I have almost been killed by a glider with belly hook in high tow going too high as tug went into sink as glider went up in strong thermal. The only thing that stopped him wearing the rope was that It was my first day in an unfamiliar tug with different release handle. A number of fatalities have happened around the world. That said, I stay in high tow until a few hundred feet before going low. If you go higher than I like behind me you will wear the rope! Tom
--- On Tue, 12/4/11, Mark Newton <new...@atdot.dotat.org> wrote: From: Mark Newton <new...@atdot.dotat.org> Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Where to sit on tow? To: "Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia." <aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net> Received: Tuesday, 12 April, 2011, 9:35 PM On 12/04/2011, at 6:43 PM, John Parncutt wrote: > The GFA has clearly prescribed that launching will be in low tow, this > decision was made more than twenty years ago following several fatal > accidents which occurred during the transition from low to high tow prior to > release. All clubs should be training this. Replace "will" with "should" and you'll be accurate. All clubs should also be training high-tow, because that's in the GFA syllabus too. If you haven't done one for a while, try it or seek training, because competence in all the syllabus items is required for continued solo flight. There are some gliders which "prefer" high-tow. E.g., I'll always take the high-tow position in a Pik 20D because it doesn't have a nose hook, so the position of the rope is all wrong on low-tow. It's considered polite to inform the tuggie, although I'm yet to meet one who appears to care. > Some years ago we discovered some pilots in our club had formed the opinion > that it was safer for them to transition to high tow immediately after > takeoff especially with short strips in order to give them more options in > the event of an early rope break. The beginning of EVERY aerotow is in the high-tow position. (think about it) There's a transition to low-tow shortly after launch, once the pilot determines that it's safe to do so. I'd totally concur with a decision to maintain the high-tow position for longer than usual if doing so would enhance safety -- such as when assessing options when operating from a short strip. > This has particular hazards for the tow > pilot who now finds at low altitude he/she has to apply ever increasing back > stick in order to compensate for the upward load on their tail. Is that a "hazard" or a "difference"? Surely it's only a hazard if the glider is far enough out of station to be approaching a tug upset...? As far as I know, the Australian gliding community remains the only one in the world which prefers the low-tow position. The first time I flew a glider in the USA the instructor in the back had never even heard of low-tow. - mark -------------------------------------------------------------------- I tried an internal modem, new...@atdot.dotat.org but it hurt when I walked. Mark Newton ----- Voice: +61-4-1620-2223 ------------- Fax: +61-8-82231777 ----- _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
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