At 19:00 01 November 2004, Chip Bearden wrote:
This discussion--over whether it's more dangerous to
practice
something inherently risky or to learn by doing it
the first
time--reminds me of checking out as an instructor with
a Northeastern
U.S. glider club when I was in graduate school there
back in the
1970s. The check pilot had me box the wake in the Blanik
and then
asked me to put some slack in the tow rope and take
it out gently. I
pulled up a little and then dove slightly to loosen
the rope, then
waited for the towplane to climb up while I yawed the
glider.

'Now let's put a *lot* of slack in the rope. I'll do
the first one.'

I watched, fascinated, as the check pilot took us up
well over the
towplane, then moved out to the side and dove down
until the towrope
disappeared *behind* the glider. We were still aft
of the towplane but
I could look out to the side and see the towrope extending
past us as
far as I could see.

The proper recovery technique was to stay above and
to the side of the
towplane so that as the slack began to come out and
you saw the loop
going by you from back to front, you could dive and
turn in to match
speeds. The check pilot did this and it actually worked!

I made a couple of tries, the second of which wasn't
as bad as the
first. I was *really* happy, though, when it was over.
Turns out this
was a standard practical test item required by the
local Designated
Examiner (and also high-time glider pilot).

I wouldn't want to be held to it because I can't remember
the details,
but I recall hearing years later about a bad accident
in that same
area caused by the towrope getting fouled in the elevator
or aileron
during such a maneuver.

Some RAS readers must be familiar with this. Is this
maneuver still
done? Were there ever any accidents arising from it?

And what's today's thinking about the wisdom of this
kind of training?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 'JB'




As a student pilot about 3 years ago, I decided to
do a trial membership in a club. I had been flying
in a commercial operation. It was much less expensive,
although I did have to do work at the field as a member.


One of the club's oldest and most experienced instructors
took me up for the first time in their 2-33. We did
some slack rope recovery that scared the crap out of
me. I was used to some slack rope, but he went way
over the edge. Their was so much slack rope that we
were dangerously close to the tow plane and the rope
was hanging way down below us. I was able to recover
from the first exercise with some difficulty. He decided
to do it again, only closer to the tow plane.
Before I knew it, the rope was behind the wing and
I could hear it whizzing over the wing as I was yawed.
I reached for the release and pulled just as the rope
became taught. It snapped and released with 30 feet
of the rope hanging over the canopy.
The instructor said that we could keep on flying, as
there was no noticable damage to the 2-33.
After we landed, we got out and inspected the wing.
The last 1 1/2 feet of the left aileron was badly mangled
and the tow hook was bent sideways.
I felt terrible that I had damaged their 2-33 on my
first flight, but only until I received a phone call
from the president of the club, telling me that it
wasn't my fault and the instructor should never have
gotten me into that position. Needless to say, I never
flew there again and went back to the commercial operation.

That instructor is still there, but the tow pilots
finally realized how dangerous his slack rope recovery
techniques were and they started releasing the tow
plane when he got too close.
GORDY