Safety thoughts from a senior pilot - #1

Following on from the NZ Safety Taskforce findings, we will present some thoughts on safety and progression from our most experienced pilots. These guys have seen a lot of pilots come through the ranks and can offer some sage advice to all of us who are just getting started and "don't know what we don't know".

First some thoughts from HG pilot of almost 20 years, Boris Marold:

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The recent posts taken from the NZHPA have highlighted some important points. Flying a flimsy wing that is portable and requires the least amount of training in aviation could be regarded by some as a foolhardy way to live. But it doesn't have to be.

Over almost 20 years of flying I have noticed that as time has progressed I have became more aware of the dangers. Why?

It boils down to this: Observing, experiencing, learning, attitude.

I have had some close calls and one accident that caused concussion and damaged my glider (a cracked base bar). I thought I was a safe pilot up until then. I was SSO and had done powered endorsement training. I had 511 hrs up and was feeling confident.

I had flown in rough gnarly conditions in Tassie, but being at the Beechmont, QLD site, being in a competition and never having landed in the bomb-out was the perfect recipe for something to happen. On top of that it was windy and at least 30% of the pilots (mostly local) elected not to fly that day. I thought I could handle it.

I hit turbulent wind shear on approach to landing and at tree-top height on final with good airspeed the wing completely stopped flying. I had no choice but to pull on extra speed to recover from this which resulted in a "lawn dart" landing, skidding on my stomach across the ground ending up with a sudden stop and the front nose plate crashing into the back of my helmet. Lights out for at least 40 seconds or more and a trip by ambulance to Gold Coast hospital. After scans and tests I was released that night.

Worse still, after a day resting my "ego" and bruised body I flew the rest of the competition on the attitude of "Gotta get back on the horse" so I would overcome the "spooked" feeling within and with the advice from fellow competitors of "you look fine... and as long as everything works...keep going.”

What really should have happened by the organising committee was an enforcement of. "NO BORIS, YOU ARE NOT FLYING AFTER HAVING CONCUSSION" 

That is a whole other subject.

It took me over 12 months to get over the effects of that accident but the result was a much more measured way of flying than ever before.

The best thing that will keep us safe is our "attitude"

The best thing that will help us progress is our "attitude"

The best thing that will help us fly long and safe xc is our "attitude"

The best thing that will help us develop better skills is our “attitude"

Calculating your risk so that at any moment you lose that thermal you have a margin of safe glide to a bomb-out before ending up in the trees, or leaving a dodgy thermal that you haven't cored properly which is drifting you deeper into tiger country are the moments when your attitude will be key.

I had dinner at a comp with a gun pilot who had only been flying 4yrs. He was racking up many hours in a fast time. He was doing great distances XC. He was classed as a real natural, super talented. He was doing well at all the comps. He died pushing too hard. His father was a GA pilot who was driving for him at the comp and his family will never be the same. Your choices have a ripple effect.

My best and most enjoyable flights have not been my longest, but the ones where every single decision was measured, thought out, analyzed and acted upon. 

Having a peripheral mindset and a clear mind is so important to fly well. Getting upset with yourself, talking down and berating yourself, saying to yourself..."I gotta do better today" and will yourself to fly further than your previous flight is a recipe for disaster.

Allow me to offer these suggestions:

• Be tenacious in your learning
• Be meticulous about your preparation
• Don't be distracted when you're setting up and launching
• Be guided by your own intuition, not by what another pilot tells you.
• Measure yourself only against yourself and not your peers.
• Analyse your flights but have room for inner compassion if things go wrong.
• Learn from missteps and techniques.
• Listen if a friend or pilot warns you of your own blindness to yourself.
• Be observant to all that is going on around you
• Know when to abort a launch when conditions have changed instead of willing yourself off the hill – having 4 failed launch attempts and barely getting away with the final attempt doesn’t make you the master of your own stupidity.

Attitude to me is far more important than all the other required steps to fly safely. Flying is an incredible privilege. Who can explain to an earthling the shear joy and wonder of being carried along by unseen lift. Who can explain the 3rd dimension when we are thermalling high above a paddock we nearly bombed out in and with each turn feel the earth ebb away below us and our perspective change with each upward turn.

Harness all your senses, be alert, be courageous, fight that thermal that's wanting to spit you out, challenge yourself by all means but know your limits and you will be filled with that deep sense of gratitude, wonder and joy that no-one can take away from you.

Boris Marold