Outlanding WENT WRONG 😥 Bad Field Glider Landing

[@portnuefflyer]

This 49 years off of airport flying pilot is here to tell you: you will laugh about this in years to come, and the experience will do nothing but make you a better pilot! "Stuff" happens when you push the limits, that's how you know where the limits are! I actually teared up watching you talk about what happened, what a heartbreaker for sure..., but this too shall pass.

[@DWilliams-ce8nb]

As the old saying goes, "Any landing you walk away from is a good landing". Love your channel.

[@PureGlide]

Holy cow that machine to get the glider out was perfect! Fantastic, I've been in similar fields but much softer, so when you stand in it you sink in about 30cm. Impossible to bring in any machinery, so we had to walk it out which was difficult. I've also damaged my glider on landing a couple of times. The trick is everything is fixable. The gear collapsing is not surprising with that field. I've had mine collapse on take off before in an LS1-f, ripping the gear door off. I flew without it, thinking 'how bad could it possibly be?! It was bad, so noisy... Anyway well done on a good landing. You might think you chose badly, but you never know what will grab you. It could be the surface, or you could hit a hole, or a stick or anything! The most important thing is to avoid stalling, hitting a fence, or hitting powerlines or a wire. You just can't always judge a surface from the air. So it wasn't that bad at all. And think, it made a very interesting vlog!

[@MajorCaliber]

_Holy cow that machine to get the glider out was perfect!_ Ja, Deutschland, Land of Innovative and Purpose-Built Machines... ;')

[@daveymg]

What a heartbreaking event to have to go through, especially after all the work you've put into improving your glider. Glad to hear that no damage was done and you're back in the air.

[@alianjohnson6035]

sorry to see whats happened. at least you're ok. hope everything can be repaired and you can fly another day. all the best from Australia. cheers

[@julietsierra]

Thanks for your nice words, it’ll be alright and at least I can continue flying with the glider for this competition 🙊

[@Springfield-1903]

I'm happy to hear that you'll be able to continue flying in this competition. Good luck!

[@richosvideos911]

Well Done, glad you are safe👍 sailplanes can always be repaired 🙂💪

[@RoelBaardman]

Very impressive that you're sharing this. Hope the damage is easily repaired.

[@casaamaril]

Hoi Roel!

[@Sorarse]

I feel your pain. I landed in a field exactly the same once. From the air it looked absolutely fine, but as soon as the wheel touched down I could see that it was really rough. The only damage was to the undercarriage doors, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow. I hope your LS4 is OK.

[@michiroom1526]

Did te same... anyways when you go crosscountry you will land such places.

[@lautoka63]

You make your decisions and sometimes they're good, sometimes not. I have sat in a field after making a poor choice and felt like crying (which looked like how you felt, too). However, gliders are more easily repairable than people, so just smile and carry on. Well done on making this available.

[@cal-native]

You did a great job of 1) minimizing damage to the sailplane, and more importantly, 2) minimizing damage to yourself. You chose a brown field, where at least there is no irrigation equipment (deadly). You landed with the furrows. There were no crops destroyed, which you would have to compensate the owner for (it's hard to tell from the air under such stress what's growing in the green areas, including irrigation pipes). Could have been MUCH worse, and you gained valuable experience. 👍

[@soggybottom3463]

You are safe and well, sorry about the damage to the glider. Thanks for having the courage to post the bad stuff with the good - great vlog.

[@VictoryAviation]

Wow. That was simply terrible luck. I grew up in an agricultural environment (Midwest USA). I’ve never seen a field that rough… literally ever. I’m so glad that you’re ok. These things happen. Just keep pressing on! As a pilot myself, I completely understand that you can’t tell exactly what the condition of a field will be until you are almost touching down. Good luck and I hope the aircraft is quickly repairable.

[@plazaba]

Thank you very much for sharing this video. It is not easy to show this type of things, but it will be very helpful for a lot of pilots, myself included.Great video and more luck for the next flights!!

[@signrossi1]

Ich mag den Claas-Traktor. Cooles Gerät

[@no-engine-no-cry]

Der Fahrer hatte auch sichtlich Spaß dabei… 😉

[@ashleymuir1046]

I’m glad you are ok and the glider is not to badly damaged. After the rebuild it looks like a beautiful glider. Keep the videos coming I’m enjoying your experiences. I been flying planes and helicopters here in Australia for years and flying videos are great to watch.

[@timkin4190]

Well done Juliet! You made it to the ground safely... and thankfully, no lasting damage to your glider (perhaps just to your confidence)! We all have decisions we've made while gliding that we wish we could re-do... but in this case, you escaped any problems other than a hard retrieve and can keep on flying. Keep at it and keep sharing your experiences with the gliding fraternity.

[@fritz4345]

You are safe and that's all what really matters. Outlandings like this are part of the risks you take in competitions.

[@hogey74]

Randomly I was loving that fork-lift/tractor thingy. And he was a champion for helping like that. I was taught that you must fly all the way through a forced landing. And that includes staying on the level through the aftermath too. It sounds like you did that even though it wasn't fun. Good stuff.

[@TranceTrousers]

Glad to see you're ok, if a little shaken up. Hopefully the glider won't be too difficult to repair. Remember - stay away from the brown fields! :-)

[@wernerschulte6245]

Don´t worry about the decision to take the "brown" field. You ´ll never know the ugly holes which can wait in the grass to eat your landing gear completely! In our glidertraining we learned to take the browns not the greens. Glider does not look severe damaged. You are ok and that´s it. You could be glad that the field was dry. In the 80th we took a pupil from a real wet brown field where he landed with the Ka8 in the middel of. Well done, but the field was fresh manured which he could not smell during the decision. We didn´t have such a smart crane to recover the plane. Cleaning the glider was not the most comfortable action but had to be done quckly to avoid sticking in the wheel house.

[@kayeninetwo3585]

I'm very sorry about your misfortune. You are a very very brave person, and I'm sure you will overcome this setback. God be with you.

[@CalebNorthNorman]

O No! Glad you are ok. Accidents are a part of being human. Accidents sometimes serve to expose our weakness and to keep us humble. The important thing is that we learn the lessons they teach us and in the end it will make us a better person inside for it.

[@RV4aviator]

Ouch..! Sad to see Juliet. I admire you Glider pilots because every landing is a dead stick with no go around options..If I'm not happy with my approach in my RV4 , I just put power in and no sweat..! The main thing is your ok, and looks like you'll be back soaring soon..! Take care, soft sky , hard ground.

[@floatingonairandwater]

I landed a DG300 in a similar field in UK some years ago. I only realised what i was going into on finals. The clumps of earth were dry and rock-hard like concrete. Very nasty bumpy landing but somehow i got away with no damage at all. My CFI kindly gave the fuselage a full inspection a few days later. Getting it out of the field was tough as everything had to be hand-carried and i recall trying not to break my ankles whilst carrying wings and fus. Best of luck to you :-)

[@soaruk3697]

DG make sensible undercarriages with plenty of ground clearance and bigger wheel - LS didn't......... thats why DG modded the LS8's undercarriage when they took over production.

[@braddevendorf9901]

@@soaruk3697 Thank you for that information. I did not know that. I have flown the DG300 and very much liked it. I also like the LS ships, but this insight helps when I decide on what sailplane to get. I like DG, ASW, Ventus and LS.

[@siliconephil]

Listen to your voice. You’re devastated. I just wanna hug you. You’re alive though. ❤️

[@ronbranham4307]

I think you did great! Every outlanding teaches you something! The smart pilot learns and remembers: “plowed field bad!”, grass better. No one can second guess your decisions as a pilot! Really enjoyed your videos creating your new ride! Your glider didn’t let you down.

[@Paul-vh6ul]

This video is inspiration to fly XC. Something went awry, but your crew and a farmer helped you out.

[@tadeksmutek5840]

Julia, thank you for sharing this really sad video, but the most important thing in this situation that you are fine. Finger crossed for your glider - that damage will be not so huge.

[@sman5877]

You help others by sharing your experience. thank you kindly.😊

[@julietsierra]

Thanks for your kind words! I appreciate it 🫶🏼

[@christianbenzinger770]

Heeee Kopf hoch! Dir geht es gut und bist gesund. Den rest kann man reparieren! Du weißt ja jede Landung von der du alleine weg laufen kannst war eine Gute. Du hast erfahrungen gemacht und gelernt und das passt doch! Wünsche dir weiter all Zeit gute Landung und toller Channel hier! Gleich mal Abo raus!

[@fliegergruppegiengen]

Material can be reclaced, even when you invested so much passion in your glider. Good luck for the next days. Simon ☺️☀️✈️

[@archivist17]

Oh no! So glad you were unharmed, and the glider is cleared to continue. Hope the next task brings better luck for you.

[@tempest411]

Yikes! I've just discovered your channel. I can't help but be amazed by how much it must cost to enjoy that hobby (years ago I looked up the cost of one of those sailplanes and it was several hundred thousand Euros/Dollars/any other currency). And knowing what I do about composite structures, a landing in a field like that could easily do many thousands of Euros in damage. And it isn't always easy to find the damage to begin with. I imagine it would take a trained specialist to go over the glider with a fine tooth comb to insure it's air worthy. I will have to search your other videos to see if you discuss the aftermath.

[@benmcconnell6008]

Hang in there. I once ran my racing dingy aground on an unmarked sandbar. Then all the local club guys say, " Oh, we forgot to tell you about the new sandbar." Great story. Glad you are ok.

[@cardinaldriver]

Never easy to wound what equates to an extension of your very soul. My heart goes out to you. The most important part is still intact and you can rest assured that is due to your training and prodigious pilotage.

[@AJBTemplar]

Great shame, and we could see you were upset. We shared that. Glad you posted it. Would be interesting to know why you decided not to try to land on the grass area. Presumably the ploughed field did not look that rough from the air.

[@iamtuben2]

Ooh No! Juliet that had to be terrifying, I'm sorry that happened. I'm glad that you're physically okay but I know it hurts and you'll be back up soon.

[@markjones3425]

That's a MAJOR Bummer and I feel for you...your beautiful glider in a super rough field...ouch!!! Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you....live to fly another day

[@BlackOps-Ent]

This was an AWESOME field to land in with that forklift. Awesome! BTW, any landing where you walk away is a good landing...

[@bjrnbirkeland5893]

Thanks for sharing, Enjoyed your channel up to know, but now I really feel sorry for you and your glider. Hope glider and you are back in the air and that you can continue and enjoy your sport as before. I can imagine it is a though mental exercise to go through. Wish you and your glider happy flight hours and safe landings.

[@ronaldglider]

Great that you can continue to fly in the competition - best of luck! You learnt a great many things today and no one can take away this experience! - The wheel doors will be fixed and forgotten about. How many outlandings on fields have you done? On my last field outlanding in the alps I sat in the cockpit for 5 minutes to dissipate the adrenaline before climbing out...

[@davidstuart4915]

perfect recovery by farmer with awesome machine - such delicacy coupled to such power, amazing :)

[@Ken_Dalton]

Hi from Ireland, i love your accent! ☺️.. Im glad u are okay but sorry to hear about your glider😔 hope its not too badly damaged for you🙏

[@russellharris5072]

Terrain from altitude looks very different,so now you know if it's brown don't go down.I have seen worse on another channel where the glider flipped upside down so the pilot had to be rescued.I was so sad to see your face looking so upset but you survived and now have some more specialised knowledge on outlanding which will help you in the future (not too often I hope).xxx

[@tomagge]

Yes but if is it Green you don't know if is that mowed meadow or 40 cm grass or corn etc.i still very afraid outland for this reasons

[@russellharris5072]

@@tomagge There is of course,the worry of finding a concealed hole big enough to swallow a large part of the glider..................

[@alcald2000]

I am a CFIG in the US. I didn't see your landing approach, but it looks like a good field to me. You avoided all those large windmills. Looks like you kept the wings level, with no groundlooping. Looks like the "flaps" you refered to were your gear doors, which probably did damaged in the soft field, but that is a very common occurance in contest flying! It looks like you were able to fly the glider again on the next contest day after a close inspection. So it looks to me like you had not only just a "good" landing, but a "GREAT" landing! Stay safe, and keep up the nice flying!

[@Freq412]

Amazing that the gear withstood the dirt field landing. Hats off to you and the LS4! You flew it the next day so please tell us all you can about the landing and damage. Also, sure glad you are ok!

[@ravingcyclist624]

That must have been an amazingly bumpy landing with all those clods of mud! Your glider must be tough to survive and allow you to continue in the race. As the saying goes, "You have to be in it to win it."

[@Leon_der_Luftige]

Must be so frustrating when the landable strip of grass is right next to the mud as well. Imagine having to land and theres nothing but trees. Then this landing here would have been worthy a celebration. Perspective makes all the difference. ¯\_༼ •́ ͜ʖ •̀ ༽_/¯

[@RoHa186]

I am very happy you got out of the glider without a scratch. Yes, in hindsight the field was far from an ideal choice but you could't see that the field was plought from the altitude you had to pick your spot. However, you mentioned the key danger with no word: on a day with more wind you wouldn't have made it throught the wake turbulence of those windmills at approach speed with your LS4 (or any other glider). That scares me dear JS! Stay save and stay away from windmills :-)

[@PaulMcKillop]

Poor you! You're very brave to share when you are so obviously upset. At least you're in one piece. Look after yourself.

[@soaringhal]

Ouch! Hope your back is fine, and good luck with the remaining competition! Greetings from another LS-flieger :)

[@AnoNymous-vl5ki]

When you are OK the landing was OK, too. - That's a normal outlanding we made many times! - But we carried out our glider with 2-3 Persons out of such fields. - for the next time - take the canope at first part solo and the fuselage without canope! - Fot the stabilisation, we took our trolley for the fuselage out of the trailer , we took this trolley out of the trailler and into the field to fix and stabilize the fuselage on the field, before we put the wings off. Check all parts for scratches ans cracks, check the complete glider. Normaly these older gliders gilders have nothing more tha scratches and lost flaps of the landing gear. When the landing was in a normal straight line, this should be ok, because the landing gear takes the most energy and the other structure makes a harder breaking ny the landing gear structure. If the landing gear structure is good, the glider shoild be good, too - But check ALL PARTS of your glirder with an experienced and qualified person. When you are in the next situation like this - Do it again! - it's onliy a glider and not your body or your life! - I stopped one flight with my Ventus in a 2 meter high field with green corn in less than 8 meters! - there was nothing broken or damaged - only an area of 15x8m of corn, the hinges of one flap of the landing gear and my glider has had a green surfeace. Other pilots took a water surface! - prepare yourself for the next time in such situations together with other experient trainers for such topics. No decision is the way into a crash! Your Kader-Trainers should know somebody who is experieced in such topics for your training. GOOD LUCK! - AND GOOD FLIGHTS!

[@stefanstroh]

so heartbreaking Event for you! Well you got a experience from there and may it help improving your future decision making. Your Glider needmay to go for a deep check if structurally nothing or fisures to find. Alles im Allem Juliet to bist Gesund geblieben!!

[@thomaskolb8785]

I so feel you... Been in a similar situation as well, groundlooped a glider while trying to avoid running into this bloody rock in the middle of a field.

[@tomjoseph1444]

The fact that you are OK makes this nothing more than an expensive lesson. Hang in there.

[@rrocketman]

Main thing is you're ok. Hope it all goes well. Stay safe and keep up the great work👍

[@tommygunn2118]

Look at different paddocks(fields) from the air whilst flying and then when on the ground go and inspect them to see how suitable they would have been. Learn what a safe type of paddock looks like as quickly as you can and keep track of them when flying, especially when you are getting low. Stay safe. Tom

[@michaelderflinger5002]

Glad that you are ok. That deceleration must have been hard. Thats a pretty hard cliff hanger. Hope the glider is not damaged too much. Must feel bad when you see the nicely mowed grass 50m away after landing.

[@alanford700]

Thank you for sharing this video, best of luck in the future flight's. Stay safe and God bless

[@martinsachs3837]

27 years ago I almost did the exact same thing. It was my second solo cross country. By sheer luck I chose the next field that was much smoother. And yes, that's one tough glider...

[@indiafly4628]

Don't worry buddy everything will be fine ....I do pray for you

[@julietsierra]

Thanks for your kind words ❤️‍🔥

[@ivan-ywr]

At the end of the day it will not be as bad as it seemed right after outlandig. Main thing is here U are safe and sound. Wish U many happy landings - preferrably on the grass :)

[@wiebebosman]

Thankfully you are ok! Take care the coming days. Best regards

[@turdwarbler]

Hey, think about it differently, you landed safely, you walked away without injuries. !!!

[@warped-sliderule]

Good job! Firstly, you can walk away from it!!! Secondly, unplanned event is very challenging!!! Thirdly, it's an off-field decal/badge on the side of your glider. After 5, you are an ACE!!!

[@adventureairinc7355]

I remember landing Ka-6 In a strawberry field just close to the airfield. It was so wet that the rollout took just 10m and the glider did not drop on a wing after stopping but kept straight up deep in the mud.

[@julietsierra]

I hope you at least got some berries to eat that day😵‍💫😵‍💫👆🏼

[@adventureairinc7355]

@@julietsierra unfortunately not since it was just march in Germany. Just a lot of mud.

[@rheinbit]

Hey, you're ok - that's the main thing. Landing gear doors broken - ok. That's really bad. If the laminate of the hull boat is ok, it wasn't so tragic. I feel for you.... Cheer up!

[@seamuscashin2606]

juliet sometimes it is better to land in plowed fields with the wheel up i should know anyway you are very brave you have a great future ahead

[@soaruk3697]

if you want to risk breaking your back that is........... the gear is designed to fail and dissipate energy in a 'hard landing'.....

[@seamuscashin2606]

@@soaruk3697 look at the glider manual it will say the glider can be landed without the wheel down please try a soft landing with the wheel up what your talking about is a crash landing

[@soaruk3697]

@@seamuscashin2606 No i'm not, and i don't give a flying f...k what it says in the manual. Just hit a hidden rock in the ground you'll break the fuselage and possibly your back. Ignore me if you wish, only had 40 years plus and over 100 outlandings without incident in this sport and seen most things, including one or two guys become paraplegics. Its your back, plenty of fools that don't listen in this sport..... .please feel free to be one of them.

[@tedheath9018]

Did the exact same thing a few years ago in my microlight. Landed in a just planted potato field which was muddy with a grass paddock next to it. Plane flipped on its nose and the prop chopped the nose off the plane. Had to get down as I flew into thunderstorm and was circling low underneath it but was worried because there were main grid 220,000v wires and pylons. Laugh about it now.

[@lowik1973]

Never felt the urge to hug someone as much, seeing you next to the glider, devastated and regretting your choice. Happy your are well. It is very difficult to see from the air, before it's too late. Hope the glider is good to fly but, I assume it will need inspection looking for hidden cracks first though.

[@Dzordzikk]

Hi July, bad landing choice, but every anding from where you can walk away on your hands are good. Glider looks good, gear flaps are easily repairable and maybe gear can be good too.

[@generoll4027]

I once had grass stains on the top of my wings from a landout. That grass was a lot longer then it appears. Stopped quickly though.

[@ПламенВенцеславов]

Juliet! Anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger!!! In Tibet, there is an inscription on a stone: Have you learned to enjoy difficulties?

[@whathasxgottodowithit3919.]

Remain positive and learn from it, move forward, the Glider can be fixed easily.

[@aehsrose]

Great video, thank you for sharing!

[@CentristRN]

Glad you’re not hurt. Given your obvious resources, purchasing a new glider should be easy for you. Health is the important thing.

[@maxipielmeier139]

At the danish junior nationals I landed out too; it was a high field, so I ended up doing a ground loop and damaging my plane too. Tough season, but I learned something :) Grüße aus Dänemark

[@cloudstreets1396]

It was very sad to see you so distressed when you are normally so happy. Looks like only the gear doors came off. That shouldn’t be too bad.

[@willwill5595]

Lovely experience _ I would feel blessed to have any opportunity to fly a glider😊

[@zakariamornly]

What's more important is that you are all alright.

[@dpm6000]

Thanks for sharing this! Part of a great story. That recovery vehicle was just what was needed. Was it the farmer or the competition provided?

[@wildphil64]

As heartbreaking as it must be to damage your aircraft, at least you get to walk away ❤

[@nsdlsarn]

Sorry for what happened, I hope the damages could be repaired.

[@danharrodian]

Crikey, thank goodness you weren't injured, but your jeans took a lot of damage by the look!

[@georgehaeh4856]

I had much the same landing in an LS-4 - stopped in two glider lengths ending up sitting on the gear doors like you. Had to replace the gear door hinges. Replaced with piano hinge cut to size and some drill press work, but parts closer to you. Make sure the gear doors close tightly to avoid performance loss. Sandy loam in my case. Looks like clay component in your case. DO NOT beat up on yourself for this. Really very minor damage and part of the sport. The farmer was very helpful and deserves a fine beverage, but you should have removed the canopy before the lift to prevent possible damage if anything slipped.

[@vaughanallan6370]

I feel for you. You look very upset in the video immediately after your landing, but I think you did everything right. Landing in the 'dirt' over the adjacent grass and landing parallel to the furrows was the right decision, made from circuit altitude. I had a similar experience early in my soaring history, but a more benign outcome. I landed in a freshly ploughed field along the furrows. The surprise was deep, soft, dry dirt that grabbed the glider main wheel and brought me to a stop in an incredibly short distance. The glider 'stood on it's nose', dirt flew over the canopy and in the vents, it was like the someone turned the lights out it got so dark in the cockpit. The tail banged down after the glider stopped. When I got out and walked around the machine I was sinking almost 6 inches into the soft field. Nothing was broken but I was rather stunned by the outcome.

[@techno_mesh]

A friend of mine who was a motor airplane pilot had a catalog of alternate private airstrips and second chance, candidate grass fields in the areas he flew in case of an emergency. I think it was a mix of obtained info complemented with his own observations. Knowing the German way of doing things I would expect the organizers of such an event, do something similar (maybe they did?). It could be constructed as easy as generating marks on a google maps application, obviously made by sailplane experts or experienced pilots on visual judging. It doesn't need to flag every possible place or to visit every possible place (an adequate grid of options), but at least indicate strip type (grass, crop which is variable depending on season, dirt, rural road without nearby fences etc.), strip length (excluding approach shadow areas of nearby high trees), and probable best approach direction when no wind direction is available. On the other extreme it should not be difficult to obtain from the German government, high resolution multispectral images, just taken close to the event, where it could be judged if it is a corn field which I imagine will involve wing break, despite being green. This could be a federation effort and certainly the database will grow constantly and on each new iteration less effort and expense would be required. Of course some of the information may be fairly stable like meadows or power lines and others like crop fields or windmill positions might be more dynamic. I am not a pilot and this might be crazy or already solved, but I wanted to suggest it anyway. Of course all in a GPS or Smartphone App.

[@freddy7700]

Das war ja dann nochmal Glück im Unglück, Juliet. Es sei Dir von Herzen gegönnt.

[@wackaircaftmechanic2312]

"Damaged" *COMPOSITE REPAIR HELL FLASHBACKS INTENSIFY*

[@grabir01]

Wow!! Glad you survived!!

[@remicallant8756]

Hope you are flying soon back, greetings from Remi, Belgium

[@toddmccowen8206]

seems Germany is or maybe the glider capital of the world ,i know when i was over there i would se them every where . glad u r ok.

[@ludastorm]

It could happen to anyone. You just had a bad luck. I wish you quick return to the air. Greetings from Czech Republic.

[@davidalhoff7190]

Luckily nothing very happened. Gliders can be repaired. All the best for the repair job and afterwards Häppiehh Lähndings.

[@yukon4511]

Don't be sad. You did a great job!

[@typxxilps]

green and brown are 2 different colors and in this time of the year it is obvious that brown shows a field that has been cropped and plowed. And if it you had dry days before a field will always be like this. A plowed acre is never a good choice.

[@ramiroguerrero6331]

You were ok and that is what was important 😎

[@Patrick-xm9hp]

Very Pretty Blond show , nice wrist watch, sun glasses and Gold earings - unfortunately, Pants destroyed by crash i can fix it if you want ?!! ...merci Juliet :-)

[@itainahshon7247]

Most important is that you are OK! The part that you were holding is the wheel bay door? It looks like a small damage to the aircraft, but for your safety, please inspect the aircraft for possible structure damage. These wind turbines close to your landing sight look so frightening!

[@johndanger79]

Sorry to see that. Hopefully you'll be flying again soon

[@dondzik9690]

Hey! All is well that ends well. Don't beat yourself about it. City kids hardly ever see autumnal ploughing from up close :) Agriculture for glider pilots should be taught in flight schools.