Uphill Landings

Many broken gliders punctuate the long, storied history of motorless flight at Harris Hill. A good number pancaked into the front of the hill as a result of a too-low approach. Any pilot who has flown long enough at Harris Hill has accomplished some sort of uphill landing on the front of the Hill. It needs to be said here and now this is not an approved or encouraged way to land. Many of these landings should have been valley landings at the Aux Field or better yet properly planned to have a normal stable approach. Nonetheless the temptation, or should we say, fixation, exists so let’s address proper technique for when the eventuality presents itself.

First, we should describe, in detail, the topography of the front of the hill. No textual explanation can replace a firsthand inspection. So, go have a look-see the next time you arrive at Harris Hill.

Looking at the front of the Hill as if approaching it on final, the slope is different to the right side and the left. The left side has the guardrail, swings, road and then a steep bank. Beyond the bank is a steady slope all the way to the top where it levels out to flat. The slope would require quite a steep uphill landing. To understand this, know that glider would roll backwards if the brake were released after landing. Not good.

On the right side of the brow or the northwest corner of the field, there is the guardrail, a steep bank, and a too-steep incline. Then there is a long upslope becoming progressively flatter until finally it is perfectly flat. Then there is still a long stretch of grass runway and then the paved runway.

The right side is where many gliders have landed when low. This is because it is the near corner of the airfield approaching from the glider pattern. If a pilot is low in the pattern, he or she should make the shortest ground track to the airfield in an effort to regain a normal landing picture. If this normal picture is not achieved, there is this a temptation to squeak in a landing on the upslope. … People are waiting for airplane. … I don’t to want to trouble people with a retrieve from the valley… So goes the thinking. The pilot should think foremost about not crashing the glider!

So how do we do this. First, always consider going the the Aux Field. There is no shame in this. No one should discourage this if it is the best course of action. Rehearse the idea in your mind ahead of time. Land there virtually using the Condor simulator. Grab an instructor and land there for real. A pilot flying at Harris Hill must make sure landing in the valley is a real possibility in their thinking!

Even with going to the Aux Field, there is a right way to do it and a wrong way. Any decision to turn away from the hill must be made and the turn completed outside the guardrail. The pilot-in-command must make the turn-away when there is still separation from the terrain.

So how does a pilot properly execute an uphill landing? When the aviator first senses he or she is low, a turn is made to the nearest landable corner of the airfield and a straight-in final approach is established. (If a straight-in final cannot be established, it is an automatic turn-away to the valley.) Speed is increased to penetrate any anticipated greater sink in the least amount of time and to have speed for a greater than normal round-out maneuver. It is better to pitch for greater speed before encountering sink, rather than pushing over in the sink itself but sometimes this cannot be avoided.

Approaching Harris Hill, the pilot watches as the desired touchdown reference point rises or falls in his or her field of view. In the case or a possible uphill landing, the reference point will be rising. Here is the next very important point: Do not try to maintain an altitude level with the top of the hill. Doing so will only cause the aircraft to slow, the angle of attack to increase, resulting in a stall, possibly from quite a high altitude.

Instead, keep the speed up, enough for an uphill round-out. Approaching the guardrail, a decision must be made. Can the pilot, with this increased speed fly in ground effect up the slope to land on the level surface on top? If the answer is no, the pilot should turn in time to complete the turn-away outside the trees and guardrail and safely land in the valley. If the answer is yes, the pilot may elect to continue.

Approaching the upslope, the wise pilot will keep the speed up right into the upslope ground effect, allowing a little more time and distance to complete the greater round-out maneuver required. Hold the glider off like a normal landing, matching the upslope. It won’t be long until the glider settles. One shouldn’t be surprised if the planned trip all the way up to flat top doesn’t quite work out and the landing is uphill. But at least it was well executed on the gentle upslope, not dangerously close to the valley’s edge, and no dangerously low turns were attempted.

A good pilot knows how to guard against sink with a conservative turn to base leg. An active base leg includes adjustments with the spoilers and ground track to turn onto final in an approach wedge appropriate for the glider’s performance and the day’s wind and sink conditions. An experienced pilot will more ably predict the sink often encountered landing at Harris Hill. But there are still many unknowables and good pilots have bad days. The temptation to squeak a landing onto the upslope at Harris Hill will always be there. Pilots should be prepared to handle it.

Review of key points:

1. Really consider a landing at the Aux Field.
2. A straight-in final is a must.
3. No low turn-aways inside the guardrail.
4. Don’t attempt an uphill landing unless you think you can land on or near the level surface on top.