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Mavi Gogun
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009
Posts: 978
Location: Istanbul (not Constantinople)
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 Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:03 am Post subject: Discus C tip lever fell off, preflight |
 #1 |
On the seventh flight of my Discus, I unbagged a wing tip to find the tip cam lever, bolt, nut and washers laying in the dirt. My first thought was  , then thinking turned to  , then some other emoticons. Referencing the manual found no diagram for the assembly, so naturally I just detention the other tip and examined it. The threads on the bolt didn't look great (a bit flattened), and there was no sign of lock-tight.
All in all, it was a valuable experience. I consider my preflight to be relatively thorough. The problem comes with seeing an assembled glider as a thing with a proper shape- of expectation. The glider is capable of many shapes- only one of which flies well. Maybe vibration rotated the nut off while in the bag on the truck; maybe there was some sign before then. Preflighting the glider after the reassembly of the tip cam lever, I asked myself what else I was missing. I test most every other nut I can reach- but the cross bar connection to the leading edge is easy to see, and I have habitually glossed over it as I reach into the wing to touch the side wire safety pin. What else? The sprog/leading juncture is covered with neoprene- I may peel it back and look, but usually don't touch. The cross bar joint is covered, and I never examine it. The haul back and VG at the cross bar I've neglected. Testing each of those costs very, very little. Truth be told, I hate unwrapping the sprogs and crossbar joint- and I let that determine if they got inspected; after all, they should be a certain expected shape, right?
Later that day, after flying, my wife found a safety ring missing and the pin half-way protruding from the upper down tube of her Aeros Discus B...
Last edited by Mavi Gogun on Tue Jul 03, 2012 3:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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pud
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Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 298
Location: UK
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:52 am Post subject: |
#2 |
Well that's just naffing great I pick up my new Discus this week and already it needs a sail off inspection.
Should have stuck to my 20 year old killer Kiss!
Also see.
http://www.aeros.com.ua/safety/N10_e.htm
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Skyhook BogRog built from plans
Own design and built experiment
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Mavi Gogun
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009
Posts: 978
Location: Istanbul (not Constantinople)
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:29 am Post subject: |
#3 |
| pud wrote: |
| Well that's just naffing great I pick up my new Discus this week and already it needs a sail off inspection. |
Prior to the Discus, I had never done a sail-off inspection on one of my own gliders; now, I would do such on any glider that was new to me, or on any glider that I wouldn't trust my life to the owner. Being comfortable and familiar with sail removal is a good thing; if you have the B model and plan to short-pack, it will become routine.
My upper sail is transparent- helps a little with inspection (though, the under sail is white; saw a video of myself with clouds as backdrop- all I could see was my black harness). |
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peanuts
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Joined: 08 Jul 2008
Posts: 1880
Location: virginia
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:47 am Post subject: |
#4 |
| seems that this is not just a one manufacturer thing. a couple of weeks ago, i saw another pilot unbag a wing from another maker only to find SOME of the tip hardware lying loose in the bag. no fly for him. |
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tom emery
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Joined: 24 Sep 2011
Posts: 664
Location: san diego
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:51 am Post subject: Questions |
#5 |
| Gotta ask. Who makes the Discus? Does "naffing" mean what I think it means? Thanks. |
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Mavi Gogun
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009
Posts: 978
Location: Istanbul (not Constantinople)
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:18 am Post subject: Re: Questions |
#6 |
| tom emery wrote: |
| Gotta ask. Who makes the Discus? Does "naffing" mean what I think it means? Thanks. |
| myself, in first post wrote: |
| Later that day, after flying, my wife found a safety ring missing and the pin half-way protruding from the upper down tube of her Aeros Discus B... |
And, NO- 'naffing' has nothing to do with man-dog-love- get your mind out of the gutter. It comes from polari, a slang form used by British actors, circus folk, criminals, prostitutes, gay subculture, and, occasionally, hang glider pilots, and means "inferior, tacky, rubbish, useless, of poor quality", though it may also be used as an intensifier in much the way of "f***ing", and for "fool around", as in "Where's dad?" - "He's naffing around with his glider in the garage." |
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knumbknuts
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Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Posts: 5007
Location: Carlsbad, CA
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:24 am Post subject: |
#7 |
Glad you are OK, Mavi.
Tom, Aeros makes the discus, they are in the Ukraine.
http://www.aeros.com.ua
Noman swears by their Combat and a few other Mother Load Sky Riders fly them.
I think SG had a long, long battle to find side wires for his Discus. As far as I know, there's no US dealer. |
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pud
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Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 298
Location: UK
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:29 am Post subject: Re: Questions |
#8 |
| tom emery wrote: |
| Gotta ask. Who makes the Discus? Does "naffing" mean what I think it means? Thanks. |
Aeros make the Discus.
Naff. From the British sit-com “Porridge”
Used as in Naff off, Naffing hell, you Naffer etc.
A polite way of saying what I think you think it means and they got away with in on the telly!
_________________
Skyhook BogRog built from plans
Own design and built experiment
Skyhook Sunspot
Skyhook Sabre (CFX)
23 year rest…
Airwave Calypso
Airwave Kiss
Discus (super colour, hand picked you know) |
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Eteamjack
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Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 1142
Location: So Cal
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:24 am Post subject: |
#9 |
Not to knock Aeros, but I couldn't give away my Discus in almost new condition.
I did give away my Stealth 3 and so did the pilot who took possession.
Not too many instances where I thought my wing was trying to kill me, but both occurred on these wings. I now fly a sweet U2. The problem with
parts as you mentioned I once owned a new glider from a stateside MGgr. that had a nut loose and safety missing from a bolt that the nose wires connected to.
My U2 I own now when I bought it used had one of the safety rings that passes through a pin that the DT's connect to keel tore up pretty bad. This was not any fault of the MFGR though. We all should give our equipment a thorough check
on a semi annual basis.
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Mavi Gogun
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009
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Location: Istanbul (not Constantinople)
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blindrodie
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Location: Roeland Park, KS
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:43 am Post subject: |
#11 |
Sonny is a good guy if you are on his good side!
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Pete B
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Joined: 09 May 2008
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Location: The wetlands, UK
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:23 am Post subject: |
#12 |
Aeros are as technically competent as any manufacturer. They would like to receive an incident report from you, and I'm sure you've posted one to them. Nuts and bolts should be self locking. Aeros will source them from a manufacturer that is probably used by all the other manufacturers in Europe.
Pete
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Eteamjack
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Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 1142
Location: So Cal
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:24 am Post subject: |
#13 |
I found most of the dealers to be non existent except for Highland. They were able to assist with my Discus.
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tom emery
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Joined: 24 Sep 2011
Posts: 664
Location: san diego
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:44 pm Post subject: Naff |
#14 |
| Naffing brilliant that Aeros Discus. Did I get that right? |
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tom emery
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Joined: 24 Sep 2011
Posts: 664
Location: san diego
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:44 pm Post subject: Naff |
#15 |
| Naffing brilliant that Aeros Discus. Did I get that right? |
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Mavi Gogun
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009
Posts: 978
Location: Istanbul (not Constantinople)
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:13 pm Post subject: |
#16 |
| Pete B wrote: |
| Aeros are as technically competent as any manufacturer. They would like to receive an incident report from you, and I'm sure you've posted one to them. |
Right you are; I posted Aeros before posting here.
| Oleg (with Aeros) wrote: |
| The problem you've described is not typical for Discus. This is the first time we have complain about it. |
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Vrezh
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Joined: 19 Nov 2006
Posts: 367
Location: Los Angeles
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:37 pm Post subject: |
#17 |
I've seen this type of things happen with almost any make, not just Aeros.
Glad it wasn't an in-flight occurrence.
Definitely would inform Aeros.
Next time I am doing my sail off inspection, I will make sure all the bolts are
inserted heads up.
Yeah, you are right, some things are hard to see or check, but you gotta do it.
Fly safe. |
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Mavi Gogun
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009
Posts: 978
Location: Istanbul (not Constantinople)
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:25 pm Post subject: |
#18 |
| Vrezh wrote: |
| Next time I am doing my sail off inspection, I will make sure all the bolts are inserted heads up. |
I would not alter the orientation of the bolts; on the tips, for example, this would present the nut to contact with the ground- and I suspect that other hardware was not randomly oriented without consideration. I reckon the nut could be removed entirely once the tip is tensioned and the bolt would stay in place. |
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Mavi Gogun
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009
Posts: 978
Location: Istanbul (not Constantinople)
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| Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 3:00 am Post subject: Aeros response |
#19 |
| Oleg with Aeros has included replacement parts in a shipment to our local dealer; his response to my correspondence was prompt. |
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frost
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Joined: 31 Oct 2011
Posts: 7
Location: Kiev, Ukraine
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| Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 5:16 am Post subject: |
#20 |
| Mavi Gogun wrote: |
| Vrezh wrote: |
| Next time I am doing my sail off inspection, I will make sure all the bolts are inserted heads up. |
I would not alter the orientation of the bolts; on the tips, for example, this would present the nut to contact with the ground- and I suspect that other hardware was not randomly oriented without consideration. I reckon the nut could be removed entirely once the tip is tensioned and the bolt would stay in place. |
In this particular case the self locking nut has to be over the top surface of sail. Such orientation makes preflight check much easier. The only thing you have to check "Do the 1.5-2 turns of bolt's thread come out from the nut's top?" |
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