If the tail wheel is on the ground, how can back pressure make the glider
lift off? The AoA can't be increased; I'd say it lifts off when a
certain speed is reached with no stick movement at all.

(The real answer to the question in the header is "Thumb and two
fingers.)

At 23:04 06 May 2009, TonyV wrote:
Mike the Strike wrote:

The correct answer therefore depends on the ship, its hook location,
method of tow and weather conditions.


Yes, once again, "it depends". I think that Russell's advice is
generally good and is what I do on most gliders - except for my LS-6. I
used to get the glider off of the tail wheel as soon as possible but
found I had much longer than expected ground rolls. About 3 years ago,
as an experiment, I set the trim, left the stick neutral and kept the
tail wheel on the ground until a gentle back pressure at flying speed
caused the glider to lift one foot off of the ground with no hint of
ballooning and no stick pressure at all. I've been doing that ever
since. YMMV.

Tony V