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poor lateral control on a slow tow?
As an aerodynamicist/flight dynamicist recently re-soloed after 25 years
off, people keep asking me hard questions. One that has come up recently is why a heavy glider on tow feels horrible, but thermalling in the same glider at lower speeds is fine? (see also Mike Fox's article on aerotowing in the October issue of S&G). I did some calculations, and I reckon it's probably due to the tug wing wake (tip vortices generating a downwash inboard, upwash outboard) changing the lift distribution on the glider wing - with an increased angle of attack out at the tips reducing aileron effectiveness. There's possibly an interesting academic research project here, but it's always best to get a reality check first ... Is poor handling at low speed on tow a common experience? I'd appreciate any thoughts/comments/war stories ... particularly bad tug/glider/speed combinations, incidents of wing drop during a tow etc etc? Doug Greenwell |
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