On 06.01.2011 12:18, ProfChrisReed wrote:

Is there anyone who has actually stalled on tow unintentionally and
noted the airspeed when the stall occurred? I'd guess not, as the
pilot's attention would probably be elsewhere..

I never stalled a glider unintentionally in tow so far ....


.... but I stalled intentionally different gliders in tow behind
aircrafts, TMGs and Microlights in order to find limitations within tow.
And I noted well the differences in behavior and speed.

Doug and Andreas made the right observations with the correct
explanation. You may as well read the studies of Christian Ueckert, DLR
or the studies of DASSU/Stoeckl regarding use of TMGs for towing.

Did you ever look at the main wing of a canard aircraft, like the VariEze?

You may even see the built-in twist in the main wing due to the
downdraft of the canard wing on some pictures.
http://www.aero-auktion.com/angebotd...lectlotid=1786

In tow we have the overall fluid dynamics of a canard aircraft
(neglecting the two stabilisers).

On http://www.desktop.aero/appliedaero/...ardprocon.html
you may find
"Wing twist distribution is strange and CL dependent: The wing
additional load distribution is distorted by the canard wake."
as a inherent disadvantage of all canard aircrafts.

.... maybe we should start pushing our gliders into the air instead of
towing ....

PB