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Old May 20th 20, 12:21 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Sci Fi
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Posts: 12
Default KGARS - Kiting Glider Automatic Relase System


It is true that increasing tow rope angle precedes a towplane upset, it

is
=
not exclusive to upsets. That is why I suggested putting a load cell on
the=
tow release to measure the force on the tow rope which is a better
indicat=
or of a kiting event.

Tom

Tom, if you made the load cell rupture when it sensed an overload would be
good... Don't we have them now.. they are called Weak-Links. All you
need to do is correctly calculate the maximum tension that you could allow.


As a starting point.. A 350kg Glider with a 35:1 L/D ratio just requires
10kg of pull to keep it flying. So factor in a safety margin to allow for
turbulence, of say 10x, and what you need is a 150kg Weak-Link. This is
much less than the lowest (White.) Link made so far. But as you know
those links are designed for Winch (Kiting.) Launches. Our Link needs to
be made for safe aero-tow.