Nice article on soaring on EAA web site

and may cause you to fly below the towplane

Any mechanical device benifits from being operated at lower stress
loads to the structure..Tost,Schweitzer, the tow plane or your
auto...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Not true........Mechanical devices are designed to do the
job........Why should I put myself / passenger/ glider/ towpilot in
danger just to give the tow hook "less stress"? How about "less
stress" on me? Like a "normal release". THat climb and dive deal
give me too much stress. Mechanical devices, tools, etc work for
me....I don't work for them.

BTW......no "T" is Schweizer...(yet another of my pet peeves) LOL

Cookie

Here's a nice response form an earlier RAS discussion onthe same
subject form "66"


1. Tost release is designed to release under normal load. No special
requirement, just pull release.

2. Schweizer release may actually not release the tow rope under a
real soft load (if arm sticks, for example, and towring is recaptured
when release closes). As long as load isn't excessive (i.e. pulling
up prior to release) no damage should result from normal tension
release.

3. Tow pilots generally do not like soft releases - it's embarassing
to climb an extra thousand feet or two with nothing on the end of the
string (BTDT). Especially on a nice bumpy day, with a light glasshole
behind me, I want to know when he/she decides to leave!

4. Why do a maneuver just prior to release that will decrease the
rate you get separation from the towplane and distract you from
clearing your airspace prior to release?

5. Worse case is that you match speeds with towplane, pull release,
then eat the end of the towrope. Dumb.

So now, tell me again why a soft release is taught? Oh right, to save
a few bucks on maintenance...

Only thing worse than a soft release is a kiting release - those guys
(you know who you are) deserve a good thrashing!

Just get behind the towplane, stabilize, clear the airspace, release,
watch for the rope to leave, then turn away. Easy...

Kirk
66

At 15:02 13 February 2011, wrote:
Searching the Internet brings up some interesting stuff. Here is
something form a SOP manual for a glider club:

To perform a soft release:
1) HOLD the release handle with your left hand.
2) REPOSITION slowly to just beyond the right wing of the towplane.
This is done to enable the glider pilot to continuously view the
towplane during the following steps, and ensure rapid and visible
separation from the towline after release.
3) Initiate a BRISK CLIMB ...

Then presumably start writing to the family of the tug pilot you've just
killed