Gilbert Griffith () writes:

I'm waiting for the rain to clear before I fire up my powered ultralight and go out to search with a camera and GPS.

Last Friday I was returning from a flight to Mt Feathertop back to Mystic in Bright when I entered a good thermal to top up for the last glide home. I looked down and saw what looked like an Atos' tail spinning down below me. When I had a look over my shoulder I swore loudly because it was mine!

As I climbed through 5000 feet I watched the tail spiral down and down for ages until it hit a tree and then fell to the ground. I thought I had a good idea of exactly where it went and memorized the dirt tracks around it's position. Unfortunately, when I drove out to look, none of the tracks were visible or accessible from the ground. (I wasn't carrying a GPS or camera at the time of the flight.)

Yesterday, after printing out a Google map of the area and drawing in the tracks, (Google is over five years out of date here), I searched on foot for a couple of hours, getting soaked and stepping on a black snake. Luckily the snake was wet and cold and not looking for a fight, and it slithered into a hollow log after I removed my foot.

Back to the glider.

After a tricky landing where I ran and dropped the nose into the dirt at the last second in order to spare tip breakage, I inspected the keel.

I looks like the keel broke a few millimeters inside the sleeving just behind the rear wire attachment point. This point has an outside and inside sleeve surrounding the keel where it extends about 300mm(?) To attach the tail stinger tube. I suspect metal fatigue, but won't know until I find the tail or dismantle the keel.

As I have never heard of this happening to an Atos before. I don't know if it could be from too many landings and spearing the tail in, or from my habit of flying slow in thermals were the tail vibrates indicating a stall. Hope I can find the tail in a day or two.