
    Since then I no longer entering the basin without more margins, which already resulted in one landout.
    But I can see how others can fall in that trap.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:01:13 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 8:26:12 AM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    It is easy to look at a flight after the fact and ask “what was he thinking”. But like any incident, those are results of a chain of events and decisions. No one decides in advance to put themselves over unlandable terrain without options. We
    always rely on multiple things to go more or less as expected when we fly, but when they don’t, you can quickly or slowly loose your margins until it is too late.
    In the case of Lake Tahoe, one must make a much earlier decision at much higher altitude to give up and landout before entering the Tahoe Basin, not an easy decision when you are still high and the flight computer and your intuition says you can
    make it… until you don’t.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 7:46:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J
    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.
    In your Lake Tahoe incident, you never had the margin to lose - it was already lost when you entered the basin. What you "lost" was the expected ridge lift to restore your margin. No doubt you were successful at this many times in the past which
    gave you the (misplaced) confidence you could do it again.

    Tom
    Ramy, of course I am happy that you walked away from that one. Using a golf course as a backup, however, puts other people's lives at risk. That course is very narrow, and there can be people around, either players or course workers, that are hidden in
    the trees. I have had my own cart hit by a golf ball after I drove out of the trees.

    Tom







    AIG salvage just added another glider to their salvage page, a T-65 Vega. That makes 4 gliders out of 17 general aviation ships this month! There is about 190,000 general aviation ships in the US including about 4000 gliders! That’s around 23% of the
    total aircraft broken birds, caused by only 2% of the total fleet!
    Sobering,
    JJ

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  • From Hank Nixon@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Wed Oct 12 09:35:28 2022
    On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 12:02:05 PM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Friday, September 30, 2022 at 11:42:04 AM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:29:47 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    Tom, I agree with you 100%.
    That said, I at least walked the golf course I ended up landing on and concluded that if it comes to that, and it is empty, I can land there. So I had at least one more trick left in my bag before having to land at the lake. I have since checked
    few other options and have yet to find an acceptable one.
    Since then I no longer entering the basin without more margins, which already resulted in one landout.
    But I can see how others can fall in that trap.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:01:13 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 8:26:12 AM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    It is easy to look at a flight after the fact and ask “what was he thinking”. But like any incident, those are results of a chain of events and decisions. No one decides in advance to put themselves over unlandable terrain without options.
    We always rely on multiple things to go more or less as expected when we fly, but when they don’t, you can quickly or slowly loose your margins until it is too late.
    In the case of Lake Tahoe, one must make a much earlier decision at much higher altitude to give up and landout before entering the Tahoe Basin, not an easy decision when you are still high and the flight computer and your intuition says you
    can make it… until you don’t.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 7:46:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J
    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.
    In your Lake Tahoe incident, you never had the margin to lose - it was already lost when you entered the basin. What you "lost" was the expected ridge lift to restore your margin. No doubt you were successful at this many times in the past which
    gave you the (misplaced) confidence you could do it again.

    Tom
    Ramy, of course I am happy that you walked away from that one. Using a golf course as a backup, however, puts other people's lives at risk. That course is very narrow, and there can be people around, either players or course workers, that are hidden
    in the trees. I have had my own cart hit by a golf ball after I drove out of the trees.

    Tom
    AIG salvage just added another glider to their salvage page, a T-65 Vega. That makes 4 gliders out of 17 general aviation ships this month! There is about 190,000 general aviation ships in the US including about 4000 gliders! That’s around 23% of the
    total aircraft broken birds, caused by only 2% of the total fleet!
    Sobering,
    JJ
    Note that it will be seen as destroyed in the eyes of the FAA Aircraft Registry because the insurance company has determined that it can not be repaired within the insured value. This looks to be minor damage and a broken canopy.
    Sigh
    UH

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  • From Ramy@21:1/5 to Hank Nixon on Wed Oct 12 09:57:42 2022
    Perhaps there are more GA aircrafts which are not even salvageable…

    Ramy

    On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 9:35:30 AM UTC-7, Hank Nixon wrote:
    On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 12:02:05 PM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Friday, September 30, 2022 at 11:42:04 AM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:29:47 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    Tom, I agree with you 100%.
    That said, I at least walked the golf course I ended up landing on and concluded that if it comes to that, and it is empty, I can land there. So I had at least one more trick left in my bag before having to land at the lake. I have since checked
    few other options and have yet to find an acceptable one.
    Since then I no longer entering the basin without more margins, which already resulted in one landout.
    But I can see how others can fall in that trap.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 9:01:13 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 8:26:12 AM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
    It is easy to look at a flight after the fact and ask “what was he thinking”. But like any incident, those are results of a chain of events and decisions. No one decides in advance to put themselves over unlandable terrain without options.
    We always rely on multiple things to go more or less as expected when we fly, but when they don’t, you can quickly or slowly loose your margins until it is too late.
    In the case of Lake Tahoe, one must make a much earlier decision at much higher altitude to give up and landout before entering the Tahoe Basin, not an easy decision when you are still high and the flight computer and your intuition says you
    can make it… until you don’t.

    Ramy
    On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 7:46:21 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
    What perceived reward could lead to the decision to risk such an expensive toy and would lead to a water landing?

    Dan
    5J
    On 9/27/22 19:58, kinsell wrote:
    but the whole interview has good insights into his decision making.
    In your Lake Tahoe incident, you never had the margin to lose - it was already lost when you entered the basin. What you "lost" was the expected ridge lift to restore your margin. No doubt you were successful at this many times in the past
    which gave you the (misplaced) confidence you could do it again.

    Tom
    Ramy, of course I am happy that you walked away from that one. Using a golf course as a backup, however, puts other people's lives at risk. That course is very narrow, and there can be people around, either players or course workers, that are
    hidden in the trees. I have had my own cart hit by a golf ball after I drove out of the trees.

    Tom
    AIG salvage just added another glider to their salvage page, a T-65 Vega. That makes 4 gliders out of 17 general aviation ships this month! There is about 190,000 general aviation ships in the US including about 4000 gliders! That’s around 23% of
    the total aircraft broken birds, caused by only 2% of the total fleet!
    Sobering,
    JJ
    Note that it will be seen as destroyed in the eyes of the FAA Aircraft Registry because the insurance company has determined that it can not be repaired within the insured value. This looks to be minor damage and a broken canopy.
    Sigh
    UH

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  • From Steve Leonard@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Wed Oct 12 15:30:21 2022
    On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 11:02:05 AM UTC-5, [email protected] wrote:

    AIG salvage just added another glider to their salvage page, a T-65 Vega. That makes 4 gliders out of 17 general aviation ships this month! There is about 190,000 general aviation ships in the US including about 4000 gliders! That’s around 23% of the
    total aircraft broken birds, caused by only 2% of the total fleet!
    Sobering,
    JJ

    Snapshots over short times are often not very representative of what is going on. I went back and looked at all the AIG Salvage listings that had a Bid Close date in 2022. Keep in mind, that the numbers will go up, as they have only just listed the
    first plane of the 12-15-2022 Bid Close listings. My guess is there will be not less than 7 more airplanes. For 2022, here is what AIG put out for salvage bids:

    Airplanes: 93
    Helicopters: 10
    Gliders: 9
    Drones: 1

    Of the 9 gliders, one was a trailering accident, one a trailer vent fan fire, one was ground handling, two were lake landings, one mid air, one overshoot on landing, one groundloop, and one gear up that caused other damage. So, if you take out the three
    that are not flight related, that is still 6 glider Total Constructive Losses or 5% of the TCLs from 2% of the total fleet. Of the gliders put out for salvage bid, there were 2 SGS 1-26s, 1 L-33, 1 Ventus 3, 1 ASW-19, 1 ASW-20, 1 DG-1000, 1 LS6, 1
    Slingsby Vega.

    There are many other things that come into play on TCLs versus fleet size. Lower insured value leads to higher likelihood of any damage causing a TCL. Some years back, I saw a Phoebus B totaled for a broken canopy. Not many J-3s get totaled for a
    broken windshield.

    Steve Leonard

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Steve Leonard on Thu Oct 13 02:17:56 2022
    On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 6:30:23 PM UTC-4, Steve Leonard wrote:
    On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 11:02:05 AM UTC-5, [email protected] wrote:

    AIG salvage just added another glider to their salvage page, a T-65 Vega. That makes 4 gliders out of 17 general aviation ships this month! There is about 190,000 general aviation ships in the US including about 4000 gliders! That’s around 23% of
    the total aircraft broken birds, caused by only 2% of the total fleet!
    Sobering,
    JJ
    Snapshots over short times are often not very representative of what is going on. I went back and looked at all the AIG Salvage listings that had a Bid Close date in 2022. Keep in mind, that the numbers will go up, as they have only just listed the
    first plane of the 12-15-2022 Bid Close listings. My guess is there will be not less than 7 more airplanes. For 2022, here is what AIG put out for salvage bids:

    Airplanes: 93
    Helicopters: 10
    Gliders: 9
    Drones: 1

    Of the 9 gliders, one was a trailering accident, one a trailer vent fan fire, one was ground handling, two were lake landings, one mid air, one overshoot on landing, one groundloop, and one gear up that caused other damage. So, if you take out the
    three that are not flight related, that is still 6 glider Total Constructive Losses or 5% of the TCLs from 2% of the total fleet. Of the gliders put out for salvage bid, there were 2 SGS 1-26s, 1 L-33, 1 Ventus 3, 1 ASW-19, 1 ASW-20, 1 DG-1000, 1 LS6, 1
    Slingsby Vega.

    There are many other things that come into play on TCLs versus fleet size. Lower insured value leads to higher likelihood of any damage causing a TCL. Some years back, I saw a Phoebus B totaled for a broken canopy. Not many J-3s get totaled for a
    broken windshield.

    Steve Leonard
    The AIG salvage numbers might contain significant bias if it turns out that the majority of gliders are insured by AIG (through the SSA relationship with Costello) but a significant portion of the powered fleet is insured by other companies. Then again,
    if aircraft written-off by other insurers typically find their way to the AIG salvage web page, then then this issue might not introduce a bias.

    ...david

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  • From Hank Nixon@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Thu Oct 13 05:19:57 2022
    On Thursday, October 13, 2022 at 5:18:09 AM UTC-4, [email protected] wrote:
    On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 6:30:23 PM UTC-4, Steve Leonard wrote:
    On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 11:02:05 AM UTC-5, [email protected] wrote:

    AIG salvage just added another glider to their salvage page, a T-65 Vega. That makes 4 gliders out of 17 general aviation ships this month! There is about 190,000 general aviation ships in the US including about 4000 gliders! That’s around 23% of
    the total aircraft broken birds, caused by only 2% of the total fleet!
    Sobering,
    JJ
    Snapshots over short times are often not very representative of what is going on. I went back and looked at all the AIG Salvage listings that had a Bid Close date in 2022. Keep in mind, that the numbers will go up, as they have only just listed the
    first plane of the 12-15-2022 Bid Close listings. My guess is there will be not less than 7 more airplanes. For 2022, here is what AIG put out for salvage bids:

    Airplanes: 93
    Helicopters: 10
    Gliders: 9
    Drones: 1

    Of the 9 gliders, one was a trailering accident, one a trailer vent fan fire, one was ground handling, two were lake landings, one mid air, one overshoot on landing, one groundloop, and one gear up that caused other damage. So, if you take out the
    three that are not flight related, that is still 6 glider Total Constructive Losses or 5% of the TCLs from 2% of the total fleet. Of the gliders put out for salvage bid, there were 2 SGS 1-26s, 1 L-33, 1 Ventus 3, 1 ASW-19, 1 ASW-20, 1 DG-1000, 1 LS6, 1
    Slingsby Vega.

    There are many other things that come into play on TCLs versus fleet size. Lower insured value leads to higher likelihood of any damage causing a TCL. Some years back, I saw a Phoebus B totaled for a broken canopy. Not many J-3s get totaled for a
    broken windshield.

    Steve Leonard
    The AIG salvage numbers might contain significant bias if it turns out that the majority of gliders are insured by AIG (through the SSA relationship with Costello) but a significant portion of the powered fleet is insured by other companies. Then again,
    if aircraft written-off by other insurers typically find their way to the AIG salvage web page, then then this issue might not introduce a bias.

    ...david

    AIG only shows AIG salvage. Others dispose of salvage in their own systems.
    UH

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