On Tuesday, April 29, 2014 12:12:00 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Further clarification about the tug upset video on YouTube, following first hand feedback from the tug pilot...



The tug had a French Aerazur hook, notorious for not releasing under tension. I guess issues with this hook led to the French pre-solo exercise of landing behind the tug. [I look forward to Kirk supplying me with a new JS1 !!!]



The tug pilot says the take-off felt normal, but during the initial climb the stick became harder...instantly he looked in the mirror and saw the ASK13 climbing like a winch launch...he didn't think, just pulled the red handle to release the rope. Maybe knowing that it was an Aerazur hook helped being decisive in releasing promptly. At the same time he felt the tug's tail lifting up and the tug's attitude was 45° down when he released. During debriefing, it was determined that the glider pilot released the rope just after the tug pilot. The tuggie hasn't said what height the tug was at before he recovered.



Not going to get into the semantics of calling this a kiting incident - while the glider was not excessively pitched up, it was high enough to upset the tug and could have been fatal if the tug pilot had not acted so quickly.



Iain


Iain, thanks for the update - good info! I used this video at our club's spring safety meeting and it was a great teaching tool.

I was unaware of the French Aerazur hook - the last Rallye I looked at (in La Teste, last year) had a Tost - so I assumed....

I'll be faxing you your new JS-1 as soon as I get it shrunk enough in the dryer to fit in the fax machine!

Cheers,

Kirk