Glider Handling on Tow

At 13:14 10 November 2013, Papa3 wrote:
I've towed with my LS8 at many sites in many different conditions behind
ma=
ny different towplanes, and I've never had the problem you describe at an
I=
AS (on my side) of above 65 kts. If the Pawnees (PGC?) were truly doing
80=
mph (70 kts), I can't imagine how this would be described as a "slow
tow".
=
I've had tows that dropped down into the low 60s or even high 50s (kts)
w=
here it felt squirrely, but that's a full 10kts slower than what you are
de=
scribing.=20

Just a data point.=20

P3



On Saturday, November 9, 2013 10:40:05 AM UTC-5, John Carlyle wrote:
Thanks again for your thoughts, Steve. Sorry for my delay in
responding.=
=20

All of our slow tow incidents have occurred above 500 feet; none of us
ha=
s ever had a problem near the ground. Our airport elevation is 700 feet
wit=
h unobstructed horizons, and the temperatures on the days of the
incidents
=
were mostly in the 70s. The Pawnee pilots claimed that they had been
mainta=
ining 80 mph during the climb to that point; but when they went to 90 mph
t=
he handling problem for the remainder of the tow was gone.=20
=20