On 6 Jan 2004 12:41:34 -0700, (Mark James Boyd)
wrote:


First of all, if the manual says to not use the C.G. hook
for aerotow, I personally wouldn't try it, even once.
But that's just me.

In the case of the 28 it's not a question of danger: Hundreds of 24's
(which has only a different wing, but identical fuselage, CG and tail)
are flying with CG hook only.

But what do you do with a glider like our ASW-27?
If only a CG hook is installed (yes, there are at least 150 27's
flying like this), it's fully certified for aerotow on the CG hook.
Since the new rules came out, all new 27's have a nose hook installed
and therefore this one MUST be used for aerotow.

Does the installed nose hook suddenly make the aerotow on the CG hook
dangerous?

(Consequence: Many owners of new 27's removed the nose hook).

The same goes for nearly all current gliders that were previously
built with only a CG hook and which are currently produced with a nose
hook.

A new glider with a different
placement of the CG hook relative to the CG may
be a completely different ride. If you do try it, keep
meticulous records, and send a report to the manufacturer.
I bet they'd like to know, since maybe their test pilot
was too chicken to do it himself.

If a CG hook is certified, the manufacturer has tested it for all
possible CG's.

Another thought...is it possible to rig a towline in such a way
that it has TWO rings? So that one could release the nose
ring and then be on the belly ring? Could one then
launch (the super dangerous part) using the nose ring and
then release this and experiment using the belly ring up at
high altitude?

Why would anyone do that?
The disadvantages of a nose hook is that it oftern creates significant
noise, draft, a little drag, costs money to build and to maintain.
Inflight it's nice to have.


Of course all of this begs the question: if the glider
HAS a nose hook for aerotow, why not just use it?

See above..
I admit that I've covered the nose hook with tape to get rid of the
noise and the draft when I was flying on very cold days - Schleicher
screwed up the design in my opinion.

An aerotow on the nose hook is probably less prone to pull the
towplane's tail up - but so far I have not seen one single accident
(!) statistic that could prove this point. I guess that by today
enough gliders with a nose hook should be in duty to see if the nose
hook really make a difference concerning accident rates.

The only information that I've seen so far is the Idaflieg flight test
that demonstrated that a gloder on a nose hook takes a lot more effort
and time to pull the tail of the tow plane up.

Bye
Andreas