SAFA Skysailor Magazine

32 SKY SAILOR May | June 2021 Greetings, folks. At our recent Operational SAFA Board meeting, the question was asked, when should we lodge an AIRS report? The answers lie in Section 2.3: Accidents and Incidents, of the Operations Manual. When I’m asked this, my reply is, ‘Whenever something unexpected and unplanned for occurs’. In addition, if you think there’s something we could all learn from, then please lodge a report. The first big dump of snow now graces the upper elevations of Kunanyi/Mt Wellington here in Hobbiton. This means we’ll be looking for the rare opportunities for winter flying. They do happen, but they are rare. When winterising your gear, make sure the batteries in your devices are fully charged, and if the batteries are removable, consider storing them detached from your devices. I fire mine up on a monthly basis just to make sure all are okay, and perform any software or map updates, if required. While we’re talking things Taswegian… We’ll kick off this issue’s wrap-up down here. Our THPA AIRS Manager, Luke Denniss, was kept busy over the summer. AIRS #1474 – PG accidental reserve deployment This is the first ever we have had down here, to the best of everyone’s knowledge. However, this one was accidental, with a PG pilot’s reserve parachute deployed unexpectedly during flight at Lemon Hill (Tas). With the reserve deployed, PIC attempted to pull in one of the risers and collapse the main wing, then turned and held onto reserve riser to try and stabilise themselves for a hard feet-first landing on a rocky slope near top of hill. They landed hard, but only minor cuts and bruises were sustained. This landing followed a fairly scrappy landing on the previous flight where it is now suspected the reserve pins became dislodged. Pilots should not become complacent; pre-flight checks should be done before every launch to ensure the safe and correct set-up of equipment for each flight. AIRS #1470 – PPG aborted launch One of our PPG pilots had a mishap while launching in nil wind conditions from a flat paddock at Kempton (Tas). They had thought they were experiencing lift and prema- turely stopped running to sit back in the harness. The motor contacted the ground and the launch was aborted with damage done to prop, cage and exhaust. No injury. Pilots, both PG and PPG, should be launching assertively, and continue running at the speed required to launch until their feet are physically lifted off the ground by the wing. Pilots should make sure they still have clear air and control of the glider before seating themselves into the harness. AIRS #1462 – PG encountering rotor A PG pilot fell out the back of a thermal and into a stiff sea breeze, low and behind the ridge line at Winton (Tas). PIC thought they had the height to push forward and over the ridge. However, with little penetration, PIC dropped behind ridge line into rotor. At ~10m above ground, the wing began to oscillate from rotor. The last four metres was a drop to ground, and PIC executed a Parachute Landing AIRS Safety Wrap-up – April 2021 by Iain Clarke – SAFA Safety Management Officer Pirates Bay at Eaglehawk Neck, Tas Photo: Michael Long