Sunday, November 29, 2009

G Force

The Harness

The state of the harness gives a good indication of the loads generated during the spin. Tears through the cordura are extensive, the back-up webbing failed at the stitching and the backplate is in sections. I have no recollection of hitting any part of the glider during the accident but it is possible I connected with the A-frame during the tumbles and damaged the downtubes in the process.



Back-up webbing separated when stitching failed due to diagonal load after backplate failure in the spins.


The backplate broke into three sections. To the left is the slider bar still connect to the mains, carabiner, hang strap and 'dingle dangle', all of which remained connected to the glider.


The slider, main riser, carabiner and hang strap which (it goes without saying) should have remained connected to the harness.


1/3 of the backplate broken longitudinally (slider bar tearing through) and laterally (from G-force in spin).


Al Daniel and Shane Duncan piecing things together that afternoon.


The Glider

Damage to the glider started at 6500' and took only a matter of seconds. The airframe showed failures from positive and negative 'G' ergo: tumble. The glider was found in a field about 1km from where I touched down.


Chris Jones found this section of keel a short distance from the glider.


Nose wire failed at crimp.


Backbone of the glider, the keel, looking worse for wear. Downtube not much better. The stinger extension was never found. Keel wire failure at crimp.


Expense break. Gloves and harness show no signs of carbon fibre and I have no recollection of hitting the basebar or A frame. Damage during the spin?


Keel broke in two spots. One break looks like a negative load and the other looks positive. I have no memory of hitting the keel nor is there bruising etc to support this body. The spin likely to be the cause.


The hang strap pillar folded back and partly recessed into the keel. Significant G force required to do this damage. The spin was destructive despite accelerating smoothly to it's maximum.


The missing stinger! Separated during the spin? The A-frame shows evidence of point loads but I do not recall connecting with the down tubes and have no bruising or injury to suggest this.


The leading edges and cross-bars remained in tact. The nose plates are deformed with RHS bolt torn through.


The Instruments

A few days later a farmer out working in a field found my instruments. This is incredible not only because the location was no where near where I touched down or where the glider landed, but amazingly the GPS was undamaged.


Brauniger Comp shattered front and back.


Instrument mount.


Bracket bent 30 degrees.


Failure of carbon and glass.


The GPS could not give a tracklog of the accident because the mount separated from the glider during the tumbles, from then on we went our separate ways. In any case the time stamp interval of 3 seconds wouldn't provided much detail of the flight path other than rate of descent etc.


The Body

9 broken ribs. Collapsed lung. Fractured sternum. Flail fracture of chest.

Aero medivac to John Hunter Hospital


The eyes starting to clear up by day 5.



Lucky to be alive! Day 12.


Saturday, November 28, 2009

Cheating Death

It was the 2nd task of the Gulgong Classic and just like the day before the wind gusts and turbulence in the tow paddock were moderate to heavy. It was about 30-35 degrees Celsius at ground level and the conditions seemed stable although the weather report had predicted good instability. Due to the rough conditions weak links were breaking just about every other tow and the two tugs worked hard to eventually get everyone off the ground successfully. The task was 209km, north, to Manilla Airstrip.

I towed out of the airstrip around 1:30pm and went to release height behind Pete Marhiene. During the first thermal I noticed several light inversion layers. Eventually I drifted downwind and met up with Chris Jones, Phil Schroder, Oliver Barthelmes and Dave May and we topped out at 6500’ before heading NW in a cross-tail direction to get on the upwind side of the course line.

Chris was ahead by 200m and after a 5km glide I watched him complete two turns in what looked like solid lift. Eventually Dave, Oli and Phil would also head for Chris but before I got there he had already straightened up and was back into a search pattern. This was typical of the conditions for the day; very short lived ‘bubble’ climbs, mild to moderate turbulence and generally a stable type of feel to the weather. Way off to the north great looking clouds filled the sky along the Liverpool Range and beyond, we needed to get there but for now we continued to hunt for a core that may be lurking around in the stable conditions of Gulgong.

While Chris, Oli, Phil and Dave tended to search upwind I turned downwind for about 100m and noticed the air felt much better there, still bumpy and stable but at least it was more buoyant. I fully expected to only gain a few turns out of any climb I may find before it too petered out. Soon I felt some lift ahead and more to the left so I began a shallow turn in that direction and the vario started to chirp at about 200-300’/min. VG was off except for about 1 arms length of rope. I was flying at about 50kph with a bar position faster than best glide speed.

As I climbed for about a ¼ of the first turn the ‘G’ began to lighten and the nose started to ease over. For that first split second I expected a ‘wire slapper’ to precede a return into normal flight. This did not happen. The ‘G’ went to zero and the nose continued over. I braced onto the basebar and attempted to pull in and maintain hang position but the ‘G’ went negative and the nose went over. I still had a grip on the basebar and kept the torso as close to it as possible but the leg/boot end of the harness continued to move toward the undersurface and my upper body would eventually follow. The nose-over motion accelerated and then I lost contact with the basebar.

As I fell weightless through the air the glider proceeded to tumble and I cleared the wing without making contact as it passed underneath inverted. Just as the glider came around upright I bottomed out with a thud when the hang strap went tight and for a split second I thought everything may stabilize however there was more than enough momentum to enter the 2nd tumble. Again I don’t recall hitting any part of the glider as it went over a second time. I fell with another thud when the hang straps went tight but this time the tension lasted for a much shorter period of time. I went weightless as if falling straight down for several meters before feeling the start of a rotation/spin in the horizontal plane (like a sycamore seed).

The first spin finished quickly but I entered the 2nd spin with much more speed. I tried to go for the parachute handle but the ‘G’ force had already built up significantly and my arms (and eventually my head) were forced and held out away from the center of rotation preventing me from reaching the parachute handle. I realized I was in a bad way and my life depended on getting to the parachute. Hard as I try with all of my strength, my arms remained straight pointing away from the harness.

What followed is something I could never have imagined, a force developed by these rotations, incredibly rapid acceleration and unbelievable ‘G’ load that increased with each spin. I have watched video of similar motion when a glider folds its wings but on those occasions the rotation seems to reach a maximum after a number of seconds. Not in this case. The ‘G’ force continued to increase and since it was transverse to my prone position blood pooled ventrally in the front half of my body. In the next few seconds my eyes sustained advanced haematoma from this force. By the 5th and 6th rotation the load was so severe I knew the equipment would have to fail soon and hopefully before I sustained serious injury. Then in a split second the ‘G’ force went to zero and I was being thrown through space. At least I could move my arms and hold my head up. I reached for the parachute handle.

I was aware of moving horizontally with a lot of velocity but could also hear the airspeed accelerating very quickly. Motion through the air was like a projectile that soon turned into a vertical freefall. I realized then I had separated from the glider. I located the parachute handle and pulled with my right hand but it didn’t budge, and after a few more heaves I was convinced the parachute was going to need a lot more persuasion to come out. It was jammed inside the harness. (We would later discover the back plate had failed catastrophically and the opening of the parachute port was deformed as a result).

As I fought to remove the parachute I was aware of free-falling straight down in a boot-first/head-up/’pencil’ position (this would later be confirmed by Dave, Chris, Oli and Phil). Over the next 5 seconds I continued to struggle with the parachute while the sound of the airflow reached a maximum. I was at terminal velocity.

One arm was not strong enough so I reached down with the left and with both hands heaved on the handle and finally, after another couple of seconds I felt the parachute come loose. I threw it sideways, let go and waited.

What came next was the most painful and violent impact I have ever felt in my life as if I had been torn in half. Extreme pain instantly filled the body with the worst of it concentrated in chest and upper back. I knew I had sustained serious injury and immediately suspected my back was broken. Then I looked up just enough to see one of the most beautiful things in my life, the clean circular shape of the front 1/3 of the parachute, taut, inflated and in tact. The airflow was quiet now and the earth was no longer hurtling towards me. In less than 15 seconds I had fallen 4000’, the parachute and harness survived the deployment and so had I but not without injury, and the pain suggested I was in a real bad way.

The thought of paralysis filled my mind and I needed to know. I tried to wriggle my fingers and they moved. Then I thought with some dread, ‘My legs?’ I tried to wriggle my feet and they moved too. Relief mixed in with the pain but concern remained that my back was probably broken despite the spinal cord being intact. I needed a soft landing to protect what wasn’t damaged. I looked down and the remaining 2000’ came up very slowly. I could only just breathe. I needed to get down as soon as possible and get help.

After a minute of trying to get more air into my lungs my color vision started to fade, I was graying out. I remained conscious but gradually blacked out and feared I may have sustained fatal internal injuries.

My thoughts immediately went to my wife who passed away earlier this year. I hoped that if this was what was happening to me then I would be with her soon. Then I felt content for the first time in 4 months. My soul mate, taken away so early in our life together with whom I had shared so much in seven years of marriage… Pain was no longer on my mind and I felt calm. After a few moments an awareness came over me, I was not dying, I would survive, and this was not my time. The peace gave way to the pain which returned with a vengeance. Shock set-in and I passed out.

When I came too I was on my back looking up at the sky. I looked around and suddenly the realization of what had just happened came back all at once. I said out loud in astonishment and relief, “I survived!” Then I started to get dragged backwards at a walking pace for a few feet before coming to a stop. I looked over my shoulder and there was that beautiful red colored parachute again, right behind me on the ground and still inflated. A gust came through and I slowly got dragged along the ground a few more feet.

The pain was worse than ever now and I had to get out of the harness. I rechecked arm and leg movement and all were still working. I unclipped the leg loops and the waist belt and as I struggled in vain to undo the chest buckle I heard a voice from behind. A farmer who had seen my parachute from a distance sitting inflated on the ground drove over to check it out. “Can I give you a hand there son?” he asked as he walked into my field of view where I lay on my back. “Yes, undo this buckle and call an ambulance”, was my reply.

He too struggled with the chest strap and I thought it may be jammed from the deployment. I had one more go and it released. I rolled out of the harness, stood up, walked over to the shade of a nearby tree and carefully crouched in the least painful position. There I stayed for the next 90minutes until I could be evacuated.

Three things I saw that day will stay with me for the rest of my life. First, a glimpse of that High Energy parachute quietly soaring above and taking me safely to earth after the wildest and most painful ride of my life. And again as I lay unconscious in that field, waking up and looking over my shoulder to see it there once again, that big red parachute on the ground, still inflated as if continuing to watch over me.

Second was the sight of Oli, Dave, Phil and Chris all coming into land only meters away from where I crouched in absolute searing pain. I watched them get out of their harnesses one by one and I felt much better straight away. It was like the cavalry had arrived. They rallied around me in relative silence but their concern was obvious. It took 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive but the pilots urged the paramedics on and tried to hurry them to do what ever was necessary to get me out of there and into hospital. I heard Oli pleading with the Ambulance Officer, “You need to get the helicopter, just send the helicopter right now”. “Dave sat next to me and relayed my answers and questions as I could hardly speak. I can’t describe how good it was to have them there.

Then the red and yellow Westpac helicopter touched down! The crew was on the ball and once airborne I finally realised I was safe. We lifted off and headed straight for The John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.

As I was wheeled in through the hospital doors a familiar face in a green medical gown stood there waiting, Conrad Loten, fellow hang glider pilot and head of the Emergency Department took over my treatment and directed his staff calmly but with obvious authority and competence. After the CAT scan Conrad came over to my bed and confirmed the damage; 6 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, broken sternum and a flail fracture of the chest. “What about my back?” I asked. With a hint of a smile he assured me the back was in perfect condition, no damage to the spine whatsoever.

Quietly but with apparent concern Conrad kept in touch of my progress and treatment over the next week. I was very lucky indeed to have him looking after me. Lots of friends visited everyday and thankfully I made a quick recovery in that first week. My family came each day with meals to spare me and my recovering body what was offered on the hospital ‘menu’. While the prognosis is still uncertain it seems as though I could expect to make something close to a full recovery. Everyday I am feeling much stronger.

I was very lucky to have survived this accident and many things were in my favor including a lot of luck. The specialists believe health and fitness gave me a big advantage not only aiding in the healing but also preventing more serious injury. Since my wife passed away some months ago I have lost a bit of weight and I suspect the less momentum I had when the parachute inflated the better. She always looked out for me in the most unusual and often in the least obvious of ways and it feels she continues to do so.

In hindsight I began preparation for this accident 18 months ago. At Forbes in 2007 I watched Austrian pilot, Andreas Orgler, experience an almost identical accident. While his incident did not involve the violent sycamore rotation he did tumble twice and then separated from his glider. His pilotless wing then descended straight at me, head-on, and only just cleared mine with a closing speed that would have certainly brought me down too. Meanwhile Andreas quickly deployed his parachute during his freefall and well before achieving terminal velocity but despite his much lower speed the inflation was explosive and the parachute failed. He continued to freefall right before my eyes.

Witnessing such a traumatic event left me deeply affected for a long time but it was the motivation to understand why it happened and then reequip with the most advanced skyline harness and a new High Energy parachute. The equipment could and did survive this rare and ‘unlikely’ event where pilot and glider are separated in flight. The accident in Forbes helped prepare me to survive mine at Gulgong. This may be small consolation to those who have never met me and knew Andreas, but the fact is there are many people here now who are very relieved and very happy because I am alive. He helped save my life.

I am very happy to be alive.

My understanding of flying has not changed in any way and I am not left with any doubt about the safety and risks of hang gliding. I hope to fly again but that depends on the ribs, and if I get to fly for another 15yrs I would be surprised if I ever come across the same air that led to my accident last Monday. Nothing I could have done and no sort of equipment would have behaved differently. The air was tipping me over no matter what.

Check your equipment and update to the best and safest.

Fly safely.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The Bigair 2009

Dalby follows a rhythm. Daybreak usually arrives with a clear sky and an ESE breeze and by 8am a distant line of cloud appears off to the north. By 9 cu are overhead and soon the wind on the ground begins to ebb and flow as the first thermals drift-by in and around the airport. With a rumble the hangar doors open to reveal a lot of hang gliders, neatly stacked, all ready to hook-in-harness and ‘go’. Then the tugs come to life and within an hour the drone of rotax can be heard, peaking every 5 minutes as the next pilot in-line is dragged skyward high above the Queensland flatlands.

Here you can be soaring early and from the air the land presents like a patchwork of cotton fields and crops of sorghum and soy, a rustic tapestry interrupted every 40km or so when the next township appears on the horizon. Dalby is a very pleasant place for pilots, both on the ground and in the air. For all these reasons here is a premier location for flying, making The Bigair one of the best competitions on the international calendar.

Saturday was practice day and for the 40+ pilots it was a reminder of the cornerstone of Dalby flying; classic, world class conditions. So, with perfect clouds covering half the sky and a light drift most pilots warmed-up with an out-and-return or a triangle. If today was any indication the competition was going to be excellent, and with names such as Curt Warren, Oli Barthelmes, Jonny Durand, Cameron Tunbridge, Chris Jones, Conrad Loten and Steve Blenkinsop it was also the most distinguished pilot list for a Bigair (so far).
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Towing to the west 2006.

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Sunday arrived with a stronger than usual drift but the safety committee passed the conditions as ‘OK’. Conrad presented the weather report and translated the BLIP maps and predicted very good flying ahead. Then the task committee got to work and gave the day another vote of confidence by calling open distance, and to accommodate the scoring system they designated Mitchell Airstrip as goal 338km to the west. The intention was to make the goal so far away no one would make it. Right?


The day was excellent. Long streets at 6000’ intersected the course at 45 degrees and the climb rates were moderate and consistent, but intervening sink lines often made the vario groan, loudly. The ground speed in between thermals averaged 100+kph and it was an unreal sight shadowing the trucks as they rolled down the highway, on the speed limit, thousands of feet below. The first start gate was 12:45pm and the day boomed for the whole flight and as the kilometres came and went the streeting gradually acred around to parallel courseline. These conditions are worth years of wait and many including Jonny Durand would later declare the day was full of world record potential if only we started a couple of hours earlier.

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Jason Reid joins the dots, 2006.


Goal was a few kilometers downwind of Mitchell township with a stretch of forest in between. I had flown with Conrad on and off over the last 150km and we finally crossed the line with 6 seconds between us. All spare altitude and the strong tailwind hurtled us into goal. It was empty. As I parked the glider I realised it only felt like minutes had passed since crossing the halfway point a couple of hours ago. Time flies, literally! For the next hour+ gliders came in, often to cheering from the ground or hooting from the pilot as they crossed over the line.

What originated as an ‘impossible’ goal to satisfy a limitation in the scoring system became an Australian distance record in a sanctioned competition (and just shy of a new world record) but this was of little significance. It was one of the best flights most of us had ever flown and all agreed the day was under called. Over half the field flew their personal best distance. Dalby!

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Results: Task 1

1. Curt Warren

2. Conrad Loten

3. Adam Parer

4. Cameron Tunbridge

5. Peter Dall


The Dalby Hang Gliding Club is forward thinking and proactive and one of the best resourced clubs in Australia, and the members are in accord about the initiatives of their Club. Club President, Daron Hodder, is most vocal in this regard, they welcome all who have the skills to tow and fly safely, but they encourage flying according to the conditions rather than to the vagaries of a scoring system or the bias of a task committee. The title Bigair is as much a declaration of this attitude as it is a reflection of the outstanding flying conditions so synonymous with Dalby. True to this intent Nick Purcell had done a superlative job preparing and running what would definitely be the most successful Bigair event so far. Thanks to his efforts it would be the best competition many of us had ever attended, all we needed was the weather...



Two of DHGC's tugs.


Day # 2 arrived to confirm the local’s suspicions and worst fears; full overcast and rain, and Cyclone Hamish continued to deliver the same sort of weather for the next 3 days. We would have to wait until Thursday before taking to the air again. Tug pilot, John Blaine, armed with his guitar and a repertoire of Hank Williams Jnr provided moments of much needed entertainment to distract us from the frustations of down time, as did an afternoon at the Dalby shooting range. DHGC tug owner/pilot Bruce carrera and young Gun Jonas Bechler both proved to be most impressive marksmen.

Thursday morning arrived calm and clear and everyone was revived with the promise of flying a task but by mid morning the wind had picked-up and the sky was fully overcast again. As if to recover the general mood Nick, Annie and Bruce Carrera, and Blaino got everyone fired-up for an afternoon of towing and flying. Blaino could be heard to say more than once "We're here to fly!" But then the competition and task committees met and decided on a late straight-line round with goal at Chinchilla.

Many pilots dribbled in light lift or zeros and some just flew downwind without hitting anything at all. It was amazing to hear reports of some pilots actually getting thermals under the full deck of dark grey cloud with no shadowing and very little heating on the ground. No one made it to goal with the best flights getting only about halfway. But it was a crucial day for points, compared to Day #1 each km was worth ten times the value and the overall placings varied as a result.

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Results: Task 2

1. Jonny Durand

2. Conrad Loten

3. Dave may

4. Trent Brown

5. Nick Purcell


With just two days to go there was less time to make up ground. It was coming down to the wire for the several pilots who are challenging for the last available place on the Australian Team for the World Titles in France, in June. Only a handful of points separated about 5 pilots in contention on the national ladder so the pressure was on.

Friday arrived to confirm the cyclone had dissipated over night and once again we were greeted to classic Dalby conditions. The day was excellent. Thermals varied from 2m/sec to 4.5m/sec on the first leg to Chinchilla, 70km down wind from Dalby. Streeting was almost parallel to course line but sections of the task saw over development and widespread shading. Chinchilla was often shaded-in and seemed to be a dead spot for lift and pulled many pilots down. A few pilots spoke of tense low saves right over or near the turn point but from there the course line turned south west and now paralleled the cloud streets.

Goal was Condamine about 50km from Chinchilla. Climb rates maintained around 2-4m/sec and with the drift the final leg took about 4 climbs for about 12 pilots to make it ‘in’. As we packed-up in the goal paddock Conrado from Brazil called for everyone to look to the west, and there the sky presented like a sureal oil painting, mature and the finest looking and densely packed textbook-perfect cu as far as the eye could see.

Like Day 1 this task was probably under called but the important thing was getting what we came here for; excellent conditions and great flying.

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Results: Task 3

1. Curt Warren

2. Steve Blenkinsop

3. Jonny Durand

4. Adam Parer

5. Trent Brown


The last day was another Dalby classic and the lighter drift had us flying a 134km triangle task; 44km to Jandowea, 32km to Brigalow, and then 58km into the headwind back to Dalby Airport. Today was the most challenging task with significant changes in the flying conditions throughout the course. The first leg was fairly easy although the turn point found many circling in broken and light climbs. On the way to the second turnpoint the thermals resumed with good climbs, some averaging up to 4m/sec, but then the latter half of this leg ‘blued-up’ as the clouds thinned out.

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The Darling Downs from the air.


This last turn point was a trap for those who picked the wrong line but for those who veered right of course found good climbs and some pilots still reported finding up to 5m/sec on the way to goal. For those who came late it got harder as the sky blued-up once and for all. Eventually the climbs barely made ground against the drift.
Curt Warren totally blitzed the task. He confirmed a first place for the day and the competition, and a definite position on the Australian team.
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Results: Day 4
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1. Curt Warren
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2. Jonny Durand
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3. Peter Dall
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4. Steve Blenkinsop
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5. Oli Barthelmes
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Overall Results
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1. Curt Warren
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2. Jonny Durand
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3. Steve Blenkinsop
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4. Adam Parer
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5. Cameron Tunbridge
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The Bigair was the last competition for the season. The national team to compete in Laragne, France, in June, includes: Jonny, Curt, Steve and Scott Barratt. A 5th vacancy has been approved by CIVL and will be offered to Chris Jones. If he declines the position forwards to Cameron Tunbridge. Good luck to them all.

The DHGC are to commended for running yet another excellent competition. Until next year....
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All photos courtesy of Jason 'Yoda' Reid
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