Soaring etiquette—a code of acceptable social behavior 2012/07

I often find myself bubbling with
thoughts and ideas about a
particular subject. These days, I
enjoy the benefits of technology when
I can immediately record the thoughts in
my iPhone before they are gone forever.
As the “RC Soaring” column’s new
author, I am privileged to have an
opportunity to share such ideas. With so
many subjects worthy of discussion, it
was hard to choose the most important
topic for this month. I decided to
tackle a subject that may be slightly
controversial, but it is one that definitely
needs some discussion.
Much passion and many varying
opinions are heard when an incident
occurs that causes damage to our
models or other property. Occasionally
there is some finger-pointing and many
accusations flying after the event occurs.
In some cases, an incident that causes
harm to others or their property may
have been avoided, but generally the
event was neither planned nor was
there any intent on the part of the pilots
involved. It was simply an accident.
What can we do to avoid accidents,
and how can we practice better
accident forgiveness? When a Sailplane
occasionally meets its maker, who pays
for the damage? What if my Sailplane
hurts another person’s property? Whose
fault is a midair collision with another
model? Can we blame someone? How
do we avoid these potentially disastrous
midair collisions? What is appropriate
behavior in the event of having an
incident? These were all questions on
my mind, and I wanted to find answers.
Because I had been away from
the hobby for 23 years until 2009,
I was unsure of what was okay and
what was not. Early upon my return,
I discovered that many pilots had
differing opinions—and rightfully so—in
a country that embraces the right to
free speech and encourages debate on
virtually any subject.
It is obvious that if we land (or crash)
our models anywhere other than a
designated landing zone, and in the
process harm another person’s stuff
including airplanes on the ground,
cars, tents, etc., then we are ultimately
responsible for any damage and should
offer the owner compensation.
Early in 2009, armed with a new
radio and my first molded Sailplane, my
learning curve was indeed a baptism of
fire. I had never used a computer radio
in the 1980s and was still unfamiliar
with the JR9303 flight modes. Within
a couple of launches, the Onyx JW had
me worried. I was wondering why it was
responding so poorly to aileron inputs
and seemed to be flying sluggishly.
I decided to land and see what was
going on. I found the model failing to
respond sufficiently. It turned on final
and crashed unceremoniously into a
couple of parked cars. I soon learned that
pilot error was clearly to blame, because
I had launched and then left the model
in launch camber during the flight! (A
mistake I was to make a few more times
in those early days.)
When winch launching a modern
full-house Sailplane, the full length of
the wing is cambered, and if left in this
configuration once off tow, the model is
certainly sluggish to fly—but still flyable.
I just wasn’t sufficiently “switched on” to
recognize what the problem was before
calamity struck.
I was fortunate that I didn’t hit
anyone and neither of the kind car
owners wanted money for the dents my
model incurred, but I truly valued the
experience. It was my first lesson in what
I have dubbed “Soaring etiquette.”
At the World F3B Championship in
Laiwu, China, I witnessed two occasions
where, in the heavy smog, uncontrolled
models went into the ground a fair
distance away over a suburban area. The
local Chinese residents must have been
surprised by the aerial bombardment,
and they reported the alien arrivals to
the local police.
On both occasions, the models were
recovered by the police and returned to
the pilots, along with a bill for property
damage.
The mischief caused by the models
had to be paid for, and the return of
these models was contingent upon the
culprits coughing up the dough. In one
case it was a small sum for repairs to a
resident’s roof, which was quickly paid
by the pilot.
In the other case, the Chinese pilot
was required to pay a rather large sum
for three rabbits! Apparently, his model
had taken some lives and the local
property owner demanded compensation
for his now-lifeless livestock.
In the event that our model crashes,
accidentally causing harm to someone’s
property on the ground, we are
responsible for making good on this
damage as well as we can. Reviving
bunnies from the dead isn’t all that easy,
but paying the farmer’s price for them in
this case was the minimum.
What about altercations in the air?
The question of Soaring etiquette
de nitely came to my attention after
I witnessed several midairs during
local Thermal Duration contests, and
saw some pilots blaming the other for
accidents that destroyed both their
models.
I was shocked at the passion that was
exhibited by these pilots making their
case. They clearly believed that they
needed to blame someone else for the
loss of their models. Unsure of what was
appropriate, I really wanted to know
what the general rule or opinion was so
I could act accordingly in the inevitable
event that I had such an unfortunate
coming together.
In 2010 I took a poll of many
prominent and contest-winning Soaring
pilots in the US, and also some very
experienced international Soaring pilots
including world champions, contest
organizers, and CDs. I  gured that if
each of these experts could
provide me with an opinion
on Soaring etiquette, I
would have a sporting rule
to follow myself.
I asked two simple
questions: “How do you
determine whose fault a
midair is?” and “Are there
any circumstances that allow
one pilot to fairly blame
the other?” The result was
an amazing consensus of
opinion.
Common sense should
apply in all cases of midair
collisions. The moment
we launch our Sailplanes
into air occupied by other
Sailplanes, we are accepting
this risk of collision at our
own peril.
Nobody tries deliberately
to steer his or her carefully
crafted Grand Esprit or
$2,000 molded Sailplane
into another aircraft. A
midair collision can happen,
but it happens by accident.
The risk of collision can
be reduced by every pilot
practicing the “blue-sky”
rule, where each pilot
independently takes evading
action to maintain blue
sky between his or her model and all
others. Endeavoring to turn in the same
direction as other models when joining
a busy thermal was also quoted as a
worthy collision-avoidance technique.
I am not so sure that this is effective,
because models turning the same
direction are more likely to collide if
the circles are intersecting, rather than
concentric as is more often the case. It
is nearly impossible to ensure that we
are fl ying in concentric circles unless the
models are nearly overhead. The bluesky
rule is a far better solution.
If an accident does occur, it is almost
never anybody’s fault. It is an accident,
with blame apportioned equally to both
pilots. The only exceptions (when one
pilot is clearly at fault) generally agreed
upon by the experts were:
• A pilot maneuvering or cutting
across a landing zone area (in the wrong
direction for landing) and contacting
another model that is on a legitimate
landing approach.
• A model loitering or thermaling
in an out-of-bounds area (such as the
designated launch area) and having a
collision with a launching model that
had a right to be there.
• At mixed fl ying fi elds, a Sailplane
fl ying in a no-fl y zone and having a
A midair between Gordon Buckland’s Duck and
Peter Goldsmith’s Sprite occurred during the
 rst round of TwoMeter
at the 2010 Nats. Both
models continued in the contest.
collision with a powered model (or vice
versa).
It was generally agreed that midair
collisions are part of our hobby and
they are as inevitable as fi nding sink and
landing out. We have to learn to accept
these accidents as part of the game and
not let such an unfortunate event sour
our day or that of anyone else.
Since I witnessed those first couple
of midairs involving other pilots, I have
endured a few and watched many more
occur during contests. At the F3B World
Championship in China, I saw the 2009
F3B World Champion’s Freestyler 4
go out of control across a river during
a distance round after a midair with a
junior South African pilot. The accident
probably spoiled any chance he had of
winning the contest.
As he was busy repairing his model, I
asked Martin Herrig how he felt about
the collision and subsequent damage to
his model. He shrugged his shoulders,
grinned widely and said, “It happens!”
Martin had no one to blame and his
reaction is how expert pilots should
handle what is potentially an upsetting
experience for all. He simply went about
his model repairs quickly before the next
task started. (In F3B competition, the
same model must be flown in all three
tasks, so fast field repairs are essential.)
The bottom line is to remember
what we learned as children. I always
remember my Grandma’s golden rule.
She would say, “Don’t forget your
trimmings!” She always encouraged us
as children to use our manners and treat
others as we would want to be treated
ourselves.
Let’s take total responsibility for
ourselves and our models and remember
our trimmings when we are sharing
space with others!
The next time your model fouls
another in a thermal, or lands in
someone’s backyard, remember your
Soaring etiquette. Smile and be thankful
that the incident didn’t upset your
World Championship aspirations or take
out someone’s expensive prize bunnies.
Until next time, blue skies to all.