At 12:08 PM 9/3/99 -0400, you wrote: >Where/How do you connect the tow line on a Twin Star for H/L towing? >Tom Tom, You have two choices of attachment of the tow line to the Twin Star, releasable or captive. In either case, attach the towline to the top of the wing of the Twin Star 3" aft of the leading edge. Use approximately 30' of towline (kite string, crochet cotton thread, or dental floss) with a single #64 rubber band cut in half and spliced in-line with the towline approximately 3'-5' ahead of the HLG end. Use a single 1"-2" loop in the end of the line to place over the HLG "aerotow" hook with is made from a paper clip that had one end bent vertically (slight rear rake). Tape the paper clip to the TOP of the HLG between the canopy and nose of the HLG. The HLG is released by having the Twin Star throttle back then a quick blip of down stick at the HLG or and outside loop ends the tow. Most higher performance HLGs tend to "over fly" the Twin Star so adding some camber or flap before launch helps to maintain towline tension. Launching is done by hand, with the Twin Star pilot standing 10'-15' ahead of the HLG pilot/plane. On release of the Twin Star (no running is needed), the HLG pilot does a smooth, straight ahead, gentle release and within 20'-30' things should be going nicely. The key to success, as with large scale aerotow, is communication between the Twin Star pilot and the HLG pilot. Big turns are best, keeping the HLG to the outside of the turn to avoid being whipping around and probable release. As I mentioned earlier, the towline can be releasable or captive at the Twin Star. Although captive is easiest and will do just fine with an experienced Twin Star driver and HLG pilot, early on, mistakes happen quickly and it is often difficult to seperate. On the other hand, a fairly simple release mechanism can be built using one of your cast off, pesky S-90 micro servos, a piece of small carbon arrow shaft and a piece of small diameter piano wire. A small slot is cut (90 degrees to the length of the shaft) into the arrow shaft approximately 1/4" from the top. A hole is drilled through the Twin Star wing 3" aft of the leading edge for the diameter of the arrow shaft. Epoxy the tubing into the wing with the slot 1/4" above the top surface of the wing and facing to the rear. Mount the S-90 underneath the wing with some double stick tape so that the end of the servo arm is directly under the hole in the arrow shaft and the servo clears the wing saddle. Bend a Z bend in some .030" piano wire. Temporarily attach the wire to the servo arm, set the arm's throw to the "up" position (arm closest to the lower surface of the wing. Through the rear facing slot cut in the arrow shaft, mark the piano wire. Pull the wire out, cut it 1/16"-1/8" longer than the mark. Re-install, retract the servo, tie a loop in the tow plane side of the towline, drop the loop over the arrow shaft, pull it forward slightly into the slot, engage the servo and the towline is now captive on the piano wire. Just another attempt to seek some fun with risk ;-) Tom Hoopes ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
