Compare/Contrast: CG hook on aerotow vs. CG hook on winch

On 5/24/2012 7:54 PM, son_of_flubber wrote:
I've been told (and witnessed) that aerotow on CG hook is initially
difficult for someone who has trained for aerotow with a "nose hook"
(aka hook-forward-of-CG). Suppose this CG-hook-newbie were to take
winch tow training (with CG hook). Would the winch training reduce
the initial difficulty of a CG hook aerotow?

No, and I suggest it may make you worse at aerotowing, because you learn
to put the glider in a steep climb. "Kiting" on tow is a bad problem;
"kiting" during a winch launch is normal operation.


Do the difficulties/danger of aerotow with CG hook go away completely
with training and experience?

No, but you can significantly reduce the risks with training and experience.

What sorts of misadventures are reasonably attributed to aerotow on
CG hook?

The worst is the increased potential for the aforementioned kiting; the
rest tend to happen on the ground with a chance for damage, but not less
risk to people.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)