Gliding Australia Documents

This Bulletin discusses inspection requirements following a sailplane experiencing abnormal flight loads or a hard landing.

This Bulletin discusses landing accidents involving misapplication of controls by the student during approach and landing, and provides some guidance on how to train against these accidents.

Headsets serve a dual purpose in providing hearing protection whilst improving communications and situational awareness. This bulletin provides some guidance for pilots of self-launching gliders and winch drivers.

‘See-and-avoid’ is the primary means of collision avoidance in aviation and, at one time, was the only means for avoiding collision. Today, ‘see-and-avoid’ is complemented by technological advancements, the most common of which in gliding is radio and Flarm.

These guidance notes have been prepared with the assistance of Robert Thompson (Sydney Motor Glider Flight Group), Kevin Saunders (Regional Manager Operations, WA) and several other GFA members who have flown the ‘Glory’ to highlight some of the issues facing motor glider pilots flying into, and operating from, the Burketown aerodrome.

This bulletin provides advice and guidance on how pilots should conduct lookout procedures, with the intention of improving the overall effectiveness of lookout as the primary defence against collision risk in all flight situations.

This Bulletin was initially issued in January 2007 as ‘Landing Advice’ OSB No 01/07 in response to a trend in ‘heavy landing’ accidents and was updated again in July 2011 for similar reasons. Disappointingly, landing accidents continue to occur at a regular rate and usually result in damage to the glider and occasionally injury to the pilot. As many landing accidents occur because of poor workload management or judgement in the circuit, the scope of advice was expanded in a new bulletin, OSB 01/14, issued in July 2014.

Please note that the advice in this document is periodically reviewed and updated.

Boxing the slipstream is a useful exercise in co-ordination, understanding of the forces at work on aerotow, and confidence building. The exercise serves to attune the student to a range of out-of-station positions to which a pilot might reasonably go, and helps to consolidate the technique for controlling the glider behind the tug. This bulletin provides some guidance around the exercise.

It has been noted over many years that a significant percentage of reported accidents and incidents indicate that Clubs and/or pilots have modified their normal operating procedures, or abandoned accepted best practice, for no reason other than convenience. Whilst many resulting accidents/incidents have been minor in nature, many have also been serious and some very likely fatal.

Deliberately sideslipping a glider is a technique sometimes employed by glider pilots to reduce the performance of the glider in order to lose height as a means of controlling the descent rate during the approach phase prior to landing. Although sideslipping is required pilot training it is employed less as a landing approach technique now than it was in the past as most modern gliders have adequate glide path control (i.e. effective airbrakes) removing the need to use other techniques in most circumstances. This bulletin highlights a particular concern when sideslipping some gliders – an uncommanded nose-down pitch.

Inadvertent and/or incorrect control input at critical stages may have been contributing factors in some accidents. It is believed that on some occasions incorrect and/or inadvertent use of controls is brought about by pilot unfamiliarity with aircraft type during high workload flight situations and this Bulletin is issued to remind pilots of the hazard and to assist them to avoid future occurrences.

It should be obvious to all that it is essential for pilots preparing to launch to be aware of any airspace activities in their vicinity and the threat, if any, posed by the presence of other aircraft. However, there have been many occasions when launches have proceeded when local airspace safety has been compromised, sometimes with serious consequences. This bulletin provides advice and guidance for safe launching.