As a tug pilot my expectation is that we low tow; personally I have no
problems with
the high tow position provided the pilot tells me prior to takeoff and they
know what
he/she is doing, in fact I prefer the high tow position when towing cross
country.
Pilots getting out of position while on aero tow is a different subject; we
have to accept
that students will get out of position as part of the training process.
While I have not had
a stall while in the tug I have had to warn an experienced pilot (by Radio)
to get out of "Submarine
Tow" because I was running out of forward stick and an instructor who was
teaching his students
to transition from low tow to high tow in a whip manoeuvrer just prior to
their release trying to
squeeze the last 50ft out of the launch. These are unacceptable behaviours
from experienced pilots.
SDF
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Peter F
Bradshaw
Sent: Wednesday, 13 April 2011 2:22 PM
To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Where to sit on tow?
Are there any reports of tow induced tug stalls?
On Wed, 13 Apr 2011, Dion Stuart Baker wrote:
> It works both ways, of course. If you get too low, you pull the tail down
> and cause the tug to stall.
>
> I'd say a stall is more dangerous than a dive. A dive takes less time and
> height to recover from.
>
> Dion
>
> On 13 April 2011 13:11, DMcD <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > HA
> >
> > I think there's a danger in thinking that just because we don't do
> > what everyone else does, that we have got in wrong in Oz. This is
> > what the BGA safety flash says:
> >
> > ===================================
> >
> > BGA SAFETY FLASH Tug Upsets
> >
> > These happen when the glider gets excessively high, pulling the tug
> > tail up uncontrollably.
> >
> > Sometimes the glider suddenly zooms above the tug in an unstoppable
> > manner after an initial pitch-up, putting the tug into a steep dive
> > requiring as much as 400 feet to recover.
> >
> > The sequence of events occupies only 2-3 seconds, giving little chance
> > for either the glider pilot or tow-pilot to recognise the problem and
> > pull the release in time.
> >
> > Some years ago the BGA ran a successful campaign to stop the resulting
> > fatalities to tug pilots, but several years without incident now
> > appear to have ended. This year there have been two reported upsets
> > and at least one other not reported. Fortunately none resulted in
> > crashes.
> >
> > Six factors make upsets more likely. Three or more together should be
> > considered unacceptable:
> >
> > ? Lightweight glider, low wing-loading
> > ? C of G hooks intended for winch launching
> > ? Short ropes
> > ? Pilots with little aerotow experience
> > ? NearaftCofG.
> > ? Turbulent conditions
> >
> >
> > C of G hooks are the worst factor but the presence of any of these
> > factors increases the danger.
> >
> > ===================================
> >
> > Bearing in mind that we have more turbulence on a regular basis to the
> > Brits and we also have many of the other factors from time to time,
> > there are some scenarios where it is easy to imagine that a low tow
> > may be a better option than a high tow.
> >
> > D
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Aus-soaring mailing list
> > [email protected]
> > To check or change subscription details, visit:
> > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
> >
>
Cheers
--
Peter F Bradshaw: http://www.exadios.com (public keys avaliable there).
Personal site: http://personal.exadios.com
"I love truth, and the way the government still uses it occasionally to
keep us guessing." - Sam Kekovich.
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