On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 22:15:53 UTC, (Andre
Volant) wrote:

: I was told that the nose hook is not allowed for winch towing of PW5.
: That's what manual sais, but who knows why?
: Which other gliders are not allowed to be winched by the nose?

Most of them. Two main reasons: you get one heck of a down pull right
at the front as the launch proceeds and nose hooks don't have back
releases.

In fact, the Pirat is the only glider I have come across in which
winching with the nose hook is explicitly allowed in the pilot
handbook: you are told to use full forward trim (gets the trim tab up:
every little helps) and to expect only around 60% of the launch height
you'd get with the belly hook. And it still doesn't have a back
release...

: Who is resposible for checking weight and ballance, if for example
: student pilot has 3 hours (40 flights X 5min) of flight experience?

The pilot. No doubt. No argument.

: When does resposibility of flight instructor end?

In one sense, when s/he gets out the back seat. In another sense, as
long as the pilot is flying.

Ian