Chris,

It's very hard to argue with your point of view. There is absolutely
no doubt that a nose hook should always be preferred to a cg hook
during aerotow for safety reasons. As you note, resistance to
regulatory change on this issue is based on cost. Retrofitting a
glider designed with only a cg hook will be high. And as is often the
case, a balance must be found between cost and improved safety. Which
gets to my point. You've offered an overview of why individual,
anecdotal experience should not be trusted, but you've given us
nothing quantitative to work with. Can you show that PIO related (as
opposed to control failure) aerotow take-off accidents involved a
disproportionate number of gliders with cg hooks? What is the current
ratio of such use among launched glider (not the whole fleet, but
those flying actively)? What is the cost of retrofitting an LS-4 or
Discus or other appropiate model?

I'll reemphasize that we're in agreement regarding the preference for
a nose hook, but if you are going to discount our collective
experiece, give us some real numbers.