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

On 6/2/2012 9:12 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
All the concern about nose vs. CG release and the correcting force of
the nose release indicates, to me, poorly trained or lazy pilots. If you
will simply fly the aircraft and pay attention to your flight path,
you'll find that it makes no difference what type of release you have
(unless you're doing a ground launch).

Do some of you actually rely on the nose release to keep the nose
aligned rather than flying the aircraft?

I did in some conditions, such as cross winds and unassisted (no wing
runner) takeoffs. When the glider is moving slowly at the beginning of
the launch, there is no "flying" the glider - you are ballistic for a
length of time that depends on the wind and towplane acceleration.

Once aerodynamic control is available, then the differences between CG
and nose hooks are reduced, but in all the gliders I've flown, it was
still noticeable. How noticeable did depend on the glider type.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

Sounds to me like you're talking about aircraft limitations. I haven't yet
seen a case where the glider could safely takeoff with a nose hook but not
with a CG hook AND the tow pilot was willing to do the tow.

Your operation may vary but, where I fly, we have a 15 kt crosswind
component limit on the tow planes. I've towed and flown my CG hook equipped
LAK-17 with winds gusting up to 28 kts though the cross wind component was
under 15 kts. In these conditions, ground handling is the most difficult
aspect of the operation and we sometimes stand down simply because of the
risk of moving the tug.


"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
On 6/2/2012 9:12 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
All the concern about nose vs. CG release and the correcting force of
the nose release indicates, to me, poorly trained or lazy pilots. If you
will simply fly the aircraft and pay attention to your flight path,
you'll find that it makes no difference what type of release you have
(unless you're doing a ground launch).

Do some of you actually rely on the nose release to keep the nose
aligned rather than flying the aircraft?

I did in some conditions, such as cross winds and unassisted (no wing
runner) takeoffs. When the glider is moving slowly at the beginning of the
launch, there is no "flying" the glider - you are ballistic for a length
of time that depends on the wind and towplane acceleration.

Once aerodynamic control is available, then the differences between CG and
nose hooks are reduced, but in all the gliders I've flown, it was still
noticeable. How noticeable did depend on the glider type.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email
me)