You know what Charlie - you are absolutely correct! I completely
forgot about hearing that technique in the past. *That said, this tow
pilot was pretty green and hasn't towed much so I was really worried
about him ballooning up on takeoff. *My good friend TT had that happen
to him at Moriarty and he was barely able to release and make the ship
come to a stop before the end of the runway. *20 seconds later in this
video after I cut it the tow plane slowed to 55 knots indicated for
about 10 seconds and it got pretty scary with the glider shuddering
and feeling like it was about to depart at any second 200 feet above
the ground. *Speed is so crucial on a heavy wet aero tow! *Thanks for
the advice and we will do that next tow.

Regards,
Bruno - B4

A few years ago, I was towing a water heavy ship during the region V
contest at Cordelle. I was airborne in about 2,000 feet. I was
indicating around 85 knots, when he finally lifted off about 4,500
feet down a 5,000 runway with tress at the end. Much longer and he
would have been by himself. I wasn't too keen on flying into the trees
at 3 feet AGL! Must say, it can get hot in southern GA, during the
contest months. Last year I was flying my HP. The actual temperature
was 104.

Charlie