How to do a Positive Control Check?

Guys you are missing the point! There is a difference between a
Critical Assembly Check and a Positive Control Check. A PCC would NOT
have helped Clem. With the elevator connecting bolt taped over, the
glider would have most likely passed the PCC! I am all in favor of
doing the Critical Assembly Check. I always do mine twice, first after
rigging, second before launch. Of all of the accidents described, most
would have been avoided by doing a proper CAC, not PCC!

On Jun 4, 8:56 am, Andreas Maurer <mau...@funsystem.de> wrote:
> On Tue, 3 Jun 2008 19:43:51 -0700 (PDT), john.t....@ wrote:
> >Please name one accident of a glider with auto hookups that could have
> >been prevented by a positive control check. I sure don't know any. A
> >seized bearing will be detected by simply moving the stick. In all
> >gliders I know there is no scenario of control failure that would
> >necessitate a positive control check for detection.
>
> There have been SEVERAL incidents and accidents of DG gliders where
> the automatic hookup of the elevator was not connected correctly.
>
> Not to mention several (unfortunately usually fatal) crashes of
> gliders where the auto hookups were connected correctly, but the
> horizontal tail was not. Ernst-Gernot Peter and Clem Bowman come to my
> mind...
>
> >You are making a slippery slope argument. Should we mandate annual
> >stress tests of wings in the name of safety? Overhaul all tost
> >releases every 100 cycles?
>
> Nope... but to do a simple 2 minute check before the flight...
>
> Bye
> Andreas

On 4 Jun, 20:27, "noel.wade" <noel.w...@> wrote:
> > > On Jun 3, 7:18 pm, john.t....@ wrote:
>
> > After all, he's going to be the one in trouble if he's wrong. But it
>
> Let's tackle that statement once and for all, shall we?

> I know this wasn't Ian's main point in his post - but its important to
> mull this over before you think that "its OK becuase I'm the one who
> will pay if I screw up".  You can't be that certain.

OK, I will happily amend that to "He's the one person who will
certainly be in trouble if he screws up..."

> P.S.  Contrary to popular belief, its possible to be safe AND still
> have a ton of fun.  Being safe doesn't mean being nasty or boring - it
> just means taking 5 minutes to be responsible!

Of course. That's why I do positive control checks. But one of the
best ways to reduce safety is to make checks and routines /too/
automatic. I think it is much better to have people follow routines
they've thought about than follow a checklist blindly.

I think, for example, of all the pilots trained by BGA instructors in
K21s (or K13s or Bocians or ...) to say
"...strapstightinstrumentsoknoflapsfittedcanopyclo sed..." pre take-off
or
"windslightlycrossfromtherightundercarriagefixeddo wnspeedappropriate ...."
while downwind.

Ian

JJ Sinclair wrote:
....
> PS, I have seen a pilot retract the gear when asked to do a control
> check.........it can happen!

Interesting, thanks for that detail. I've always wondered if it's possible to retract the gear
with weight on the wheel - that is, on the ground. One'd think it possible to design an over-center
mechanism that would make that impossible, or at least *really* hard to do.
But it is experiment I've never been willing to try.

Sarah

On Jun 5, 7:54 pm, Sarah Anderson <quesara...@> wrote:
> JJ Sinclair wrote:
>
> ...
>
> > PS, I have seen a pilot retract the gear when asked to do a control
> > check.........it can happen!
>
> Interesting, thanks for that detail.  I've always wondered if it's possible to retract the gear
> with weight on the wheel - that is, on the ground.   One'd think it possible to design an over-center
> mechanism that would make that impossible, or at least *really* hard to do..
> But it is experiment I've never been willing to try.
>
> Sarah

I have tried it. With the plane assembled, but still in the 'cradle',
extend the undercarriage, then lower the cradle until the weight is
all on the wheel, but it can only drop an inch (or less). Get in, and
try to retract the gear. In the Speed Astir, I can't do it with a
very firm pull on the gear handle.

Distressingly easy on a Std Cirrus.

james.d.wynhoff@saic.com wrote:
> On Jun 5, 7:54 pm, Sarah Anderson <quesara...@> wrote:
>> JJ Sinclair wrote:
>>
>> ...
>>
>>> PS, I have seen a pilot retract the gear when asked to do a control
>>> check.........it can happen!
>> Interesting, thanks for that detail. I've always wondered if it's possible to retract the gear
>> with weight on the wheel - that is, on the ground. One'd think it possible to design an over-center
>> mechanism that would make that impossible, or at least *really* hard to do.
>> But it is experiment I've never been willing to try.
>>
>> Sarah
>
> I have tried it. With the plane assembled, but still in the 'cradle',
> extend the undercarriage, then lower the cradle until the weight is
> all on the wheel, but it can only drop an inch (or less). Get in, and
> try to retract the gear. In the Speed Astir, I can't do it with a
> very firm pull on the gear handle.