Letter to the FAA

Your Momma ever tell you that you can catch more flies with honey? Why not do something pro-safety? A single simple starter task; find and share the Tost/337 info for L-19s. If the cost is @ $2,500 I'm confidant my club would raise that voluntarily in a week. But before we pass the hat it would make sense to know who to send the money to. Or if it is even possible to convert. Your refusal to take a single meaningful step towards safety prove your campaign is about vengeance against those dirty Elmira Death Hook operators that scared you and your safety claims are a cover story. The moral high ground is not yours Walt. Send your stupid letter, I'm confidant you lack the reasoning and persuasiveness to get a response from the FAA.
Yes, the FAA may totally ignore my response, but then again perhaps a
few glider operations will see the validity of my point and make a life
saving change. For the record an entire country has addressed this
problem and long ago mandated the changes I am suggesting here. I do
have my supporters.

Have a great day,

Walt




--
Walt Connelly

Pls also find one for an Aviat Husky and someone who is willing to sign off on the installation at the FAA without causing the airplane to be downed in the weeks and months of waiting for the paperwork to be processed. Or just ask Husky to quit making available their type certificate approved tow hook and release installation so we can use 4313 to produce our own.

Thanks

Originally Posted by

Your Momma ever tell you that you can catch more flies with honey? Why not do something pro-safety? A single simple starter task; find and share the Tost/337 info for L-19s. If the cost is @ $2,500 I'm confidant my club would raise that voluntarily in a week. But before we pass the hat it would make sense to know who to send the money to. Or if it is even possible to convert. Your refusal to take a single meaningful step towards safety prove your campaign is about vengeance against those dirty Elmira Death Hook operators that scared you and your safety claims are a cover story. The moral high ground is not yours Walt. Send your stupid letter, I'm confidant you lack the reasoning and persuasiveness to get a response from the FAA.
Yes, the FAA may totally ignore my response, but then again perhaps a
few glider operations will see the validity of my point and make a life
saving change. For the record an entire country has addressed this
problem and long ago mandated the changes I am suggesting here. I do
have my supporters.

Have a great day,

Walt



--
Walt Connelly

Gregg, I am quite confident that you are the kind of guy who starts a fight and then runs. Glad you are "confidant." I am very confident. I am trying to approach this situation while doing as little to inhibit the soaring world as possible. Comments and attitudes such as yours make me want to say the hell with it, send the letter, be as scathing as possible. I can't do that, it is inconsistent with who I am. I still have many friends in the soaring community and wish not to get in the way of their enjoyment of soaring.

I have been told by A&Ps that there is very little difficulty in getting permission to invert the Schweizer hook (There is an STC available for the Pawnee) nor is there great difficulty in repositioning the release handle to a position allowing the tow pilot instant access. These will be my two foremost recommendations to the FAA. For those facilities towing with a Schweizer hook and pulling gliders with a maximum gross weight greater than 1500 lbs, they are in violation of the manufacturers recommendations based on the 1200 lb tow rope limitation.

Have a great day

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 11:55:57 AM UTC-4, Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot) wrote:
I wonder what paperwork is legally required for an inverted Schwiezer tow release (if you already have one installed)? Should be pretty simple and cheap to do the actual change AND get most of the benefit of a Tost release.

I grok you still need a 337. But anyhow, Schweizer hooks are out of production. So it comes down to some version of the following:

Option 1: http://www.wingsunlimitedtowhooks.co...on-bumper.html

Option 2: http://wingsandwheels.com/aircraft-p...w-release.html

This isn't really a tough call, but you do need an approved installation.

best,
Evan Ludeman / T8

Some years back there was a fatal Pawnee glider kiting accident. I had the opportunity to inspect the skeleton of the Pawnee, it had been consumed by fire, at the aviation wrecking yard. I wasn't permitted to take photos.

The Pawnee had two Schweizer hooks installed on a plate and connected to the ship with a flat metal strap that could not have been more than 1/4" thick. During the kiting, this strap with bracket and hooks, bent upward. This put enough slack in the release cable so it could not activate the release. It bent the hook up so far it impacted the rudder and bent the rudder frame upwards several inches.

I mention this as even if you are currently using a Schweizer hook, whichever way up you have it, it still needs to be on a mount that's designed for towing gliders, not just banners.

Originally Posted by bumper[_4_]

Some years back there was a fatal Pawnee glider kiting accident. I had the opportunity to inspect the skeleton of the Pawnee, it had been consumed by fire, at the aviation wrecking yard. I wasn't permitted to take photos.

The Pawnee had two Schweizer hooks installed on a plate and connected to the ship with a flat metal strap that could not have been more than 1/4" thick. During the kiting, this strap with bracket and hooks, bent upward. This put enough slack in the release cable so it could not activate the release. It bent the hook up so far it impacted the rudder and bent the rudder frame upwards several inches.

I mention this as even if you are currently using a Schweizer hook, whichever way up you have it, it still needs to be on a mount that's designed for towing gliders, not just banners.

As I have said, "we do not know what we do not know." I am told time and time again that no installation can be done and no modification to an installation can be made without proper authorization and paperwork. I can ASSURE you that while this might be the case, such is not always how things are done. Occasionally someone does something untoward. Was this the Euphrata accident?

Walt

K&L sells towhooks.

http://www.klsoaring.com/index.php/i...tow-hook-parts