At risk of making myself look daft because I've mis-remembered the
signals, I'm pretty certain that here in the UK rocking the glider's
wings is an indication that you can't release from tow (though it's
actually combined with flying out to the left before giving the signal)
and so by implication, I'd guess, a request that the tug release you at
an appropriate point.

I'll also add that before I go to work on getting cleared for aerotow
(I'm not in any rush - so far I've trained, solo'd and got my bronze on
the winch) I'll make sure I've revised and am certain of the signals.
Although I imagine most of the private gliders at my club have radio,
our training fleet of Ka13's doesn't, so tug and tow are reliant upon
signals as the only form of communication between them.

Bill

BTIZ writes
lets talk about the tow pilots wing rock.. for GET OFF NOW!!!....
as a tow pilot... when you've got your hands full of a sick engine... last
thing I want to be doing is rocking so hard as to be obvious wing rock above
the normal bumps of a thermal or rotor..

he gets one rock... then he's eating rope..

BT

"Vaughn" wrote in message
...

"Greg Arnold" wrote in message
news:AK20e.1003$AN1.904@fed1read03...
Tony Verhulst wrote:

I've tried the speed-up slow-down signals occasionally,
but if I really needed the speedup, I'm not sure I'd want to be
churning
the controls.


A few years a go, club member, with full water was being towed too
slowly. The tow plane radio was inop and the last thing he wanted to do
close to stall was to rock his wings.

Tony V.


What is the chance that the towpilot would notice the wing rock, anyway?

I always thought that the wing rock was for "speed up" was not the
greatest choice. Also, I have had mixed results with the "turn" signal,
it is usually not noticed. I find that particularly distressing when the
tow pilot insists on taking me downwind.

As someone else already noted, there is really no reason to not have
radio communications these days.

Vaughn




--
Bill Gribble
http://www.scapegoatsanon.demon.co.uk
- Learn from the mistakes of others.
- You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.