Chris Rollings wrote:
Gary, you're right to be concerned, but bear in mind when we did some
tests in the UK we concluded that in a worst case scenario there was NO
CHANCE that either tug pilot or glider pilot would react in time, however
well trained. Prevention is better than cure in this case, DON'T AEROTOW
ON CG HOOKS. Do bear in mind that Schweizer hooks may jam under high loads
(such as those produced when a glider pitches nose up on tow) and consider
replacing/modifying them, it won't help in the very worst cases but it
may well in some of the others.

At 13:38 11 September 2009, GARY BOGGS wrote:
=A0The combination has killed more than one tug
pilot and will probably take a few more.

Andy
This thought has been haunting me for quite a while now. It seems to
me that we need to change the way we train our glider pilots AND our
tow pilots. I think tow pilots need to start regularly practicing
pulling the release when the glider gets too high. If he has never
practiced this maneuver, which 99.9% of tow pilots haven't, they will
never do it in an actual tow going bad! From the accounts here, both
pilots have very little time to react, and if either pilot hesitates,
it might be another fatality. Glider pilots regularly practice rope
breaks so that our reactions are correct and rapid. I=92m going to
start retraining all my tug drivers to give the glider pilot the rope
if he gets too high and our glider pilots to just pull the release
when he gets too high instead of attempting recovery.

I have emailed Oregon Glider Pilot and asked him who he is but he=92s
not telling. How about it OGP, who are you?

Just out of curiosity, do the problems with releasing under high load
that are known with the Schweizer hook extend also to the Tost hook?

Ed