A pilot decides to ferry his schweizer sgs 2-33 glider back to base with spoilers that were difficul...

Attributes
ACN	1180465
Time
Date	201406
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Sail Plane
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Speedbrake/Spoiler
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 14 Flight Crew Total 1150 Flight Crew Type 60
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

Test flight of schweizer sgs-2-33 glider after annual inspection at ZZZ1 shows that spoilers are difficult to operate and are especially difficult to 'close' if fully deployed. Mechanic who did the annual inspection cannot resolve issue and suggests doing it at next annual inspection. Decided that issue is not big enough; not to aero tow glider back to ZZZ (42 NM distance). Weather at ZZZ is completely clear but very gusty and turbulent. On final I did 'open' spoilers and opened them fully by mistake. Gusty headwind requires reducing amount of spoilers deployed; but I am unable to close them and have to land with fully open spoilers. Approach end of runway xx is known to be tricky in terms of downdrafts and I clear the threshold okay; but not with enough margin to be comfortable. Aero tow of sgs-2-33 from ZZZ1 to ZZZ was choppy due to strong thermal activities and gusty wind conditions. Fatigue; due to strenuous tow and dehydration may have contributed to not being able to 'close' spoilers on short final. I should not have towed the glider back [to ZZZ] knowing that the spoilers are hard to close; and should have had the issue fixed at the maintenance facility first.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A pilot decides to ferry his Schweizer SGS 2-33 glider back to Base with spoilers that were difficult to operate and especially difficult to 'Close' if fully deployed. On final; after release from aero tow; he fully opens spoilers by mistake; realizes he cannot close them and lands with spoilers fully deployed.

Narrative: Test flight of Schweizer SGS-2-33 glider after Annual Inspection at ZZZ1 shows that spoilers are difficult to operate and are especially difficult to 'Close' if fully deployed. Mechanic who did the Annual Inspection cannot resolve issue and suggests doing it at next Annual Inspection. Decided that issue is not big enough; not to aero tow glider back to ZZZ (42 NM distance). Weather at ZZZ is completely clear but very gusty and turbulent. On final I did 'Open' spoilers and opened them fully by mistake. Gusty headwind requires reducing amount of spoilers deployed; but I am unable to close them and have to land with fully open spoilers. Approach end of Runway XX is known to be tricky in terms of downdrafts and I clear the threshold okay; but not with enough margin to be comfortable. Aero tow of SGS-2-33 from ZZZ1 to ZZZ was choppy due to strong thermal activities and gusty wind conditions. Fatigue; due to strenuous tow and dehydration may have contributed to not being able to 'Close' spoilers on short final. I should not have towed the glider back [to ZZZ] knowing that the spoilers are hard to close; and should have had the issue fixed at the maintenance facility first.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.