Ultra Light Towing

I flew from the Wasserkuppe in a K-21 behind a 'Pellican'.
Not a pleasant experience. Downwind take-off from
their sloping runway. After a 180 degree turn we passed
the take off point looking UP at it! Their Robins,
on the other hand, are immaculate and get you up there.
Rob

At 10:54 06 February 2004, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On 5 Feb 2004 21:49:40 -0800,
(Doug Taylor)
wrote:

Randal Cullen wrote in message news:...
I've been informed that Czech does no allow ultralight
tow planes. Are you aware if this is the case in any
other countries? We are currently considering a SAMBA
as a tow plane for our club in South Africa.

In the United States, ultralight tow planes exist,
but they are only
allowed to tow ultralight gliders and only if operated
with a waiver.
The regulations define and ultralight glider as any
glider with an
empty weight less than 155 pounds (70 kgs.) so it is
mostly for hang
gliders but there are a number of other designs that
meet the rule. I
have heard of cases where ultralight tugs have pulled
much heavier
things (like an ASW 20) without much trouble (Don't
know where that
happened so don't ask me ). It is certainly viable
if your
regulations allow it.

They tow single seaters (ASK-23, ASW-24) at the Wasserkuppe
with the
trike gear Sinus/Virus type of all composite UL. Sorry
I don't know
the exact type: I just checked their web site but there
is no
information on the tugs there. However, they use a
Robin GR400 for
their ASK-21s

I had a launch in an ASK-23 there behind a UL. The
climb rate seemed
OK - certainly no worse than you'd get from a 160 hp
4 bladed Rallye.

--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :

Robert John wrote:

I flew from the Wasserkuppe in a K-21 behind a 'Pellican'.
Not a pleasant experience.

I've flown a Janus behind a G3-Mirage. It takes definitely longer to get
off the ground, but once airborne, the climb rate is nearly that of an
"ordinary" plane. The whole tow takes a bit longer, but due to the much
lower cost of the UL, it's still much cheaper.

I'd say it works fine from a paved runway or from a long grass runway.
Not recommended from short runways or with a tailwind, especially if the
rope break options are difficult or if there are obstacles at the end of
the runway.

Stefan

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 20:57:58 +0100, Stefan
wrote:


I've flown a Janus behind a G3-Mirage. It takes definitely longer to get
off the ground, but once airborne, the climb rate is nearly that of an
"ordinary" plane. The whole tow takes a bit longer, but due to the much
lower cost of the UL, it's still much cheaper.

I'd say it works fine from a paved runway or from a long grass runway.
Not recommended from short runways or with a tailwind, especially if the
rope break options are difficult or if there are obstacles at the end of
the runway.

I heard from a reliable source that aerotow tests with a single-seater
(iirc Ventus) behind an Impule 100 with a 100 hp Rotax 912S showed a
climb rate of more than 1.000 fpm... (!). This might be the first
ultralight that is a full replacement for a Remorqeur, even on
less-than-perfect conditions.

It helps significantly if the tow plane is aerodynamically clean.
The G3 Mirage and Mattin Wezel's Condor are NOT clean.



Bye
Andreas

Andreas Maurer wrote:

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 20:57:58 +0100, Stefan
wrote:



I've flown a Janus behind a G3-Mirage. It takes definitely longer to get
off the ground, but once airborne, the climb rate is nearly that of an
"ordinary" plane. The whole tow takes a bit longer, but due to the much
lower cost of the UL, it's still much cheaper.

I'd say it works fine from a paved runway or from a long grass runway.
Not recommended from short runways or with a tailwind, especially if the
rope break options are difficult or if there are obstacles at the end of
the runway.


I heard from a reliable source that aerotow tests with a single-seater
(iirc Ventus) behind an Impule 100 with a 100 hp Rotax 912S showed a
climb rate of more than 1.000 fpm... (!). This might be the first
ultralight that is a full replacement for a Remorqeur, even on
less-than-perfect conditions.

It helps significantly if the tow plane is aerodynamically clean.
The G3 Mirage and Mattin Wezel's Condor are NOT clean.



Bye
Andreas
Where could we get more information on said Impule ultralight?

Bruce

On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 11:34:31 +0200, Bruce Greeff
wrote:

Where could we get more information on said Impule ultralight?

www.impulse-aircraft.de

Bye
Andreas

"Bruce Greeff" wrote in message
...

Where could we get more information on said Impule ultralight?

Bruce

A Google search for "Impule ultralight" yielded nothing: however, "Impulse
ultralight" provided several links including the following:
http://www.impulse-aircraft.de/english/home/firma.html

Wayne
http://www.soaridaho.com/

Wayne Paul wrote:
"Bruce Greeff" wrote in message
...


Where could we get more information on said Impule ultralight?

Bruce


A Google search for "Impule ultralight" yielded nothing: however, "Impulse
ultralight" provided several links including the following:
http://www.impulse-aircraft.de/english/home/firma.html

Wayne
http://www.soaridaho.com/


Thanks - I got the same and was wondering if it was a typo, or not.