Up In The Air

"That's pretty good. Now let me give you the short version of what I just said, and what you just said. Things are bad. It would be hard to imagine anything worse than this when flying a glider. And what do you do?

"Fly the airplane."

One day I arrive at the airport and find John. He is a mess. His face and arms are a mass of scabs. He has two black eyes, a bandage over his nose, and he limps a little. From the way he is breathing, I guess that he has broken ribs. I am aghast, and I ask him what happened. Here it is:

He goes up with a friend in the most expensive glider at the airport: it costs like a house in the Bay Area. This is a fabulous airplane, able to glide almost on to forever. Believing they can fly it out of any trouble, John and his friend get too close to the top of the Mission Peak ridge. He has warned me in previous lessons about the airflow up there that a glider can't resist. They are sucked over the top to the other side, where there are only downdrafts and more mountains. There are a few roads, but this little airplane's superbly glossy wings are about five times wider than any of them, even if you could find a straight stretch, which you cannot. They see a steep but sort-of-open grassy slope and head for that. Close to landing, John, who is in the back seat, unbuckles his harness because this is exciting and he wants to see better.

He and his friend managed to walk away from this, but both were bloody messes. The exotic airplane was reduced to a small mountainside of fiberglass splinters.

I have been flying with John for months now. I have trusted him. I have literally put my life in his hands. He has been flying for many years. He is well-trained and holds multiple licenses. John is my personal oracle of flying knowledge and a shining example of safe practices. And I find myself blurting out:

"John, that was really stupid. Why did you do that?"

He didn't have a good answer.

I dislike whacking people with morals, so I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. Perhaps you or someone you know will find these stories helpful. I do. Often. And not just in airplanes.