Glider crow-hops:

On 8/23/2012 6:54 PM, Bill D wrote:


Major snip of intervening nuance...


Bob, you will recall your wife's first flight in her 1-26. I was certain
she was good to go after training her in a 2-33 but she wasn't so sure. To
her, the 1-26 looked scary - it was her first single seat transition.

Actually, I'd forgotten that detail, Bill, until this reminder!

So, I tied two or three aero tow ropes together and towed her with my Jeep.
The first ground roll was below liftoff speed she over-controlled the
ailerons as I had promised she would. The next try she was straight and
true so I nudged the speed up a bit until the 1-26 lifted off to about 3
feet where she released as instructed. I wheeled the Jeep away from the
runway and she glided straight ahead about 100 yards to a perfect landing.
Her grin just wouldn't go away. Now she KNEW she could fly her 1-26.

Ground skims are a very old technique but they can still serve a purpose.

"I agree!" with both those closing statements. What I was seeking to convey to
the O.P. in this particular regard (the devil being in the details) was it may
matter to him (and his transitional success) how experienced every one of his
helpers is in whatever job he asks them to competently perform. Me knowing
none of those details, my guess is in today's world he's more likely to find
folks competent in aerotowing than in "crow hopping" at his home field.

I suspect we're both in agreement that reducing variables when transitioning
to a new-to-the-pilot ship is arguably "more safe" than increasing them is
likely to be.

In any event, I hope he lets RAS know how the transition goes...and how he
accomplishes it!

Bob W.