Soaring Accident in Washington State

Originally Posted by Andy[_1_]

On Oct 15, 4:34*pm, Michael Dewitt Allen
wrote:
How could
anyone use a 200' tow rope on a Automobile launch on a 2,500 strip and
hope to have ANY leeway to recover from ANY deviation from
perfection ?

Since this is all speculation I'll add mine. Differences between
starting a launch on a 200ft rope behind a tow plane and the same
launch behind a powerful truck a

1. the lack of prop wash and
2. the potential for greatly increased initial acceleration

A reasonable scenario for the shoot would have been for the glider to
become airborne for a few seconds and then release to land ahead while
the truck accelerated out of the way. On the face of it the risks
seem manageable and no worse than the initial segment of an aerotow
from the same runway.

I wonder how much the combination of high initial acceleration and
short rope contributed to this accident. A key factor may be whether
the launch used a nose hook or a CG hook. If the plan was to land
ahead with no attempt to gain significant altitude then the nose hook
may have been the right choice.

People are questioning the experience of the glider pilot. Maybe the
experience of the truck driver is just as important?

Andy
(aerotow, winch and ground launch in my log)

I do wonder if high initial acceleration would be an issue as I have not seen any vehicle that can accelerate a glider as fast as a medium to high powered winch. The one at my club will accelerate a light glider to 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds (super car territory) if given abrupt full throttle and a Dg 1000 isn't that light

Colin