Mark Newton wrote It's considered polite to inform the tuggie, although I'm yet to meet one who appears to care.
Mark - I for one do appreciate being advised if the glider pilot will be using a non standard High Tow, and most who prefer High Tow do :-) SDF -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mark Newton Sent: Tuesday, 12 April 2011 8:35 PM To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Where to sit on tow? 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, [email protected] but it hurt when I walked. Mark Newton ----- Voice: +61-4-1620-2223 ------------- Fax: +61-8-82231777 ----- _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
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