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#406542
Reading about how to tie em on just reminds me about the ones we lost! :lol: No not a vehicle crash and damage, god knows you've got my poem from That one, just a slack tie on or crappy racks that led to gliders on the ground story... Here's one from when my glider was only 1 yr old, just my mate and me had mountain launched inland and by good fortune I had strung a few thermals together and finally landed at the coast. He had missed the o.t.b. thermal, so hitched to the l.z. where we left his ute, drove to his paddock, got his topless and drove the 60km to me. We tossed my topless on the ute {which had no front steady and rather short tie distance between tie points, and which I had bitched about a few times before}. Anyway he tied our gliders on, { I have found this to now not be true :x but I used to believe pilots know their own vehicles tie down issues better than a visiter :oops: } Anyway, finally 3/4 up the mountain he exclaims"Col the gliders aren't on the ute anymore" as he stopped! We found his glider first as we drove down now and finally on some rocky ground mine. .Did a uturn and collected my ute, changed glider over, some muttered hows and we left. I couldn't rest easy till I took the sail off and apart from the LE's rubbing through the bag as it dragged along till finally fell down everything was ok :thumbsup: I went from an absolute high,from that fly, to a paranoid low till I had that frame inspection....I always help tie gliders on now :goodidea: ..
#406544
Years back, just picked a (new to me) used glider.
Met a few other pilots at hill on the way back and threw on with them to head up..
The front rack didnt look that strong for 3 gliders but he said its had 3 on before with no issues.
Tied the front and tied the back. (The traps were about a foot from the ends)

Heading up the hill he forgot where a large hump / dip on the road was. Just as we hit the hump he hit the brakes hard. The front rack bent forward and my glider slid out of the rear strap falling off the side of the truck breaking the mirror off.
The soft sand the glider landed on left it unscathed and the mirror didn't dent the LE.
Had a nice flight and the glider flew great.

Lesson learned, now I always tie on with 3 straps just in case.
#406548
I had four gliders tied on in three places going up to the Owens, once. Bombing along 395, someone said "Wow, look at that gust!" I drove into it and the 1 1/8 x .095 aluminum uprights on the front of the truck broke at the bolt holes. That let the front of the gliders up, and that ripped the two rear racks out of the tracks.

Fortune smiled, and the gliders landed with the racks on the bottom, skidded along the road and off onto the shoulder.
Did a semi sail-off inspection before flying. There was a scuff on one end of the bag, but no other damage.

The replacement uprights were steel.
#406554
Loaded my glider first on a truck taking us to the top of the mountain. Other gliders were loaded on after, and mine was untied and moved, and not tied down again. It fell off on the way up, and a truck behind us was kind enough to pick it up and drive it up with them. No damage, but now I definitely double check.
#406632
I flew S. Mountain in Phoenix in July... back in the 80's. I had a crappy little flight and landed below in the International Harvester Proving Grounds. This was a forbidden zone and we hustled to get out of there in the 110 degree heat. In my rush and likely suffering from the heat, I drove off without tying down at all. Headed north on 40th Street I heard a clatter on the roof of the 4 Runner, glancing in the rear view mirror I saw my diver cartwheeling down the 4-laner, nose to tale, nose to tail. Cars were swerving to miss the glider as it rolled halfway up the curb. The only damage was road rash to the bag and the beautiful, gold anodized down tubes. I now tie down immediately upon loading. I haven't lost another one in 30 years.
#406643
Well, there was the time I was driving down Route 219 in western Maryland with six training gliders and a rigid wing on top of my VW bus. I hit something that gave the bus a huge bump, and the entire roof rack parted company with the bus ... all four of the Quick-N- Easy rack latches popped loose. The roof rack slid off the top of the bus as graceful as you please and came to rest, top up, in the road behind me. Fortunately, it was late at night and there was no traffic on the road, and I was able to drag the rack off to the side of the road, take all the gliders off, put the rack back on the bus after re-bending the latches, load the gliders again, and be on my way. I think one of the trainers got a little scrape at the end of one of the leading edges, but otherwise there was no damage.

After that, I drilled some holes and bolted the racks directly on to the rain gutters of the bus. End of problem.