How high does your club tow?

Our Club is reworking towing height fees. We are based south of Denver (elevation 7,000' msl). Normal tow heights are to about 9,000-10,000' msl. We have new members who now are asking for tows to 14,000' msl. This is causing up to 45-minute waits for the next tow. Normally, we get about four or five tows per hours, but a high altitude tow drops us to two tows per hour.

How high does your club allow for tows?


Raul Boerner

You’ll find that most clubs will limit tow heights at busy times, especially if you have lift available. A reasonable tow height enables the glider to safely connect with lift. Unusually high tows should be limited to times you don’t have a line of waiting gliders - five to six tows an hour is reasonable for a single tow plane. I’d have something to say if the glider ahead of me on the line took a 45 minute tow!

Mike

450m AGL, 600m by exception.

On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 7:15:26 AM UTC-6, wrote:
Our Club is reworking towing height fees. We are based south of Denver (elevation 7,000' msl). Normal tow heights are to about 9,000-10,000' msl. We have new members who now are asking for tows to 14,000' msl. This is causing up to 45-minute waits for the next tow. Normally, we get about four or five tows per hours, but a high altitude tow drops us to two tows per hour.

How high does your club allow for tows?


Raul Boerner


High tows to the back of the line.

Mike

High tows to the back of the line.

Mike

Imagine the accent of Seinfeld's 'Soup-Nazi': 'You want high tow? No tow for you - come back one year!'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOpfsGrNvnk

Uli
'AS'

Why are they towing so high? No soaring skills, or to catch wave?

They are towing that high to do aerobatics all the way down.

Hi Raul,

I would simply tell them, "NO".Â* Glider pilots should be able to gain
height on their own.Â* Or use tach time to calculate the tow rate and
tell them that they must wait until all others have launched.

On 8/26/2018 7:15 AM, wrote:
Our Club is reworking towing height fees. We are based south of Denver (elevation 7,000' msl). Normal tow heights are to about 9,000-10,000' msl. We have new members who now are asking for tows to 14,000' msl. This is causing up to 45-minute waits for the next tow. Normally, we get about four or five tows per hours, but a high altitude tow drops us to two tows per hour.

How high does your club allow for tows?


Raul Boerner

--
Dan, 5J

On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 11:29:18 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
Hi Raul,

I would simply tell them, "NO".Â* Glider pilots should be able to gain
height on their own.Â* Or use tach time to calculate the tow rate and
tell them that they must wait until all others have launched.

On 8/26/2018 7:15 AM, wrote:
Our Club is reworking towing height fees. We are based south of Denver (elevation 7,000' msl). Normal tow heights are to about 9,000-10,000' msl. We have new members who now are asking for tows to 14,000' msl. This is causing up to 45-minute waits for the next tow. Normally, we get about four or five tows per hours, but a high altitude tow drops us to two tows per hour..

How high does your club allow for tows?


Raul Boerner

--
Dan, 5J

I am so glad to see this subject being discussed, I will add my two cents worth. There are a few considerations in the determination of how high to tow. Location is a factor and for those in some of these locations this will not apply.
I have always been a proponent of a reasonable tow release point, and I always adhere to that theory. I was taught back in the 70's and you better get your tail off tow at 2000 feet AGL or suffer the consequences of a tongue lashing from Rudy. During my early years I soon learned that getting off tow early and building confidence by staying up was a great way to develop my skills.
Things sure have changed through the years and now I see people taking tows that are not only unnecessary, but damn right stupid. Seems like liberals have taken over the reasonable tow release altitude. I can just hear it, some mother saying, "Tow my little Johnny to 10K, he needs a fair chance and a trophy"!
What is reasonable for a release altitude? If it is a club there should be some guidelines as to the release altitude that works for the club. I live in Florida, and I think that 2000 AGL is the normal tow altitude, with the exception to intro rides and some training.
I have recently put my foot down and informed the tow pilot that there is no need to tow people to the height's that they have requested. I have even been told that some people like to be towed to cloud base, are you kidding me! Where in the world do these attitudes come from?
As a rule of thumb there should always be a prescribed altitude for tow release. If a tow pilot tells you to hang on till he or she gets you to the next cloud then so be it. The main benefit in a reasonable tow release is the life of the tow plane and the increased number of flights for the day. What do you think you club average is from wheel up to wheel down on a 2K tow? It should be somewhere in the vicinity of six to seven minutes.
Now I come to the best part of this who discussion. If you cannot get off tow at a reasonable altitude and stay up, then you need to take up something like sailing or bowling. I pride myself on getting off early, I guess I am just part of the old guard. Bob

They are towing to 42k in Argentina!