In my student pilot days, I can recall seeing a sailplane taking off in
tow as I was about 800 feet after take off on a Cessna 150. The tow rope
snapped from the sailplane at a estimate elevation of 600 to 500 feet...
The pilot of the sailplane make a extreme graceful left bank to
position for a landing .... and landed like a Canadian Geese or a Swan
you see in landing on a lake ....
How beautiful some people recovery from a dangerous situation .....
grace under pressure ....never will forget it.....
Bill
1981 300 TD
OK Don wrote:
Yup. The sailplane is being towed very close to Vmax, and the tow
plane is flying very close to Vmin. You are flying with full throttle,
and trying to hold 65MPH with the attitude of the nose. The student
behind you is pulling the tail every which way, and the tow pilot has
to compensate for it to keep both of them in the air. One student came
dangerously close to wrapping the tow rope around my port wing tip!
Then there's the getting back to the runway, and in towing position
before the glider gets back. Without loosing the tow rope. Our club
snagged several telephone lines that were at the end of the runway
with the dangling tow rope. I once caught the verticle exhaust pipe of
a semi in the right North-bound lane of I-35. That was quite an
experience at about 20 ft. off the ground! The FAA wasn't very happy,
but didn't take any action.
I joined the club to fly sailplanes, but seldom did after getting my
rating - spent all my time in the tow plane. We used the Citabria and
a 150HP Cessna 150. That 150 would really climb with one notch of
flaps and full power on take-off. Loved it!
Yes - we were a peculiar group! Crazy college students who would
rather fly than study.
I bet! Having been a sailplane student, I think flying a tug towing a
student is probably one of the more dangerous jobs in aviation. It's so
easy for the sailplane to overpower the tug's tail surfaces and put the
tow pilot somewhere he really doesn't want to be. It was fun to sit
around and listen to the tow pilots' hangar chat...they loved their job,
and they were all interesting people. Aviation seems to attract a wide
range of peculiar folks. ;)
The club I was in used a Bellanca Scout and a Piper Pawnee as tugs. The
Pawnee was definately the favorite of the pilots.
--
OK Don, KD5NRO
Norman, OK
'90 300D 243K, Rattled
'87 300SDL 290K, Limo Lite, or blue car
'81 240D 173K, Gramps, or yellow car
'78 450SLC 67K, brown car
'97 Ply Grand Voyager 78K Van Go
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