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Everett,
Sorry.....when I responded about using the loop and wire, I neglected to comment
on the two options that you actually were
considering.
In particular, stay away from the release that uses the captured ball which is
connected to the tow-line. I have heard stories
about them not releasing, but the biggest problem is that your "ball" is left with the
towline after release, and may be lost in the
case of a dropped towline. That, plus it must be removed from the towline before
anyone else can tow, and then retrieved by you.
Hopefully, you will still be flying at this point, so it is a golden opportunity for
the ball to go missing, ending your flying
unless you have purchased some spares.
I have one of these which is a nice piece of machining, but elected to use the
wire loop for simplicity, repairability, and
minimum exposure to loss.
The other machined version will work OK as it captures a short loop of line which
is then attached to the towline. Only problem
in this case is that you will find that you will need a fair bit of lead in the nose
of the Grunau, right where you want to mount
this release. That, coupled with the thick nose block may preclude convenient use.
With the loop and wire you can just drill right
through the nose block and lead to run the straight wire back to a servo which will
fit under the front deck. I use a standard servo
as weight in the Grunau's nose is a bonus!
Speaking of which......try to keep the tail as light as possible to reduce the
amount of weight required. The Grunau will come
out heavy....as mentioned in my other note, mine is about 9 lbs and I think if I could
have kept it to 8 to 8 1/4 lbs it would fly a
bit better. It does thermal well in decent lift, but it ain't no floater! If you are
planning on winching it let me know and I will
take a photo of the hook locations which seem to work well for me.
Dave Smith
VISTA - Vancouver Island Slope and Thermal Association
Everett Smiley wrote:
> Any comments good or bad on the 2 towline release devices sold by Hobby
> Lobby. Need such a release for the Krick Grunau Baby 2B. 1/4 scale.
>
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