ASK13 Winch launches and mid air mechanical failure.

Flying on the 2nd of Jan to kick off the new year and got more than we bargained for on the second flight. A bell crank failure meant we had a partially extended port airbrake making the aircraft difficult to fly. luckily we had plenty of height and once we figured out the aircraft was still controllable, we carried out a steady high circuit to land.

[@BrunoVassel]

"She is US though..." LOL :) Great job and so glad it didn't act like a spoileron and you landed safe! Thanks so much for sharing. Can't wait till we start back up in the spring on this side of the big pond. Happy New Years! Bruno

[@lhitchins]

Happy new year Bruno, it was my first real issue with an airborne aircraft so I am pretty glad she remained relatively docile throughout.

[@Upuauta]

Ah the ASK13. I used to fly it in my youth here in Germany. A very nice and gentle plain to learn on.

[@miksal26]

I used to enjoy flying the L13 from the back seat .It gave my passengers a great experience. I also found that I had better longitudinal awarenes as I had far more of the forward part of the aircraft to refer to, especially during aerobatics. Ah! Thems were the days!. Cheers from Downunder 😷👍🇦🇺stay safe.

[@MrRichardhodgetts]

Excellent airmanship! Top marks for staying so calm, careful consideration of the situation with the safest decision made.

[@lhitchins]

Thanks Richard, plenty of time for decision making being so high and so close to the airfield.

[@scenicbearviewing]

Excellent airmanship?

[@alansteverussell5619]

I know ASK13 well, a wonderful glider, a "father of a family" who forgives many situations that are sometimes really unpleasant. Very nice your landing, really impressive the shadow of the glider in front of you approaching. Nice, really nice. Thanks for your video.

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

Wow, you found a way to break a K13, congrats 😁 Thanks for uploading. Helps my airmanship to see this!

[@Paul-vh6ul]

Good illustration of pilots staying calm, rational and optimistic. I would have kept more altitude above the threshold/road just in case the glide slope had become less controllable on final.

[@RichardKingADI]

Both glider and airfield look very familiar to me - having spent a few enjoyable afternoons at Bicester!

[@jimmarburger611]

I flew with the Enstone Eagles during the late 80's, I know that it was close to Bicester. I was a US serviceman stationed at RAF Fairford and living at an old WWII base at Little Rissington just outside of Bourton on the Water. That countryside looks awful familiar lol. I did my FAI duration in a Ka 6, five and half hours, did my height gain there as well. Flew the Ka 6, a Blanik and a ASK as well. Thanks for the memory boost.

[@lhitchins]

Hey Jim, my father in law, Gordon Markham, also flew with the Enstone Eagles during that period. it was meeting his daughter and flying with his son Richard that got me into gliding in the first place. small world.

[@jimmarburger611]

@@lhitchins Small world indeed. I wish my memory was up to the task of remembering people's names, but sadly not. I remember well the amazing times I had. The club made me feel at home when I was so far away from mine. It would be difficult to find a better group of people. Thank you for letting me remember.

[@scenicbearviewing]

That’s some real uncoordinated flying. Someone doesn’t like bank or is afraid of it. He is using way too much rudder. The yaw string is all over the place. In a properly done turn the yaw string should be straight back.

[@pajarinennn5988]

15:50

[@fingerhorn4]

Very well managed. Must have been an anxious moment wondering if the left airbrake would pop out full with the other one closed. That would have been very nasty. I wonder if there has been a BGA or other advisory about this if it is an issue with all K13s? It's a very serious flaw if assymetrical airbrakes are an ongoing problem with this type. Note to self: ask any clubs visited in coming year if they are aware of this.

[@lhitchins]

It's a bell crank failure in the fuselage and a known issue

[@fingerhorn4]

You have a very nice manner with your passengers, and your flying is impeccable (yaw string is always centered on your flights). I wish all instructors had a similar pleasant manner. I hope you become a full cat in the future. Thanks for all the videos which I have enjoyed very much.

[@wielzillen2419]

Lee Hitchins7

[@leosentinella4487]

Used to fly at Bicester but recently the club has lost its lease so gliding can no longer continue at the site Very good video as well has helped me so far in my training as well I have also flown hal if that is the one or were you in KKR which I have also flow. Very nice k13s

[@MrSilentPilot]

It may be just the camera angle but they looked to be quite flat turns with too much rudder (string on the inside). That's never a good idea!

[@olivier1106]

i recognise the airfeild, is it bicster, i have been their a couple times, have been towed by G-KTOW from haddenham (Upward Bound Trust) I can say as a young pilot, with very little experince seemed like a very well handled emergency, only thing i wouldnt have done was open and close the airbreak as it could have jammed in the fully open position. nicely handled and great launches and landings.

[@mumblecake251]

I guess you want to know for sure when you still have a choice to bail out. If you only find out while in the final stages of the circuit this could be a nasty surprise. But then I'm fairly new to the sport so this is just a gut instinct rather than from experience.

[@laguna3fase4]

Yep looks like my old home club site( when it was RAF Bicester).

[@dannycochrane1001]

@@laguna3fase4 or the place as it was known by every other GSA club

[@airbornerat]

Nice piloting 👌

[@kenmichael9779]

If they have a mechanical issue why is anybody saying they are bas pilots. That's just crazy they landed the craft even though the issue happened.

[@planes1997]

I always find the noise of the landing quite demonic both on grass and on tarmac/concrete etc. Very well done on the landings there :)

[@lhitchins]

planes1997 thanks for the comments. Yes sitting in a tube that has a wheel with no suspension attached makes it sound horrific.

[@whitefields5595]

I would not have cycled the airbrake. Best to return to airfield and only use airbrake (if at all) on finals. Cycling could have made an unknown problem worse. These things are so simple it could only have been a mechanical failure. Unnecessary cycling could have made it worse. Reminds me of the Alaska Airlines DC9 when the siezed stabilised was cycled by the crew to try and "free it". If a control surface has an issue, land the plane with minimal use of that surface.

[@lhitchins]

whitefields5595 The issue with that is in a K13 the air brake circuit is connected to the aileron circuit by a bell crank, i needed to determine if the primary control circuit was affected while we had enough height t bail out if needed. Once I figured out it was ok I needed to determine if I could get the breaks balances for approach which I could. The who,e thing was flown in a circuit which would have allowed immediate return to the airfield with full break

[@whitefields5595]

I was not told the airbrake was linked to the aileron when I flew the K13. Do you have a source please? You could (and did?) verify aileron control by operating the stick, not cycling the airbrake. If you knew of believed them to be 'linked' then cycling the brake introduced a new risk. I believe the minor port brake deployment would not have affected a long landing.

[@lhitchins]

You can look at any K13 manual, or take a look in the back behind the spars. you can see the circuits are connected onto one bell crank on each side. using the air brakes has the affect of twisting the crank and this can introduce the restriction... usually it is a large over centre that puts the pressure on the joints in the first place. of course there is risk but I have altitude on my side to investigate the problem before committing the circuit. initially I could not tell if the top plate of the brake had come loose, from my seat, so I cycled the break. The I moved them around to see how the controls were affected, and finally before committing to landing I wanted to make sure they could be used together. PM me your email and I will send you the photos I have of the failed unit.

[@whitefields5595]

I will look at the manual. Meanwhile there appears to be a mandatory 1991 AD concerning faults with K13 airbrake bellcranks. You should know of any ADs on the planes you fly. I maintain that cycling the brake was unwise, even more so given the AD.

[@JimWalsh-rl5dj]

Final, you can ony do it once. The RT call is Final to land! Sorry to be pedantic!

[@neilc1078]

What did maintenance find that caused it to happen?

[@lhitchins]

HI Neil, Once de-rigged there was no obvious cause however, ASK13s have a known issue with the bell crank brackets and it is suspected that high over centre locking forces on the airbrake can cause the bracket to break. Every year during the gliders annuals the brackets are inspected for corrosion and damage.

[@lhitchins]

Neil Croxford hey Neil it was a bell crank failure, one of The arms had snapped allow the over center on the air brakes to come undone on the port side

[@alienxyt]

Good day for shadow pics!

[@thomastucker5686]

What happens during a winch tow if the cable won't release? I would think this would be an emergency that is possible.

[@lhitchins]

The hook on the bottom of the aircraft has a special mechanism that allows the cable to "back" release if the aircraft overflies the winch. the winch also has a guillotine which allows the driver to cut the cable from the winch end if the glider cannot release. should this occur the glider will turn back to the airfield and fly a gradually descending circular pattern to land.

[@jop5827]

Engine failure

[@yves2348]

The air brake issue would have freaked me out.

[@lhitchins]

It was no issue really, I had full control, was next to the airfield and was confident of making a safe landing

[@nigelperry9003]

In that wind base leg too wide and risk of undershooting. i would have called downwind checks.

[@lhitchins]

I am afraid that your assessment is incorrect. we had a mechanical failure of our airbrakes with a restriction in the control circuit which meant I was not sure if I could get half or full airbrake... and if I could get them, could I retract them again. for that reason the circuit was planned to prevent the most probable outcome, which would have been an overshoot had I not been able to deploy the airbrakes fully. I think you can see from both landings in the video, I put the aircraft exactly where I wanted it to be.

[@nigelperry9003]

I was thinking of the first circuit over a populated area but hey gliding has finished at Bicester.

[@lhitchins]

@@nigelperry9003 nothing wrong with that circuit either. Ended up turning final being able to fly 60kts with half air brake all the way down to a spot landing next to the bus 😀

[@javiermeza5086]

Wat cable mechanism pulls that glider

[@lhitchins]

It’s a winch cable attached to a large mechanical pulley. You take of the same as pulling a string on a kite

[@markplain2555]

LEE, here is a video of an ASK-13 in an accident (they all lived thank God): kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIqrYYN5ra6sn9U If I watch the last moment the glider was wing down slipping right almost as though the pilot was turning while attempting to land. I wonder if it wasn't the right airbrake coming out during final approach. . After watching that video and this one, I don't think I can set foot in a ASK-13 (am I over reacting?)

[@lhitchins]

Hey Mark, thanks for pointing me at that very interesting video. Firstly I am almost 100% sure that this was not a mechanical failure of the glider. If you notice in my video, the yaw induced by the airbrake is very sudden and theirs was not. I have not had a look for the accident report, but from what I can see this looks like it is a stall/spin accident possibly caused by an undershoot scenario occurring, especially when you see that the right-wing actually hit the boundary hedge. Or it could be that an unexpected obstacle appeared in the landing area and the pilot was forced to adjust and this lead to the stall spin. one of the key pieces of information is that the camera pilot/passenger has the stick held all the way to the left and the glider is still rolling right. This is a classic indication that the right-wing is stalled, and holding the stick to the left actually makes that situation worse. I won't go into the fact that the camera pilot had his hand on the stick at all during the landing sequence because I don't know the history, if it was his first flight, however, his hand should have never been anywhere near that control column. lastly, the ASK13 is an outstanding glider, especially for learning to fly in, and most of the accidents are usually caused by pilots not remembering that you need SPEED, BRAINS and ALTITUDE in a combination of two, always!

[@WAVEGURU]

It sure bothers me to see people fly so uncoordinated.

[@lhitchins]

WAVEGURU yeah, first time on type for a long time. My glider flies itself pretty much

[@WAVEGURU]

@@lhitchins I lost a very good friend in a glider spin accident last year. It is so important that you fly coordinated!!! All the time. In every aircraft you fly. No excuses! Don't be so lazy. Your glider does not fly itself. I'll bet if you post a video of you flying your glider, it will show that you are flying UNCOORDINATED!!! You have obviously let yourself slip into some bad habits. You are an instructor? Your life and others lives depend on flying correctly.

[@lhitchins]

As I am sure you will know a long lay off over the winter + time off of type make you rusty. I think you would be justified in your comments had I come out of the block saying there was nothing wrong with that flight, of course there was, but I was flying with another experienced pilot and made sure I had plenty of speed and height on during the circuit to mitigate the rustyness. also incase you didnt notice the second flight had a mechanical failure, which again, was mitigated with speed and height. I am an instructor and I instruct only when my currency is good and I am happy with my flying to do so, as any responsible pilot does! I have lost several friends also over the last few years and constantly review accident reports in an effort to improve my airmanship.

[@WAVEGURU]

@@lhitchins I would feel much better if you had just said "Yes, my flying is very sloppy and I really need to quit doing that altogether!" You are still making poor excuses for yourself. Shame on BOTH of you! I didn't hear either one of you say a single word about the yaw string being WAY off most of each flight. This is a recipe for disaster my friend. Quit making excuses and pledge to stop accepting mediocre flying...

[@WAVEGURU]

Or, stop flying altogether?