Safety Briefing (continued)

Personal Safety
Airport Security
Preventing Damage to Aircraft
Good Operations Practices

Things that can seriously hurt / kill you or those around you!
Stall / Spin close to the ground! Use Coordinated turns always! They are faster and safer than ruddering around. Wingtip may seem to move backwards close to the ground - that is normal.

The Tow plane ( or any planes prop ). The tow pilot will call "Clear" - if you are near by - please confirm it is clear - also echo the call.

Getting High on Tow - especially during takeoff. Kiting the glider is very possible - usually due to inadvertent stick movements - such as reaching for something else in the cockpit. If the tow pilot cannot see you - he will release you! "out of sight - end of flight!" This is most dangerous for the tow pilot. If you are 15 degrees high and make no IMMEDIATE correction - you are 3 seconds from being directly over the tow plane and it will be aimed straight down! Assuming he releases, it takes over 1000 feet for him to recover [ based on test data!]

High Speed Contest Finishes - at V max near the ground things happen quickly! A photo finish hand wave and look at the tent - can turn into ground contact at 100 mph +. The pull up can exceed V maneuvering, parts break, and one pilot has passed out recently due to high "G" [ not our club ] .

Getting fingers in sharp or tight places! Canopy edges, ailerons, spoilers, similar moving and sharp edges are good finger removers.

Other injury examples - Getting a ring caught on things, getting the rope wrapped around a leg or hand, rope burns on hands [ use the rope hooks if you want to pick up a moving rope ].

Landing off field - no big deal if thought about -but the biggest thing is to think about it! - Below 1000' AGL you are going to commit to a landing! Consider SSSSSSSS or S8, Surface Winds, Size of field, Shape, Slope (bad!), Surface Condition (meadow story), Speed, Surroundings, Stock ( live stock!).

In Case of Accidents - There is a First Aid Kit at the field - know where to find it. Basic cuts, scrapes, etc. are treatable.

In Case of a Crash - Stop operations, Crew Chief or Ops Director takes charge and assigns tasks to those present. Call 911 to notify proper police, sheriff or other authorities. Call the Base Ops building on phone and radio, call Lifeline to standby or even launch once level of injury is understood - always assume the worst.

Control the crash site - media should be restricted, NO casual visitors. Keep a clear path to the accident for emergency equipment / personnel. Find the Fire Extinguishers and get them to the accident.