Keep your hand off the release handle during aero tows!

Time for pogo sticks.

The idea of launching a glider by having someone run the wing originated with wooden gliders and quite low speeds for stall and aileron effectiveness. Those speeds have gradually crept up through the years, to the point that really nobody can run the wing of a modern glider, with waterballast, and anything less than 10 mph straight down the runway, to the point of aileron effectiveness. Mostly we hope that the wing runner lets go, with the aircraft in balanced position, and it picks up speed faster than one wing drops. That often isn't true.

For airtows the results are usually just some scraped gel coat; sometimes a collision with a runway light, and occasionally a ground loop. There have been accidents where wing down gliders hurt bystanders, the Tonopah 15 m nationals being the one I remember best.

Clearly, for winching, wing-down events are much more serious.

The answer: either retractable or disposable pogo sticks on the wingtips, or mid-wing. Something that keeps the wings level to 25 mph and then either drops off or retracts into the wing.

Reading the UK Nimbus 3 report, it would seem that a video link between winch driver and launch point would be a good idea, and quite cheap with current technology. It would cut a crucial second or so out of the abort-the-launch loop

John Cochrane

Hi Justin,

I suspect that this is Bill Daniels, a Google search for Bill Daniels
gliding shows that IN the USA in any case he is considered to perhaps be an
expert.

I suspect that by such comments as "imperial arrogance" he is most
certainly not an Anglophile and to be honest find the arrogance part
somewhat ironic.

Terry Walsh





At 12:56 09 October 2013, Justin Craig wrote:
Bill,

I have watched this tread with some interest. Just for the record, what
authority are you on the subject? I find it very interesting that you are
so dismissive of the hours of research done by trained professionals who
have considerable amount of date and past cases to work with.

If this is your humble opinion, look after yourself, but keep your
opinions
to yourself. If how ever you are some sort of authority in the subject, I
will bow to your superior judgement.

Regards,

Justin


At 16:52 08 October 2013, Bill D wrote:
On Sunday, October 6, 2013 4:05:57 PM UTC-6, Don Johnstone wrote:

All John says is absolutely correct. The sad fact is that this type of

accident occurs on a fairly regular basis and as yet no one has come
up

with a plausible cause. What is clear that the wing drop is a symptom
and

requires that the glider is released very early which is why the hand

should be on the release. A similar accident happened at my club a
month

back involving a Discus, in that case the pilot was unhurt but the
glider

was written off.

What is clear is that once the glider starts to yaw nothing on this
earth

is going to stop it except contact with the ground so early release,
to

mitigate the inevitable accident, is essential.



The sad fact is the UK hasn't figured out the cause - everyone else has.