SAFA Skysailor Magazine

41 May | June 2022 SKY SAILOR guts on the ground determined that, nah, this was not a play day, so let’s pack up. Good call. Except then, our two mini pilots landed and said, “Hey it’s really nice for big wings now.” A check of conditions on launch indi- cated this was indeed the case, and after a few minutes further observing, remained the case. A few pilots made ready, and one didn’t – sensible chap. I was not the sensible chap and made ready for my appointment with a FOMO-induced ‘Brainless Moment’. With two pilots in the air, I took my bunched- up wing well down the slope, then laid out my lines as I continued down-slope. As I took my second brake handle off the popper, a gust moved through. The centre of the still bunched-up wing popped its head over the parapet and said to the rest of the wing, ‘Here we go fellas, last man over the top buys the beers!’ I knew straight away what was about to happen and struggled up the steep slope towards it, but then… ‘Hello Brainless’ arrived. The rest of the wing walled with a snap, the right wingtip launched, and I was off on a sleigh ride, pulled up the slope, into the air and impacting on the flat between the lower and upper launch surfaces. It was all over in 10 seconds. Luckily no damage or injury done. So, what have we learnt? First, if your gut says don’t do it, there’s usually a really good reason and you should stick with that plan. Secondly, when presented with the likelihood of strong gusts, you should have a clear plan to control the wing on the ground. In this situation I should have asked our Captain Sensible to stand behind the centre of the wing just in case. Figure 1: SAFA risk matrix and definitions