Keep your hand off the release handle during aero tows!

On Friday, October 4, 2013 10:36:19 AM UTC-6, wrote:
I have seen several videos on youtube lately where the glider pilot holds the tow release handle during all parts tow. I've been told it is taught this way by some in the UK. Sorry to pick on you folks on the other side of the pond as I love your country and can't wait to come over and glide with you in the next few years.



It seems to me that holding the handle during aero tow is a recipe for disaster eventually.



We have all hit big bumps and turbulence down low on tow. Why risk accidentally pulling the release at 50ft or 100ft in the air? If you are saying it is so that you can immediately pull the handle if something goes bad on tow, it might not be a good enough reason due to the risks of a accidental release. Keep your hand on your knee or the flaps handle right next to the release and I bet you can pull it just as quickly and you don't have to worry about messing up a perfectly good tow down low. Am I missing something here?



Your thoughts? This just seems like a big safety mistake and I would hate for people who see these videos and then think it is the right and correct thing to do.



Have fun and fly safe,

Bruno - B4

www.youtube.com/bviv

A few years ago I flew with a visiting UK pilot who was looking for a field checkout. I noticed he held onto the release as we climbs away. As was typical, part of the tow was over uninviting terrain. A small flying insect took the opportunity to land on his left ear. In an attempt to slap the bug he inadvertently pulled the release and missed the bug chasing it into his ear canal - double fail. Now he was off tow and low over unlandable terrain with a live bug in his ear. Does that count as 3 incidents in an accident chain?

I thought, Hmmm, GREAT distraction - lets see how he handles it.

To his credit, he thermalled us out of trouble all the while making weird vocalizations and trying to dislodge the bug. After he gave up attacking his ear, the bug "bugged out". The pilot got his checkout and, in the debrief, announced he had decided holding the release during aero tow wasn't such a great idea.

We have had a couple of minor accidents at our site where a
glider has dropped a wing on aerotow and lost directional
control. One of there involved a competition glider striking some
spectators, causing injuries. The holding the release knob thing
is really for winch launching, where things can go horribly wrong
very quickly, but there is also a case for doing so in the early
stages of an aerotow. If you lose directional control, you can pull
off before you gain too much energy. You should not reset flaps
until good aileron control has been established anyway. Some
people like to keep their airbrakes open for the first few
seconds, as this is supposed to improve aileron control (I'm not
convinced), so you would need a third arm to do this, hold the
stick and hold the release knob. The other good reason is that if
you are already holding the release knob, you are less likely to
pull the wrong knob in an emergency. As an instructor, I have
had students operate the airbrakes, open the canopy or retract
the wheel when trying to release from tow!

Derek Copeland


At 16:36 04 October 2013, wrote:
I have seen several videos on youtube lately where the glider
pilot holds
t=
he tow release handle during all parts tow. I've been told it is
taught
th=
is way by some in the UK. Sorry to pick on you folks on the
other side of
=
the pond as I love your country and can't wait to come over
and glide with
=
you in the next few years. =20

It seems to me that holding the handle during aero tow is a
recipe for
disa=
ster eventually.

We have all hit big bumps and turbulence down low on tow.
Why risk
accident=
ally pulling the release at 50ft or 100ft in the air? If you are
saying
it=
is so that you can immediately pull the handle if something
goes bad on
to=
w, it might not be a good enough reason due to the risks of a
accidental
re=
lease. Keep your hand on your knee or the flaps handle right
next to the
r=
elease and I bet you can pull it just as quickly and you don't
have to
worr=
y about messing up a perfectly good tow down low. Am I
missing something
he=
re?

Your thoughts? This just seems like a big safety mistake and I
would hate
f=
or people who see these videos and then think it is the right
and correct
t=
hing to do.

Have fun and fly safe,
Bruno - B4
www.youtube.com/bviv

On Friday, October 4, 2013 12:36:19 PM UTC-4, wrote:
It seems to me that holding the handle during aero tow is
a recipe for disaster eventually.

Perhaps you will find this thread helpful:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!ms...E/iVlQ0f2L3BMJ

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec....E/2GGBShuhs2oJ

On Thursday, October 10, 2013 7:20:37 AM UTC-4, Dave Nadler wrote:
On Friday, October 4, 2013 12:36:19 PM UTC-4, wrote:

It seems to me that holding the handle during aero tow is

a recipe for disaster eventually.



Perhaps you will find this thread helpful:



https://groups.google.com/forum/#!ms...E/iVlQ0f2L3BMJ



https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec....E/2GGBShuhs2oJ

You're both right.

T8

For a comprehensive discussion of this topic, search RAS for Fatality at PGC. Read the post by Bill.

At 15:58 12 October 2013, wrote:
For a comprehensive discussion of this topic, search RAS for Fatality at
PGC. Read the post by Bill.

By all means read both references but I implore you to ignore the advice of
Bill, he is speaking about something he knows very little about.

On Saturday, October 12, 2013 2:12:45 PM UTC-4, Don Johnstone wrote:
At 15:58 12 October 2013, wrote:

For a comprehensive discussion of this topic, search RAS for Fatality at

PGC. Read the post by Bill.



By all means read both references but I implore you to ignore the advice of

Bill, he is speaking about something he knows very little about.

Don -

What, specifically, is wrong with the article? Keeping my hand on the release during the ground roll has saved me from several potential ground loops. I have seen experienced contest pilots ground loop at contests because they could not release quickly. Others have died because of this. During the ground roll, pilots must be ready to release quickly - with their hand on the release - not trying to find it.

Bill

There is some under-reporting of minor accidents in the UK, and I
expect in almost every country. There is no way of knowing the
extent, but if for example a German poster here were to admit to
knowledge of a minor accident not featured in their national figures,
it would confirm the issue in principle.

I believe that the figures for fatal accidents are unlikely to be
underreported, however. “Serious� accidents might have different
interpretations in different countries; I know of no way to be certain
of that.

So the only reliable statistics seem to me to be fatalities per
100,000 winch launches, which for the UK ought to include the air
cadet figures (no fatalities). I do not know if German data includes
an equivalent to air cadet data which would not be in DAeC
statistics. Perhaps somebody could advise on that.

Furthermore, the only fatalities relevant to these discussions are
those due to the winch launch itself, and not to (for example)
spinning off a final turn at the end of a flight that started with a
winch launch. Paul Ruskin’s analysis sought to do that, it seems to
me, by summarising the actual events.

Chris N

I've just read the latest BGA pamphlet on safer aerotowing.
They do recommend holding the release knob in case of lateral
upsets due to wing drops during the ground run, and vertical
upsets once in the air.

BTW, I did £5.5k of damage to my glider a few years ago after
dropping a wing and ground-looping it during an aerotow
retrieve. The fact that the glider ended up being dragged
sideways by the tug with the rope still attached probably didn't
help. An immediate release might done, but my glider is one of
those with the release knob behind the stick and I couldn't
immediately get to it with the stick hard over. I fitted an
extended cable to the release knob after that.

Derek C

At 16:36 04 October 2013, wrote:
I have seen several videos on youtube lately where the glider
pilot holds
t=
he tow release handle during all parts tow. I've been told it is
taught
th=
is way by some in the UK. Sorry to pick on you folks on the
other side of
=
the pond as I love your country and can't wait to come over
and glide with
=
you in the next few years. =20

It seems to me that holding the handle during aero tow is a
recipe for
disa=
ster eventually.

We have all hit big bumps and turbulence down low on tow.
Why risk
accident=
ally pulling the release at 50ft or 100ft in the air? If you are
saying
it=
is so that you can immediately pull the handle if something
goes bad on
to=
w, it might not be a good enough reason due to the risks of a
accidental
re=
lease. Keep your hand on your knee or the flaps handle right
next to the
r=
elease and I bet you can pull it just as quickly and you don't
have to
worr=
y about messing up a perfectly good tow down low. Am I
missing something
he=
re?

Your thoughts? This just seems like a big safety mistake and I
would hate
f=
or people who see these videos and then think it is the right
and correct
t=
hing to do.

Have fun and fly safe,
Bruno - B4
www.youtube.com/bviv

On Friday, October 4, 2013 11:36:19 AM UTC-5, wrote:
I have seen several videos on youtube lately where the glider pilot holds the tow release handle during all parts tow. I've been told it is taught this way by some in the UK. Sorry to pick on you folks on the other side of the pond as I love your country and can't wait to come over and glide with you in the next few years.



It seems to me that holding the handle during aero tow is a recipe for disaster eventually.



We have all hit big bumps and turbulence down low on tow. Why risk accidentally pulling the release at 50ft or 100ft in the air? If you are saying it is so that you can immediately pull the handle if something goes bad on tow, it might not be a good enough reason due to the risks of a accidental release. Keep your hand on your knee or the flaps handle right next to the release and I bet you can pull it just as quickly and you don't have to worry about messing up a perfectly good tow down low. Am I missing something here?



Your thoughts? This just seems like a big safety mistake and I would hate for people who see these videos and then think it is the right and correct thing to do.



Have fun and fly safe,

Bruno - B4

www.youtube.com/bviv

I teach holding the tow release during the ground run portion of takeoff based on actual experience of pilots being unable to tear their attention away from the problem out the window. The assumption that having your hand "near" the tow release is adequate has not proven useful in multiple incident scenarios that my students* have demonstrated during actual flying. All humans exhibit significant narrowing of focus in a crises. Locating the tow release in an actual emergency can be a lengthy process. Pilots enjoy thinking they are "sharp," have rapid responses, and are capable of logical thinking. This is somewhat true when they are not under stress and severely compromised when they are.
There is no downside to a premature or inadvertent release during the ground run. Even on a short field the towplane merely does a lonely pattern and lands. Runways are narrow or have lights and other obstructions on the sides, and a takeoff gone wrong happens so fast as to often be unrecoverable. The speed with which you can make the action stop can make the difference between a conversation and an accident. Pilot induced oscillation during takeoff is another scenario where quick release can help stop that action.
Every field will have a length that determines when your hand should be removed to avoid the possibility of inadvertent release. This is not hard to determine in practice. But generally, once the glider is just airborne in stable level flight and the tow is proceeding normally, your hand can be removed.

*These situations happen to experienced pilots so don't assume that "student" means an ab-initio trainee. We are all students.