ASW 24 WL for beginner ?

Mike Borgelt wrote:
Nearly all these problems go away if you use a longer rope. About 240
feet. The towplane wake has much less energy, the rocks don't ding
There are definately different standards about the tow ropes...
Thickness too.

I've flown with ropes which range from 20 meters(!) to 50 meters. Never
longer. I guess when the rope is 75 meters, flying below wake becomes an
option. When it is 20, there is no choice because your are behind. Note
that towing in Netherlands is considered a waste of money so we don't do
it very often. Bye,

David
NL

Tom..
Why would you choose to transfer from normal to low
tow...just say below propwash from the start...always
done it ..always taught it..NEVER had a problem..why
endanger your mate in the tow plane?


At 07:54 25 July 2003, Tom Serkowski wrote:
The key issue here is that 90% of the danger to the
towpilot from a
ballooning sailplane occurs before one has enough altitude
to get into
low tow. Granted, there may be a 'mindset' of the
glider pilot to
stay low, so there may be a little less incentive to
get high on the
tow while both are still less than 50' AGL or so.

Tom

Sleigh wrote in message news:...
At 13:54 24 July 2003, Geoff Vincent wrote:
On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 13:02:00 +0100, 'Chris Reed'

Sounds like excellent justification to fly low tow.


Geoff Vincent
Australia


Geoff

You know that suggestion is, far too sensible and
practical
,for this group


Low tow fan..England

Mike Borgelt wrote
Low tow fans note: You cannot fly low tow until the towplane is some
subtantial distance from the ground.

Why not? Simply stay in ground effect and let the tow plane climb out first.

Michael

In article , crwdog69
@hotmail.com says...
Mike Borgelt wrote
Low tow fans note: You cannot fly low tow until the towplane is some
subtantial distance from the ground.

Why not? Simply stay in ground effect and let the tow plane climb out first.

In our area, we often have enough wind shear in the first 200 feet
that this technique will lead to the tow plane slowing down rapidly
(compared to the glider and the ground) in the faster moving air above
the low glider. In those conditions, it is very important for the
glider to climb off the runway level with the towplane. A few hundred
feet up, a low tow can be safely established
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Eric Greenwell
Richland, WA (USA)

In article ,
says...
Thankfully America is not the only country on this planet. In Germany (
another country in the world, in a place called Europe ) where these
aircraft are manufactured, winch launching is common. A hook placed at the
centre CG position is perfectly acceptable for both aerotow and winch
launching wheras a nose hook is only good ( effectively ) for aerotow.

Hasn't the German LBA required a forward hook for aerotowing for many
years now? That suggests a CG hook is not "perfectly acceptable" for
aerotowing to everyone in Europe.

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Eric Greenwell
Richland, WA (USA)

In article ,
says...
Tom..
Why would you choose to transfer from normal to low
tow...just say below propwash from the start...always
done it ..always taught it..NEVER had a problem..why
endanger your mate in the tow plane?

We don't do it, we don't teach it, and we have had problems!

I can't speak for Tom, but here's why we don't do what you suggest in
our area: we often have enough wind shear in the first 200 feet
that this technique will lead to the tow plane slowing down rapidly
(compared to the glider and the ground) in the faster moving air above
the low glider. It can be particularly bad in the winter, with calm
winds on the ground, and 20 knots only 200' agl. In those conditions,
it is very important for the glider to climb off the runway level with
the towplane. A few hundred feet up, a low tow can be safely
established.

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directly

Eric Greenwell
Richland, WA (USA)

On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 14:59:16 -0700, Eric Greenwell
wrote:

In article , crwdog69
says...
Mike Borgelt wrote
Low tow fans note: You cannot fly low tow until the towplane is some
subtantial distance from the ground.

Why not? Simply stay in ground effect and let the tow plane climb out first.


So where do you think you are relative to the wake when you are in
ground effect????

You are either in it(undesirable) or just above. Either way you end up
flying in the turbulent wake close to the ground. To fly in low tow
the towplane has to be high enough for you to be under the wake
without hitting the ground.

Mike Borgelt

Interesting tread this one.

First question was:

Harry wrote:
would you recommend this ship for a recently licensed pilot ??? comments welcome!

regards
Harry

Now we have been through nose hooks vs CG hooks, winching or not and
nearly started a conflict between the US, Canada or Nort America on one
side and Europe on the other side.

First question, as far as I have found out, has still not been answered.
So I give it a try....

YES, the ASW24 is a good ship for recently licensed gliders. In Sweden
we use ASW24s (with CG hook) as first single seater (during traininng, i
e before you have your license, if you are trained in plastic two
seaters). LS4 and Discus are also approved as first single seater type.

The 24 has nice handling, a good, roomy and crashworthy cocpit (provided
you are not too long - I am 187 cm and can just fit in comfortably).

Robert