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#1
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
Does anyone know of an operation in the U.S. regularly doing auto tows
with 2 place gliders? (especially Blaniks or Grob 103s) I am looking for feasability, realistic tow heights acheived, vehicle requirements etc. I will be operating from a 4600 foot paved runway. Any information would be helpful. |
#2
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
Contact Gary Hewett or Charlie Summers at Black Hills Soaring in South Dakota, or Bob Hey at Sylacuga Soaring in Alabama. |
#3
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
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#4
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
I've done it with a Blanik, several times. 2200' rope 5000' runway 1400' max height, 1000'-1200' is more typical. full size SUV, V8, automatic transmission We used 3/8 polypropylene, but I believe a much smaller diameter of spectra would be much more ideal. Make sure to use appropriate weak links, and be sure to have some spares! Lots of fun, but lots of work too. It makes for a fun club outing. Mark wrote in message oups.com... Does anyone know of an operation in the U.S. regularly doing auto tows with 2 place gliders? (especially Blaniks or Grob 103s) I am looking for feasability, realistic tow heights acheived, vehicle requirements etc. I will be operating from a 4600 foot paved runway. Any information would be helpful. |
#5
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
I've seen MITSA do a similar operation with an L-23 at Sterling VT with
very similar numbers. |
#6
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
"Doug Haluza" wrote in message oups.com... I've seen MITSA do a similar operation with an L-23 at Sterling VT with very similar numbers. The trick for auto tow is to determine the exact best length for the rope. If you stretch out 5000 feet of rope on a 5000 foot runway, the tow car has nowhere to go. If you use a very short rope, the car has lots of room but you won't get very high. The optimum is somewhere in between and depends on the acceleration of the tow car and the wind. The more powerful the car and/or the greater the headwind, the longer rope that can be used. On dry lakes with essentially unlimited room, I recall that a glider just can't lift more than about 5500 feet of steel cable but can still reach 3000 feet AGL. Spectra would really pay off here. George Moore has done some excellent mathematical models for winch launch. He proves that under ideal conditions a launch can reach a height equal to half the length of the runway which is quite a bit better than auto tow on a typical runway. See the Yahoo Group 'winchdesign'. Auto tow has lower 'up-front' costs but higher long term costs as tow cars wear out. Winches have high start-up costs but the long term economics are excellent. Bill Daniels |
#7
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
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#8
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
Gary Emerson wrote:
Anyone remember the link that was out there some time back of the video that was done of an auto tow where they used a payout winch on the back of the tow vehicle. In the video they towed down the runway, off the end of the runway, and the tow vehicle is headed down the airport driveway about the time they release. Think it was a 2-33. http://www.nwskysports.com/video.html |
#9
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
Great Basin Soaring in Beatty NV does this on a regular basis with their
L-13. BT wrote in message oups.com... Does anyone know of an operation in the U.S. regularly doing auto tows with 2 place gliders? (especially Blaniks or Grob 103s) I am looking for feasability, realistic tow heights acheived, vehicle requirements etc. I will be operating from a 4600 foot paved runway. Any information would be helpful. |
#10
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Auto Towing 2 Place Gliders
We have ground launched a Grob Twin and a Blanik. We use a reverse pulley and 3000ft. of 5\16" Armor rope (like Spectra). With a 5000ft strip get 1000ft. average tow heigth. Al Tyler, Perry S.C. -- Al Tyler Posted at www.flight.org |
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