Compare/Contrast: CG hook on aerotow vs. CG hook on winch

On May 24, 7:54*pm, son_of_flubber wrote:
I've been told (and witnessed) that aerotow on CG hook is initially difficult for someone who has trained for aerotow with a "nose hook" (aka hook-forward-of-CG). *Suppose this CG-hook-newbie were to take winch tow training (with CG hook). *Would the winch training reduce the initial difficulty of a CG hook aerotow?

Do the difficulties/danger of aerotow with CG hook go away completely with training and experience?

What sorts of misadventures are reasonably attributed to aerotow on CG hook?

I understand why CG hook is superior for winch tow. *No need to rehash that explanation.

Our primary trainer is an SGS 2-33A, with the low forward tow hook, it
likes to climb (kite) on tow and students learn to keep the nose down.
After solo they transition to the SGS 1-26D. After they are rated,
they transition to our Grob 103 on the nose hook. When they are ready
for single seat glass, we'll do a few tows in the Grob on the CG hook.

Big issue, on a CG hook the glider goes where it is pointed. No
assistance from rope tension on the nose to help keep you pointed on
the tow. We teach slack line recoveries to get the nose pointed at tow
before the line comes taught. That training transitions to tow with
the CG hook. Law of Primacy.

If on the ground, a wing goes down and you are pulled to the low wing
and can't correct, RELEASE!
If you are in the air and get wide in a turn on tow, get your nose
pointed back at tow. The glider will accelerate and faster means it
wants to climb. If you've ever been on water skis you'll understand.

T

I agree it's very type-specific. My first CG aerotow was an LS4 with a
tailskid on a gravel runway. 10 yds of furious pedal work and then it
all came together. On tow I could feel no difference from a nose hook
as the LS4 has perfect manners. My tailwheel Open Cirrus is even
easier, including launching (from short grass) with no wing runner and
the wing down.

I once aerotowed a K13 on the CG hook by accident - chatting to my
pupil and didn't notice the wrong hook was selected. No problem on the
ground run, but the offset CG hook meant that I had to fly the entire
tow with some rudder.

Other types may be harder to handle. An earlier poster said that only
a stupid pilot would allow kiting, but the BGA experiments some years
back demonstrated that stupidity would not be necessary. Take
something like a K8, which pitches up aggressively when there is a
strong pull on the rope. Add in strong thermals and a pilot who reacts
a second or two late (say low hours or out of currency) and kiting
goes out of control rapidly, leading to a tug upset.

Most UK clubs won't allow a light, high-wing glider to be aerotowed
off a CG hook (though experienced pilots might, or might not, be an
acceptable risk).

But a decent-handling glass glider should be perfectly manageable.
Directional instability on the ground run? Fix it with the rudder and,
if you can't, pull the bung. Perfectly safe enough. If you might hit
another glider or run off the field, even if you pull the release,
then you're launching from the wrong place.

At 15:34 25 May 2012, T wrote:

If on the ground, a wing goes down and you are pulled to the low wing
and can't correct, RELEASE!

The above statement is probably the best advice you will ever receive, if I
was picky I would make it even shorter, "If on the ground, a wing goes
down, RELEASE!"
Several years ago the BGA in the UK recommended that the hand was on the
release at all times once the cable is attached (winch and aerotow). This
means that the pilot cannot give hand signals for the take up slack/all out
so the attachment of the cable is the indication that the pilot is ready
for launch. If the pilot wants to stop the launch he releases. In flapped
gliders I used a length of para cord attached to the release and looped
over my wrist.
I had reservations about this system but on balance it is the safest of the
alternatives, early release prevents a bad situation becoming a disaster.