TOW PLANE Accident

Yep Australia is exclusively low tow, with a couple of rare types with a belly hook only that must use high, the Diamant comes to mind.
Whilst I can understand kiting from a belly hook, I would have thought a nose hook would be better in this aspect. For many years the GFA made nose hooks mandatory on all imported gliders.
Ive just recently done my first few tows on a belly hook, as my glider (DG202-17C) has no nose hook, and $5K au seems excessive. No issues so far.
From below the wake you have much more time to prevent a kiting incident before it gets serious, and the tug disappears below the nose.
I stay as low as possible after liftoff (top of tug fin height) and wait until the tug climbs above me, then follow in station. Ive never got even above the wake, as
the turbulence clearly unmissable indicates the out of position, as opposed to high tow, where the air you kite into is no different, giving no warning.
Twice I have released the tow at low level, once thru tug fuel runout, and once where I got higher than I liked, and when I couldn’t be sure I could get back in station in time for the tow plane
to safely take off. In both cases, the tug pilots said it would probably have been ok, but thanked me for making sure.

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at 1:17:43 PM UTC-4, Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot) wrote:
OK.....I am, "sorta among the oddballs in the US.....".
While I would like to mandate low tow......
First mandate that pilots pay attention. The kiting accidents and recreations indicate once kite acceleration starts the game is lost. Doesn't matter what tow position you start from. Tow position is a scapegoat for pilot inattention.

Name one case of kiting occouring from low tow. I can’t recall a single incident here, where we only use low tow.
It’s simple physics for goodness sake.

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at 7:10:12 PM UTC-4, Charlie Quebec wrote:
Name one case of kiting occouring from low tow. I can’t recall a single incident here, where we only use low tow.
It’s simple physics for goodness sake.

Somewhere (in this thread iirc) is a report on simulating kiting accidents at altitude and low tow being no better. As for citing a real world low tow tug upset I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't any. Not due to increased safety of low tow but due to how universal high tow is. And if there is one I'm sure the evangelical lowtowers would claim the pilot got high first. The lazy procedural golden bullet isn't the answer, the answer is paying attention for five minutes.

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at 7:10:12 PM UTC-4, Charlie Quebec wrote:
Name one case of kiting occouring from low tow. I can’t recall a single incident here, where we only use low tow.
It’s simple physics for goodness sake.

You've made it perfectly clear that you don't understand the physics.

It's all been covered.

READ.

T8