SparrowHawk owners, lets hear from you!

Okay, here goes. A biased opinion because I am indeed a SparrowHawk
owner.

Flying the SH is a blast! Good roll rate, but not twitchy. Speed
control very easy. Get a little slow thermalling and looking around?
Nothing happens. No break, just a little loss of lift and all the
typical signs of slow airspeed. Reduce the angle of attack slightly
and you're back in business. All controls remain effective throughout
this regime which in most anything else I've flown would result in a
break, wingdrop or worse requiring some type of "recovery". Not in
the SH.

Before flying it I thought it would be slow to accelerate because of
its low mass and therefore low inertia. I forgot that there is also
very low drag. It accelerates just fine. It also retains speed on a
pull-up. (For example after an exuberant low, not too low please,
pass and pullup to enter the pattern for landing)

The light weight and consequent ease of assembly is a much bigger plus
than I had counted on. I almost never ask for help assembling unless
it is windy. Just roll the fuselage out on it's dolly, set out
wingtip stands, grab a wing (all 37 lbs. of it) stick the spar in its
slot in the fuselage, do the same for the other wing and then hook
everything up. Preflight, critical assembly check, and you're good to
go.

Another big plus in the light weight department is the ease of pushing
it from assembly point to launch point. It's as easy to push it as it
is to walk the wing on other ships. We occasionally have towed it
with a bicycle. (I'm looking for a strong bicycle rider to try a
launch.)

I've aerotowed behind 260 Pawnees down to ultralights. It's quite
happy on tow at speeds from 40kts to 80kts. One ultralight tow was
somewhere around 35-37 knots and the only thing I had to do
differently was to fly a little to the side to keep towline in sight
because of high deck angle.

I've had some folks express concern about it in strong surface winds.
As Eric Greenwell pointed out in an early article, that is no more of
an issue than for any of the older design ships. There just isn't
that much surface area for the wind to have its effect. Probably the
same as a 1-26 which I think was Eric's comparison. I've had it in
surface winds up to around 35 kts and yes, I was concerned, but no
more than everyone else with their much heavier ships.

One of the truly amazing things about the SH is just how strong it is.
The carbon fibre seems extremely damage tolerant to me. I've landed
in gravel with pretty good rocks and had other bangs and bashes and
there is nothing but paint scratches on the wheel fairings.

Now--the biggie--Who will and who won't tow it or allow it to be in
their sight. I have been around quite a bit of the country with mine
and I know for sure there is at least one other that has been around
much more than I have. I have had two commercial operators say they
do not want to even talk about it because they know it's an ultralight
and therefore they want nothing do with it. In one case I asked if
they would like to look at it in the trailer and was informed that he
did not want to even see an ultralight anything. (I think there might
have been a prejudicial attitude there.) The good news is that
everywhere else I've been, both commercial operations and clubs have
been happy to have it around. They have examined the FAR's and their
insurance, my qualifications, experience, etc. and have been
satisfied.

A final point. If the "ultralight issue" is an issue for anyone,
register it. Put an "N" something on it and do the legal EXPERIMENTAL
thing. It's not that hard. No more so than any of the imports that
require it. There have been all sorts of comments on RAS to the
effect that the imports may in some cases have a foreign airworthiness
cert. The truth is, "If it doesn't have an FAA airworthiness
certificate, then it doesn't have an airwortiness certificate.
Period. (Obviously I'm referring to registration under USA FAA rules.
Certainly no offense to any political entity outside the USA)

Regards, Stan Taylor

The good news is that
everywhere else I've been, both commercial operations and clubs have
been happy to have it around. They have examined the FAR's and their
insurance, my qualifications, experience, etc. and have been
satisfied.


They may not be correctly looking at FAR 91.311

Would they tow an aluminum tube cloth wing ultralight that came to the field
behind their tow ship?

FAR 91.311 says they cannot tow anything except as described in 91.309
unless they have a special waiver.. The tow pilot is also putting ticket on
the line.. to tow an ultralight.

I agree with your statement, get the experimental glider airworthiness
certification, get an N number, and remove all doubt.

With recent happenings in this lawsuit hungry world, away from your home
airport, proof of liability insurance is also good to carry with you. Some
will not tow you if you cannot show proof of insurance.

BT

For the record, here are the FAR's that you mentioned. Are there any
other FAR's we should be looking at?
As asinine as it it seems, it sounds like you can tow a cloth clad
aluminum tube device(as long as it is still within the previously
mentioned definition of a glider) into the air. Whether you would want
to is another matter.


Bob


FAR 91.309 - Towing: Gliders.
(a) No person may operate a civil aircraft towing a glider
unless--
(1) The pilot in command of the towing aircraft is qualified under
Sec.
|61.69| of this chapter;
(2) The towing aircraft is equipped with a tow-hitch of a kind,
and
installed in a manner, that is approved by the Administrator;
(3) The towline used has breaking strength not less than 80
percent of the
maximum certificated operating weight of the glider and not more
than twice
this operating weight. However, the towline used may have a breaking
strength
more than twice the maximum certificated operating weight of the
glider if--
(i) A safety link is installed at the point of attachment of the
towline to
the glider with a breaking strength not less than 80 percent of the
maximum
certificated operating weight of the glider and not greater than
twice this
operating weight.
(ii) A safety link is installed at the point of attachment of the
towline
to the towing aircraft with a breaking strength greater, but not
more than 25
percent greater, than that of the safety link at the towed glider
end of the
towline and not greater than twice the maximum certificated
operating weight
of the glider;
(4) Before conducting any towing operation within the lateral
boundaries of
the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace
designated for an airport, or before making each towing flight
within such
controlled airspace if required by ATC, the pilot in command
notifies the
control tower. If a control tower does not exist or is not in
operation, the
pilot in command must notify the FAA flight service station serving
that
controlled airspace before conducting any towing operations in that
airspace;
and
(5) The pilots of the towing aircraft and the glider have agreed
upon a
general course of action, including takeoff and release signals,
airspeeds,
and emergency procedures for each pilot.
(b) No pilot of a civil aircraft may intentionally release a
towline, after
release of a glider, in a manner that endangers the life or property
of
another.



FAR 91.311 - Towing: Other than under Sec. 91.309.
No pilot of a civil aircraft may tow anything with that aircraft
(other
than under Sec. |91.309|) except in accordance with the terms of a
certificate
of waiver issued by the Administrator.






"BTIZ" wrote in message news:6VZlc.11891$k24.4219@fed1read01...
The good news is that
everywhere else I've been, both commercial operations and clubs have
been happy to have it around. They have examined the FAR's and their
insurance, my qualifications, experience, etc. and have been
satisfied.


They may not be correctly looking at FAR 91.311

Would they tow an aluminum tube cloth wing ultralight that came to the field
behind their tow ship?

FAR 91.311 says they cannot tow anything except as described in 91.309
unless they have a special waiver.. The tow pilot is also putting ticket on
the line.. to tow an ultralight.

I agree with your statement, get the experimental glider airworthiness
certification, get an N number, and remove all doubt.

With recent happenings in this lawsuit hungry world, away from your home
airport, proof of liability insurance is also good to carry with you. Some
will not tow you if you cannot show proof of insurance.

BT

Bob wrote:

(3) The towline used has breaking strength not less than
80 percent of the maximum certificated operating weight
of the glider
....
However, the towline used may have a breaking strength
more than twice the maximum certificated operating weight
of the glider
....
with a breaking strength not less than 80 percent of the
maximum certificated operating weight of the glider
....

and not greater than twice the maximum certificated
operating weight of the glider;
....

Four mentions of "certificated" in a single section, but the FAA doesn't
care what you tow. Gotta love these creative interpretations 8^)

Marc

They may not be correctly looking at FAR 91.311


There has been a persistent notion among some aviation snobs that
ultralights - aircraft operated under 14CFR Part 103 - are not "proper
aircraft." They are. One would think that in gliding, where many of
us operate under the even more illegitimate-sounding category of
"Experimental" this notion would be less prevalent. Apparently not.
I too have encountered at least one gliderport where "It must have an
N Number" is a requirement for operations. Weird.

However, the FAA does not share this attitude: they consider
ultralights to be perfectly valid aircraft - gliders too. Heck, they
even think "Experimental" aircraft are okay under certain
circumstances - although they do require program letters for those
(not required for ultralights).

91.311 says that you need a waiver to tow anything other than a
glider, and if you're towing a glider it must be done in compliance
with 91.309. Going to look at 91.309, it requires that the person
towing a glider must be properly qualified, that the towing aircraft
must have a tow-hitch, that the tow-line be in a certain strength
range, that the controlling entity for the airspace (in controlled
airspace) must be advised of the towing operation, that the tow pilot
and glider pilot have a joint plan of action and that the tow pilot
must be careful where the rope is dropped. Well, nothing in any of
that about ultralights.

Perhaps BT is operating under the misapprehension that an ultralight
vehicle is not a glider? Let's go to definitions: Part 1.1 (General
definitions) defines a glider without any reference to whether or not
it is operated under Part 103 (i.e., is an ultralight): it requires
only that it be a heavier than air aircraft, supported in flight by
the dynamic reaction of the air against its surfaces, and not rely
principally on an engine.

All of the relevant sections of 14CFR follow. I've thrown in the
definition of "aircraft" as well, in case anyone thinks that an
ultralight may not be a "glider" because it's not an "aircraft." Not
to worry: it is.


§ 91.311 Towing: Other than under §91.309.
No pilot of a civil aircraft may tow anything with that aircraft
(other than under §91.309) except in accordance with the terms of a
certificate of waiver issued by the Administrator.


§ 91.309 Towing: Gliders.
(a) No person may operate a civil aircraft towing a glider unless—

(1) The pilot in command of the towing aircraft is qualified under
§61.69 of this chapter;

(2) The towing aircraft is equipped with a tow-hitch of a kind, and
installed in a manner, that is approved by the Administrator;

(3) The towline used has breaking strength not less than 80 percent of
the maximum certificated operating weight of the glider and not more
than twice this operating weight. However, the towline used may have a
breaking strength more than twice the maximum certificated operating
weight of the glider if—

(i) A safety link is installed at the point of attachment of the
towline to the glider with a breaking strength not less than 80
percent of the maximum certificated operating weight of the glider and
not greater than twice this operating weight.

(ii) A safety link is installed at the point of attachment of the
towline to the towing aircraft with a breaking strength greater, but
not more than 25 percent greater, than that of the safety link at the
towed glider end of the towline and not greater than twice the maximum
certificated operating weight of the glider;

(4) Before conducting any towing operation within the lateral
boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class
E airspace designated for an airport, or before making each towing
flight within such controlled airspace if required by ATC, the pilot
in command notifies the control tower. If a control tower does not
exist or is not in operation, the pilot in command must notify the FAA
flight service station serving that controlled airspace before
conducting any towing operations in that airspace; and

(5) The pilots of the towing aircraft and the glider have agreed upon
a general course of action, including takeoff and release signals,
airspeeds, and emergency procedures for each pilot.

(b) No pilot of a civil aircraft may intentionally release a towline,
after release of a glider, in a manner that endangers the life or
property of another.



§ 1.1 General definitions.
..
..
Aircraft means a device that is used or intended to be used for flight
in the air.
..
..
Glider means a heavier-than-air aircraft, that is supported in flight
by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces and
whose free flight does not depend principally on an engine.