Tow Plane Upsets......

We train boxing the wake, cannot release and slack rope recovery, and
expect
demonstration of some or all of these items on checkouts.

Hands up anybody who trains release when high on the towplane?

If students have never done this, how can we expect them to do it when
needed before or after license?

I basically taught, "you lose sight of the towplane, you release". Yes, maybe a quick stab at the rudder will find the towplane again under your nose, then again, maybe not.

Yes, I know that's taught, but does anybody put the student high so that
release is required.

Just as with spins, there's a difference between being told what to do -
and
actually going into the situation.

I am not a CFI. What would the risk be to doing that training? Particularly to the tow pilot?

At 03:16 26 April 2017, Charles Longley wrote:
I am not a CFI. What would the risk be to doing that training?
Particularly
to the tow pilot?

Maybe the answer is for the instructor to release whenever the student gets
high and it is safe to do so. The student may then get the message?

Clearly some gliders are worse than others, and yes, better if in the hands of a good pilot. But even a moment's distraction can cause the good pilot to find himself/herself in a diverging and irrecoverable situation (kiting).. Whilst my suggestion to ground those gliders was slightly tongue in cheek, would that be preferable to continuing to see tug pilots "grounded" in a literal sense, with the miscreant sailing on unharmed?
The sustained force, mainly horizontal, from the rope really slows down the tug. 2-3 seconds of 700 lb force leaves the tug slow with a less effective elevator, and,as Chris Rollings noted, an elevator which may be stalled.
Sensor measuring sustained deceleration (not just a brief jerk/impulse) is maybe the measure best used to automatically jettison the rope at the tug end?

Le mercredi 26 avril 2017 03:45:04 UTC+2, George Haeh a écritÂ*:
Yes, I know that's taught, but does anybody put the student high so that
release is required.

Just as with spins, there's a difference between being told what to do -
and
actually going into the situation.

Putting a student high so that a release is required would be plain stupid and reckless behaviour of an instructor.
Any exercise needs to be planned in a way that the student has some room for error, and that the instructor can recover the situation if the student finally fails to do so.
In a high position there is no such margin. There are situations which just can't be trained.

Bert
TW

On Wednesday, 26 April 2017 18:11:04 UTC+10, Tango Whisky wrote:

In a high position there is no such margin. There are situations which just can't be trained.

Can you kite in Condor or Silent Wings?

On Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 4:31:44 AM UTC-4, Justin Couch wrote:
On Wednesday, 26 April 2017 18:11:04 UTC+10, Tango Whisky wrote:

In a high position there is no such margin. There are situations which just can't be trained.

Can you kite in Condor or Silent Wings?

The ability to kite without the tug releasing automatically would be a great feature request for Condor_3. I'd also like to practice with a simulation of towing through wave related rotor. The first time that I recognized previously experienced Condor scenarios/sceneries in the real world, I was startled, 'that looks just like Condor'. Condor training would be beneficial..

In 2015 I ran the wing of a venerable_soaring_great who got trashed in rotor and broke the tow rope. Both pilots made it back to the airfield. Their account was harrowing. It can happen to anyone.

On Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 4:11:04 AM UTC-4, Tango Whisky wrote:
Le mercredi 26 avril 2017 03:45:04 UTC+2, George Haeh a écritÂ*:
Yes, I know that's taught, but does anybody put the student high so that
release is required.

Just as with spins, there's a difference between being told what to do -
and
actually going into the situation.

Putting a student high so that a release is required would be plain stupid and reckless behaviour of an instructor.
Any exercise needs to be planned in a way that the student has some room for error, and that the instructor can recover the situation if the student finally fails to do so.
In a high position there is no such margin. There are situations which just can't be trained.

Bert
TW

What can't be trained is the dangerous divergent situation. Agreed on all else.

-Evan / T8