http://chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5729

Flew twice from the Smithsburg training hill today. Conditions
were ideal, albeit cold - light snow, mid 30s, 10 to 15 mph straight in at
launch. Decided to land on my wheels on the second flight due to the textured
air during the flight. My approach was like any other wheel landing that I’ve
had, dragging my feet to reduce speed before my wheels (aka skids) scraped along
the ground. Soon after touching down, my wheels sunk into the wet field and my
forward momentum was enough to bring the nose down on the field but not enough
to suggest that I had just done significant damage to the glider. No damage to
the control frame or me and no apparent damage to both leading edges and the
nose fairing after inspecting the sail and running my hands along the leading
edges. During the walk back to the setup area there was also no indication that
anything was damaged even when the glider was parked tail into the wind with the
wings load with moderate air pressure. Breaking down/packing up the glider was
also normal even when removing the tip wands. The surprise came after I folded
the leading edges in toward the keel. While I was rolling the sail up, Charley
broke the news to me as he was standing at the nose. The right leading edge
brake was 2.5 to 3 inches from the nose plate. I’ve included the nose plate and
nose fairing in the photos which, based on their “like new” appearance, indicate
that the nose did not suffer greatly during this less than graceful return to
earth. Last night, before packing the glider, I visually inspected the leading
edge and cross tube - nothing detected. Not being an engineer, I have more
questions than answers as to why the leading edge experienced an almost
90-degree clean break instead of just cracking. Was the break triggered by just
this event or was it the result of combined/cumulative insults? Given the break
on the right side, what’s up with the left leading edge as it must have also
been stressed? Also surprised/pissed-at-myself that the break went unnoticed
until packing up the glider.

Take home message: Had I unzipped the under surface of the wing and stuck my
head inside after the landing, I may have detected the break. However, if the
broken halves were reunited and pressed together by the sail tension, which
would explain why the glider behaved normal during ground handling and break
down, I would have most likely only detected the break by running my hands along
the leading edge from inside the wing as poor visibility (heavy/dark overcast)
was all that I had. So for now, the only message(s) that I’m confident of are
that: 1) I’m lucky that I didn’t take another flight and, 2) the fewer
assumptions you make about your glider after a seemingly minor incident will
help avoid flying with a significantly comprised wing.