After analyzing last Saturday’s flight mishap a couple of times, going through every little details, I finally concluded the reason to why my glider’s right brake became loose enough until the handle reached the propeller.
The left riser was hooked on the lower hang point instead of the high hang point as the one on the right.
I was really tired after the second attempt to do reverse launch when I told Rizlan that I wanted to do forward launch. During the switch, I unplugged the risers from the carabiners and after installed the right riser I asked Rizlan’s assistant to help me install the left one. What I didn’t realize was that he’s not familiar with my glider’s riser setup and he accidentally hooked the carabiner to the lower hang point.
The mistake? I didn’t check his installation and trusted that it would be correct.
So I was flying with the left riser slightly higher than the right. To add to the misconfiguration, the harness’s counter-torque buckle was set too tight that it tilted me to the right which added more weight to the right side of the glider. That causes the right side of the glider to be pulled lower than the left… and that, loosens the brake line’s tension.
Why didn’t it happen during take off when the engine was at full power and I let both brakes out to pull the seat in? Because during take off, I had already pulled the left brake to compensate the right veering and while the glider was flying in a straight line with balanced angle, I pulled the seat in and grabbed the brakes right before the wing starts tilting to the right again.
But when I was fixing the seat buckle, maybe I accidentally shifted back to the center or the right side for a while which loosens the right brake line again and that’s when the handle got sucked to the nylon cage.
The handle didn’t get sucked all the way into the propeller but merely grazed by it, maybe because I noticed it soon enough to put it back at the magnetic safety holder.
Now, lessons learned :
- NEVER let someone else setup the equipment even the smallest things like where the carabiners are hooked into.
- ALWAYS double-check each installation during pre-flight tests.
- At best possible, use OWN equipment or don’t share any of the gears with other pilots.
Till next flight, adios :-)
DiverDel January 22, 2013
A crappy sport results in crappy outcomes…I still don’t think you should ‘fly’.
yusmar February 4, 2013 — Post Author
driving in KL everyday is equally dangerous and accidents can really happen anywhere with any sports, my dear friend… but I do, really do appreciate your concern and will take note of that each time I’m preparing my gears to fly :)