\nPreparation
\nThe atmosphere was tense among the people on hand at the crash site at TUEV-Rhineland in Cologne.\u00a0 The time is drawing closer for the third practical test at the beginning of January 1998.\u00a0 The Transportation Ministry is the client for these tests, the Air Transport Ministry initiated and follows the tests, the TUEV has the order to investigate.\u00a0 Hundreds of accident reports were studied to find re-occurring damages or construction weak points that could be corrected.
\nIt is supposed to show that all the thoughts and calculations were correct and the effort was worthwhile. Engineer Helmut Fendt from the LBA and engineer Martin Sperber as project manager from TUEV must constantly answer media questions concerning technology and the safety standards in the glider construction, and to shed light on the reasons for these tests.
\nIn the mean while all measuring points have been repeatedly inspected.\u00a0 The lights and the speedometer both work reliably, pictures are being taken from all sides.\u00a0 The incorruptible high speed cameras are standing in position.\u00a0 Here a crash is being simulated at 45 degrees and 70 km\/h onto a grass underground.
\nThe new construction methods
\nThe all black test fuselage is mounted on a frame.\u00a0 The darker color shows that other, newer materials have been used.\u00a0 Large\u00a0 steel weights are mounted in place of the wings to compensate for the 525 kg, which is considered to be the standard flight weight of a standard class glider.
\nThe fuselage or more exactly the front part of the fuselage of a glass wing hornet is put together up to a half meter behind the beginning of the wings.\u00a0 The manufacturer \u0093Glasfaser Flugzeugbau J\u00f6rg Streifeneder\u0094, in Grabenstetten built this one of a kind glider in the original form.\u00a0 This way a neutral glider was made available.\u00a0 One which is no longer being produced, but still has a modern interpretation of a cockpit.
\nBy the hybrid construction , carbon fiber and Dyneema fabric was soaked in Epoxy hardener.\u00a0 The layers of cloth must be carefully thought out.\u00a0 New methods of gluing had to be developed, because this material can not be as easily preserved as GFK parts.\u00a0 We looked over the fence of our colleagues of the Formula one racing.\u00a0 This hybrid construction method is been used with great success in the car racing scene.\u00a0 The new materials have proven themselves on the many occasions, in the most incredible crashes.
\nThe Crash
\nThe testing area must be cleared, everyone must stand behind a safety fence.\u00a0 Warning lights flash and a sirens sounds alarm, the countdown begins.
\nBy zero an increasingly loud rolling noise can be heard.\u00a0 The fuselage rolls toward a container filled with dirt and grass.\u00a0 Two meters before contact with the container the drive chain is released.\u00a0 The fuselage with the large steel weights drills itself with a loud bang deeply into the dirt filled container.\u00a0 Dirt flies everywhere, the impact is so intense that a neon light was knocked out my the flying dirt.
\nThe speedometer shows exactly 70 km\/h, everything is quiet.\u00a0 An amazing result remains:\u00a0 In the exact position where the pilot usually sits, almost nothing happened!\u00a0 The feet were pushed back approximately 20 cm, and that is all.\u00a0 By a crash landing with the new cockpit the pilot would have had an almost completely intact seating area.\u00a0 That is incredible, because the pictures of past test crashes and past experience in a fiberglass fuselage paint a drastically different picture.\u00a0 With a fiberglass fuselage under the same test situation, you could only assume where the cockpit would be.
\nResult
\n
![\"Crashtest](\"https:\/\/www.dg-aviation.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/RTEmagicC_5b61dc7151.jpg.jpg\")
With a combined effort the fuselage is removed from the dirt.\u00a0 It was 92 cm deep.\u00a0 The entire damage can now be seen.\u00a0 The tip of the fuselage was removed and pushed inward approx. 30 cm.\u00a0 On both sides of the fuselage bottom there are dents approx. 30 cm in length.\u00a0 This raises concern by Mr. Sperber and Mr. Fendt.\u00a0 Spoiled by past test results in May 1996, the gentlemen did not expect such damage.\u00a0 The forerunner of the hornet fuselage had a 6 mm wall thickness and was 40 kg overweight in the cockpit area, therefore unacceptable for production.\nDuring that test, a steel bar marked the fuselage after it plunged 130 cm into the earth, otherwise there was no other larger damage to be seen.\u00a0 A fiberglass fuselage as built nowadays only manages to dent the earth surface approx. 13 cm before it breaks apart.
\nThe lighter version of the fuselage from May has a thickness of only 1.5 cm and has a weight of 2 kg less than a fiberglass fuselage.
\nRegardless of the original concerns, the experts came to the conclusion that with a correct seat belt position and a sturdy headrest the pilot would have a very good chance of surviving the crash!!\u00a0 The middle G force due to the delay was approx. 16.5 G.
\nFor comparison:\u00a0 The Automobile industry perform crash tests at a speed of 50 to 56 km\/h, with 30 to 35 g.\u00a0 This is considered to be survivable with a correct back support.\u00a0 The so often ludicrous debris, with mangled passenger cell after a crash even with a large crumple area to absorb the energy is well known to everyone.\u00a0 A hybrid cockpit is a survival area from a different world.
\nThe reasons for the test
\nThroughout the European Union alone, there are over 20,000 gliders and motor gliders registered.\u00a0 Over 60,000 pilots are holders of valid pilot licenses.\u00a0 This gives the need to develop a reliable protection for a large number of pilots and co-pilots.\u00a0 The TUEV Rhineland conducted the first open air tests back in 1987.
\nDr. Anthony M. Segal crashed in England in October of 1988 on his own costs.
\nThe fuselage was a “Standard Libelle”.\u00a0 Mr. Segal was present during the tests in Cologne.\u00a0 He was very satisfied and happy that the test results pertaining to the research efforts turned out so positively.
\nAfter all he was one of the first to pave the way for intensive safety studies on gliders!\u00a0 The pictures back then showed shocking results for the fiberglass construction industry.\u00a0 One could hardly speak about passenger protection.
\nPilots who have witnessed a crash or themselves survived one, can verify this statement.\u00a0 The safety considerations in the past for a hard ground contact were hardly taken into account by the construction of the cockpit.\u00a0 No one knew any better at that time, not to mention that things were changing.\u00a0 However new standards are now being set, and all new developments must meet these higher standards.
\nThe pilot of a glider sits exactly in the same area where the crunch zone of a car is located.\u00a0 To put it more dramatically, the pilot of a glider is the crunch zone.
\nThe Fact Is:
\nAccident statistics for gliders and motor gliders show that the reasons for a majority of the accidents occurred to approx. 80% In lower altitudes.\u00a0 In 1997 there were 22 deaths and 34 seriously injured during the operation of gliders and motor gliders licensed in Germany. The pilots were left with little or no time and not enough altitude to eject with their parachute.\u00a0 A rescue system with a parachute like the type used today would not have helped much because the time required for the chute to open is too long!
\nThe author of the report saw wrecks of 6 fiberglass glider crashes.\u00a0 Three crashes as an eye witness.\u00a0 All six pilots lost their lives.\u00a0 Five of the pilots however could have survived their low altitude , low speed crashes, with little or no injuries had they been sitting in a hybrid cockpit.
\nCombining and Optimizing:
\nThere are rescue systems being developed in the Aachen University of Applied Sciences that take into account the time required by the parachute before opening.\u00a0 However a combination of a safety cockpit and an improved pilot rescue system is probably the best solution.\u00a0 Especially when the added costs of a safety cockpit (approx. Euro 3.000,00) is within a reasonable price range.\u00a0 There are no additional installations necessary with the hybrid construction method.\u00a0 A lot can be obtained simply with a sturdy seat belt, that reaches under the edge of the canopy up to the tip of the fuselage.\u00a0 Optimizing the form of existing parts – like the spant for the control stick or the landing gear compartment – is enough to obtain incredible results.
\nThe members of TUEV and the LBA will continue to work on improving the details.\u00a0 At the least a small crunch zone in front of a under the pilot should be developed, because not all of the accidents involved the glider hitting the ground nose first.\u00a0 Shock absorbing components for the seat pan are being developed.\u00a0 Things that appear simple can avoid worse things from happening: Correctly fastening the seat belt, making sure that the lap belt is in correct position is very important.\u00a0 The lap belt must be tightly fastened, the shoulder strap must not be so tightly fastened.\u00a0 A five point seat belt is a disadvantage , because the extreme force of the pilot sliding forward can cause soft tissue damage.\u00a0 Thicker and softer pillows cause more harm than no pillow at all!!\u00a0 A good headrest, one that deserves the good rating is a must in any glider.\u00a0 Even things like that are taken into inspection by the BMV and TUEV during crash tests.
\nThe Customer Decides
\nThe members of TUEV and the LBA wants and will work to maximize the potential of the hybrid construction method.\u00a0 Never the less, the future of the safer glider construction has begun.\u00a0 The safety construction method will quickly become a success if the buyers of gliders and motor gliders request it from the manufactures taking into account the slightly higher costs.\u00a0 A navigation computer is much more expensive than the added costs of a hybrid constructed glider.\u00a0 When the results of the tests in the European Construction regulations JAR 22 take affect, which is expected to happen the added costs will fall.<\/p>\n