On Jun 24, 11:05*am, bildan wrote:
On Jun 24, 8:23*am, toad wrote:





On Jun 23, 12:58*pm, bildan wrote:

On Jun 23, 10:10*am, T8 wrote:

On Jun 23, 11:14*am, Martin Gregorie
wrote:

Apart from anything else, your hand should be on the release knob during
the launch

This is surprising to me -- a non-winch-qualified pilot. *Do you do
the same for aero tow?

-T8

It's a good idea for aero tow. *We can all think of accidents where a
life would have been saved if the pilot had pulled the release before
becoming airborne. *It's not only where you put your hand, it's also a
mindset to pull off if something doesn't feel right.

For example, there are several accidents over the years where pilots
took off with disconnected controls. *It's much easier to tow a glider
back to the start line than sweep up the pieces.

There is one less Discus in the world because the pilot had his hand
on the release on a bumpy day. *He "in-advertently" pulled the release
at low altitude and crashed into the trees. * The pilot was not
injured, but the glider was totaled. *If you want to keep your hand on
the release, then hold it some way that prevents turbulence from
releasing it for you.

Todd
3S

First, we're really only talking about an aero tow ground roll. *Once
airborne in turbulent air, keeping a death grip on the release isn't a
good idea. *Even this isn't always possible with gliders that need
spoilers retracted or flaps moved from negative during the ground
roll. *Still, it's a good idea to have "muscle memory" in your left
hand so it can find the release in a hurry. *More important is to have
a mindset to pull off if you sense a problem during the ground roll.

Even on a winch ground roll, I don't like a full grip on the release,
just hand contact with it. *That way *the pilot is unlikely to pull it
inadvertently but can pull it intentionally if needed.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just remember to give these cautions to any pilot that you tell "keep
your hand on the release" during takeoff.

Todd
3S