I have been towing for about two and a half years and have logged over 6,500 tows. Having recently experienced a couple of rather violent glider kiting incidents, one at about 300 feet AGL I decided to investigate the experiences of other tow pilots in these circumstances. I have spent several hours reading posts about gliders kiting and upsetting the tow plane, many of the posts deal with creating an automatic release that will recognize the actions of the glider and release without input from the tow pilot. Nice idea, some really creative approaches and the bottom line is anything can be done if you have enough money and can get the FAA to buy into it and give approval.

Lots of opinions and ideas as to why these things happen. Bottom line is that they do happen, they have resulted in loss of tow pilot lives and the causes are well known.

Of my two most recent experiences one was with a 67 year old licensed private pilot, glider only, no other pilot ratings who at 2000 feet tried to release, “slipped back in the seat pulling back on the stick and going vertical.” I took a stab at the release to no avail, the pressure was too great and I soon found myself at about 75 degrees nose down at full power. The natural instinct at this point is to pull back the power and try again to release. He managed to release before I could try for a second time and I recovered. If this has to happen to you, 2000 feet is a good place to be. My understanding is that this was his first tow in more than a year. Something to think about.

My second experience in the same week was with a 15 year old student on her 3rd solo pattern tow. At about 250 to 300 feet I started a turn from the downwind drift to the right. I felt a tug on my tail pulling my nose to the left. After a few seconds I tried again to turn to the right knowing that she was behind me to the right. Could not see her, no mirror on the right. (much easier if she was a little to the left) The second time the pull of my tail to the right and nose to the left was a bit more violent…..followed by a very hard tug of my tail UP and to the right. We could not have been much more than 300 feet when I found myself nose down and trying to release….again the pressure was too much to overcome and I needed to retard the throttle. Before I could make a second attempt at release I heard a loud BANG as the rope broke, I regained control and recovered just above the trees. (glad that I had made a pit stop before I started towing). She made it back to the field and didn’t seem at all concerned……I shall withhold my comments at this point.

I had to straighten out the Schweizer hook which was off to the right about 30 degrees before I could make the last 8 tows of the day.

While I have concerns with both of these pilots my major concern is that the difficulty of actuating the release when the glider kites is well documented. To make matters worse, the release in the tug I was flying, although a bit more manually accessible than the other two I fly requires that the pilot pull it back and push down to fully actuate the release. Not an easy thing to do under the circumstances. The other two release handles are down on the floor to the left and for someone of my height, sitting on a cushion and trying to grab the release is very difficult. It would seem to me that an easy fix would be to simply make a longer handle curved up so one could both see and feel for it in an emergency. A longer handle would also provide a bit more mechanical advantage although having read many of the posts I am not sure this would overcome the pressure on the Schweizer hook. Of course I hear all the noise about needing to apply for a 337 and get FAA approval….next I will need approval to put a cushion on the seat or to have an inspection after washing the airplane.

So, the fixes appear to be going to a Tost hook or inverting the Schweizer hook which I understand can be done with an available STC. In my case I would also like to see a more accessible release handle…would (or should) an STC be required for this? This would be the short term fix I would like to see. If the handle was made from the same stock as the current device, just a foot or so longer it would seem that this should be able to be done without a long drawn out approval process.

I love flying, enjoy the gliderport environment and people but I am NOT willing to give up my life. When the glider kites things happen very fast. Unless your hand is on the handle (not feasible in my circumstances) you will not be able to release before the pressure gets too great. If it happens much lower than I experience it will be lights out. So remember my glider pilot friends….fly well….the life you save might be your tow pilot.

Walt Connelly