At 18:11 30 April 2015, Gav Goudie wrote:
With their permission I will gladly give you the contact details of a
least 2
tow pilots who have experienced just such a thing (unless it was their
imagination of course...)

GG

At 14:55 30 April 2015, Tango Eight wrote:
It's perfectly possible for a glider to transmit steering informatio
to a
=
tow plane through positioning, without causing any sort of divergent
situat=
ion. There is no significant danger of flick rolls (at least with a
200'
r=
ope and any tow plane in my experience), that's just someone'
imagination
=
running wild.


Ok, I do fly in the UK. In 50 years of gliding this is the first I have
heard of this "technique". It is certainly never taught and as far as I am
aware, never ever condoned. I can say that if a pilot on my club tried it
he would receive counselling and told never to do it ever again. Tug upsets
are thankfully rare in the UK and I am beginning to understand why they are
not so rare elsewhere. Attempting to control an aircraft from outside,
against the will of the pilot is nothing short of crazy but each to his own
I suppose.
In answer to the question, if the tug is going somewhere I am not happy to
go I would seize the yellow knob and pull. It may well be that after we
both landed a discussion takes place but that is where such problems should
be sorted, on the ground. Bit of a moot point as where I fly both tugs and
gliders have radio and in my particular situation if the radio is U/s the
aircraft is U/s.
Just because a procedure is sanctioned by an organisation does not make it
safe, it can just mean that enough crazy people have decided to do it.
Of course it is perfectly possible for a glider to transmit steering
information to a tow plane, being possible does not make it wise or safe.
On cloud flying I would tend to agree with you, but in that case you are
only putting at risk yourself and perhaps anyone else who chooses to be in
the same cloud, and that is not going to be me in any event.
A very good mate of mine told me very early on in my gliding career that
the biggest danger a tug pilot faced was the glider pilot flying behind
him. He was right and proved it in the saddest way possible. Being out of
position puts the tug pilot at risk, the glider pilot almost always gets
away with it.