X/C Retrieve (Ground) Crew

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Charles Petersen
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 1:59 pm

X/C Retrieve (Ground) Crew

Post by Charles Petersen »

Another excellent article from Adam Wooley, on the current Wings and Wheels newsletter, about ground/retrieve crew for those venturing out on X/C.

It is simply not a good idea to fail to recruit a retrieve crew until after the fact. And sometimes you won't find one. How do I know? I've hitchhiked back t the field to pick up my car and trailer. And the 'uniform' we wear when flying doesn't make for the most appeal to a passing motorist :?

If you check in the Archive Folder, you can still find (I think) Randy Nielson's pre-departure retrieve checklist, which I discovered when I got a text from him after a landout. When I arrived at the field he had organized things very well, including a dashboard Garmin GPS that would give road directions to a lat/long point.

Here is Adam's advice:
Ground Crew
By Adam Woolley
While gliding is a solo sport in many ways, a pilot and their crew need to work together closely and have a nice working relationship. I’ve often found that my best flights in the past have come from having my father as a crew, I have complete confidence that with whatever happens on the ground, I’m in good hands, also if I need a sleep in to recover from a day's flying, I can rely on him 100% to get my glider ready for me. Of course, when an off-field landing occurs, we rely on the crew member to retrieve us. Sadly for our sport, finding a good crew is getting increasingly difficult.

Weekend Crew
On a club level though, a pilot may be aiming for a badge or just going out to practice some XC techniques, often relies on a club member to come pick them up if an outlanding was to occur. Prior to the flight it’s extremely important to ask politely your friends whether they’d be willing to pick you up should you have to landout, followed by ensuring your trailer is fully ready for the retrieve, your car is near full of fuel, finally, your keys are in the car... A friend once had to use his own car on a 10hr road retrieve, to retrieve a pilot who had his keys in his pocket 400km away!

Competition Crew
The situation when it comes to a competition is entirely different, a really good crew can add so much to a pilot's result, equally, a poorly chosen crew can draw energy from the pilot. The key, once you get to the competition environment, is respect and involvement, to have routine and finally, a thorough debrief on the flight at the end of the day is also important, draw them in, they helped you with your daily success. What this does is that it encourages the vital support that’s required, but also makes for a nice relaxed environment, one where the crew can learn on your behalf for their own soaring success too.

Empower Your Crew
Treating your crew as equal, giving them the power to make decisions within their responsibilities, and giving them a voice too, really helps with an enjoyable and successful competition. The crew choice should be one that you trust, has a determination to learn and help the pilot, and one who has some technical knowledge is preferable. They should be able to help with the daily chores (arranging lunch or being able to help with the washing), but also be there to give you motivation or moral support when it’s needed. A good crew is a great backup for yourself with avoiding distractions at launch time, helping you think about things you should be thinking about, and keeping you motivated, happy, and relaxed, whenever each occasion arises in the day.

It's great to share this sport with others, especially if you can build up a lifelong crew relationship, or support an upcoming junior at your club for their own ambitions in their future!
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