monkey Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I was with Colin and Colin doing some training yesterday at the M4 Membury Services field and dropped the brakes a couple of times during ground handling practice (only the second half day of training). I did not have the motor on my back but it got me to thinking that there could be something created to prevent the brakes from being sucked into or somehow traveling into the propeller during operation. I know it is a crime to let go of the brakes BEFORE putting them onto the magnets but I forgot due to the high level of concentration needed for my first forward nil wind launch practice It is a slap on the wrist each time the brakes are let go, both times I got a telling off, and I can understand why due to the dangers of this. Has anyone, or does anyone, know of a system to prevent brakes traveling into the propeller during operation (on the ground or during flight) so that IF ever this happens by accident the risks are reduced because we know what happens if the brakes get on the prop' when in the air. I know that the best practice is to make sure you have them secured at all times, in the hands or on the megnets, but nobody is perfect and it is sometimes easy to forget the important things. I have been looking at the cage on the motor thinking of ways around this but maybe some of you have ideas or know how to prevent?? Thanks, Monkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1buell_wl Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I would not worry. Once your in flight I cannot imagine how a brake handle would ever get even remotely close to the prop. Its not impossible but dam close. In flight the glider will take its normal shape that pull the brakes up nice. I just let go of mine in flight all the time and let them find their own magnets lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatix Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Cage netting ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 I got paranoid after the training yesterday with the comments about brakes traveling into the prop' and also I've seen that video of the crash in Surin, Thailand, where the brakes caught up and took a guy smack into the ground When you say cage netting do you mean adding some finer mesh over the existing? I am not thick (may sound like it from this post) at all but just looking to start off in this hobby with safety as number one priority. I am still very new to PPG and the biggest pussy flyer you can ever meet (was the same with GA and Microlight flying but logged hundreds and hundreds of incident free hours). If conditions are not right or I think something could potentially cause serious problems I like to know how to avoid these where possible. Thanks for answers so far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1buell_wl Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 About that crash in Surin, Thailand, They didn't tell you they extended the lines of the glider so the could pull start from the moped Forget about this worry and go have a cold beer. Standard net is more them fine. Your break line can not even extend to the cage in flight even in a spiral dive. Once you fly you will remember this post and think...... "what the hell was I worried about?" emmmm beer time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 Thanks for the answers and I'll take your word for it... Relax and enjoy the rest of my training. Appreciate the reassurance. ATB, Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartasutherland Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Always park your brakes before letting go. Easy. I think it happened on the Tip to Tip DVD - so it can happen. Perhaps more so in turbulence where the cage could be moving about and the wing unweighting allowig the brakes more slack. I would go for the beer though! Just park em, easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_b Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Always park your brakes before letting go. Easy.I think it happened on the Tip to Tip DVD - so it can happen. Perhaps more so in turbulence where the cage could be moving about and the wing unweighting allowig the brakes more slack. I would go for the beer though! Just park em, easy. It did and it was NOT nice facing the ground at 200 feet as well as losing the prop, exhaust and one cage section Brown pants time it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1buell_wl Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 monkey lol Watch the one vid of mine. Between slapping hands and picking the trees out of my cage I let go of the brake so many times. You can see when you lets go in one part of the video the breaks stay tight. They will find their magnets on their own. [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outkast Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 monkey lolWatch the one vid of mine. Between slapping hands and picking the trees out of my cage I let go of the brake so many times. You can see when you lets go in one part of the video the breaks stay tight. They will find their magnets on their own. [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo] unless you have a collapse, the brake line goes slack and reachs the prop of course, then you wished you would have got into the habit of parking them properly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1buell_wl Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 monkey lolWatch the one vid of mine. Between slapping hands and picking the trees out of my cage I let go of the brake so many times. You can see when you lets go in one part of the video the breaks stay tight. They will find their magnets on their own. [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo] unless you have a collapse, the brake line goes slack and reachs the prop of course, then you wished you would have got into the habit of parking them properly I was going to post that..... your right for sure..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dede2008 Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 It can happen and it has happened before, so its better to know what to do to avoid it. In modern reflex gliders in particular, when fully trimmed out they put most of the weight on A's, while D's and breaks are very slack. When you want to fly even faster, you push the speedbar which is further increasing the break's slackness. Combine this with the natural tendency for some people to push their legs down when using the speedbar which also means bending forward and dangerously narrowing the gap between the cage and the break's (slack) lines. So remember two things: 1) always attach the breaks handle to the magnets when releasing them for any reason. 2) When using speedbar, the legs need to be mantained perpendicular to the body trunk. Follow these two simple rules and you will never have to worry about this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Good advice The thing about not parking your brakes is, ask yourself why not? how hard is it? You can swim with sharks for a lifetime, which is until one of them decides to bite you. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 Thanks again to all who commented, and for the video. I am new to PPG as mentioned already and want to start out with as much education on the subject of safety as possible. For a few seconds of parking the brakes I reckon it's worth the small effort. All we need now is some summer weather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemberg Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Some cages have a configuration that makes it possible to happen while on other cages are better done and it looks pretty hard for it to happen. It can happen, I happened to a friend of mine, he was lucky because the handle just got ripped apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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