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Spark
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Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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Location: Evergreen, Colorado
PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 12:45 pm    Post subject: Busted Shoulder Reply with quote #1   
Location: Lookout Mountain, Golden Colorado, LZ

Date 4/23/2011

Damage to pilot: <edit> torn bicep, torn supraspinatus tendon (rotator cuff)

Damage to glider: None

A few contributing factors in no significant order. Eliminating any one of these might have changed the outcome.

no wheels
glider trimmed too slow
late transition to uprights
insufficient airspeed on approach

This injury was avoidable


Link

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'Spark
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Last edited by Spark on Tue Jun 07, 2011 2:47 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Bobfly
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #2   
Sparks, was that you? I guess the injury was from hanging on to the downtubes?
He almost got the keel hangover too. Shocked I hope the pilot heals quickly and fully.
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Spark
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Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 12:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #3   
Bobfly wrote:
Sparks, was that you? I guess the injury was from hanging on to the downtubes?
He almost got the keel hangover too. Shocked I hope the pilot heals quickly and fully.


yeah, that is me (typing left-handed)

Good point. I waited a bit too long to let go (another factor contributing to the injury) ... I was trying to get the nose as high as possible before I impacted.

at least I got some good video of it.
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Last edited by Spark on Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:22 pm; edited 1 time in total
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HangDiver
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #4   
Allen? Was that you??
Oh No......
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Bobfly
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #5   
Damn, Sparks! I'm glad you weren't hurt worse although at our age this is bad enough. At least the wing is fine. did the doc tell you how long to heal? Time to put that new hot tub to use. surrender
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Rick M
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #6   
Major bummer Spark. So sorry you hurt yourself yesterday. Heal quickly.
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TomGalvin
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #7   
Damn, sorry to see this. I hope it will be a quick recovery.

Since this seems to have become a accident dissection thread, my only other observations are that you seemed to be a little low in ground effect, and you pushed out more than up.

Thanks for sharing.
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Spark
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #8   
Bobfly wrote:
Damn, Sparks! I'm glad you weren't hurt worse although at our age this is bad enough. At least the wing is fine. did the doc tell you how long to heal? Time to put that new hot tub to use. surrender


I've only seen a physician's assistant (Saturday 1 hour before closing) ... I hope to see an ortho tomorrow.

The fracture is obvious in the X-ray images. Fortunately there is not much displacement. I'll know more in a few days.

No hot tub ... right now I need lots of ice on this shoulder.
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whitemaw
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #9   
Would wheels have helped lessen the injury?
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NMERider
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #10   
Spark wrote:
......The fracture is obvious in the X-ray images. Fortunately there is not much displacement. I'll know more in a few days....

"What a drag it is getting old..." - Wilson Pickett & Steve Cropper
Well that really sucks. I hope the recovery & rehab go well. I'll tell Oscar when I see him tonight. That looks like his old F225.
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Spark
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #11   
whitemaw wrote:
Would wheels have helped lessen the injury?


yes, emphatically

and i have some. they are 12" pneumatic wheels.

funny, I've flown that glider almost exclusively with wheels and never rolled on them (always landed on my feet). Yesterday was a rare exception when I didn't use 'em.

kinda ironic, eh?

NMERider wrote:
"What a drag it is getting old..." - Wilson Pickett & Steve Cropper
Well that really sucks. I hope the recovery & rehab go well. I'll tell Oscar when I see him tonight. That looks like his old F225.


thanks. That's the wing I swapped Oscar for, and he got the Horizon ET 180 that I got from BlindRodie.

It's a nice floater. I need to move the hangpoint forward a little.
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Wodin
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #12   
Ouch! So sorry to see you get hurt Spark. May I put in my two cents worth?

Slow uncommitted lauch - not a cause of the crash but an indicator of complacent technique.

Late transition to the uprights.

Hands too low on the uprights, much better to have them up near your ears.

"Mushed" the bar out before the flare which slowed the glider and robbed it of energy needed for the flare.

You pushed out and away with your flare instead of UP (see http://www.ptone.com/flare/ )

Didn't "Assume The Position" (see http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22149 )

No wheels. crazy

I really hope this doesn't put you off flying. Get better, get back into it. thumbsup
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Spark
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #13   
thanks for the comments Smile

I thought I had sufficient airspeed, and didn't ...

Remember, this video is slowed down to several frames per second. I ran out of time to a) get my hands up higher (late transition) and I ran out of sufficient altitude to get my feet beneath me.

I suspect the glider was trimmed too slow from recent flights where I had swapped hang straps so my buddy Bille could fly the wing. Not an excuse ... something to examine.
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kermit
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #14   
I feel your pain as I type with my left hand
two weeks ago sat broke right humerus from a weak ass flair
hope to post story, video and x-rays sometime this week
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David Bodner
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #15   
Oh, man. That looks like how I busted my arm a year ago. Shocked

I'm sorry to see that. Heal fast!
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Spark
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #16   
kermit wrote:
I feel your pain as I type with my left hand
two weeks ago sat broke right humerus from a weak ass flair
hope to post story, video and x-rays sometime this week


Wow kermit ... I'm really sorry that happened to you. Sad

I broke my humerous (spiral fracture) in a downwind landing at Slide mtn in 1989. I still have the plates and screws. I was lucky to have partially recovered from the radial nerve damage. It really messed up my guitar playing.

I sure hope you heal quickly. Smile
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David Bodner
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #17   
Oh, man. That looks like how I busted my arm a year ago. Shocked

I'm sorry to see that. Heal fast!
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HangDiver
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #18   
Called and left a message. Hope you heal up soon. It was nice of you to post the video for all to see.
Heal fast my friend.
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pjwings
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #19   
Oh Spark, that hurt to watch. I can't stand watching a friend get hurt. Dang man, get that shoulder healed up so we can fly together in the fall!
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dgs
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote #20   
Spark wrote:
I thought I had sufficient airspeed, and didn't ...

It's a little hard to tell since the video slows down, but it didn't look that slow. At 0:38 you're a little low, and then your knees start dragging the ground and your arms become fully extended. From that point there was nothing you could do: the ground is pulling you aft by your knees, your arms are already straight, and there's nothing more to give on the flare even if you did have some extra airspeed. I may be confusing cause and effect, but yeah, wheels are good!

Regardless of how it happened, we're all real sorry about your injury - and Kermit's too. Tough way to start a season, and I hope you both recover quickly!

Dan
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