Is it fairly common for student glider pilots to have wing tip strikes, especially in gusty cross wind conditions?
I understand gliders are landed level, slow down and then the wing drops onto a wing tip wheel or skid plate when coming to a stop.
Which begs the question, are gliders more prone to wing strikes by student pilots prior to or after landing due to the mono wheel arrangement and low wing tip clearance, or have poor cross wind landing ability in gusty conditions (say 10-15mph gusts above the headwind) when compared to a tail dragger or tricycle wheel arrangement?
Yet thousands of gliders around the world are used every week with the mono wheel arrangement, with a mid wing arrangement that is only 2-3' off the ground.
My gut feeling says no, as gliders have been around probably for 100+ years and they would have changed from mono wheel to a tail dragger, at least on the trainers by now if wing strikes were common among student glider pilots. This is probably due to the lateral stability of a long wingspan and the mid wing arrangement means the glider is landing in a nice stable pillow of air in ground effect.