Weak links

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNCrD6Cnc48
hang glider crash
bisfal bisto - 2014/01/24
dead
019-0725
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3854/14367992265_7f220637c2_o.png


I partially dealt with this atrocity back at:

http://www.kitestrings.org/post7051.html#p7051
2014/11/21 13:52:11 UTC

Originally 56 stills but several days ago I amended the collection with another 44. Real classic and it deserved them. And if you check out his YouTube channel you'll feel safe betting that, despite rather minimal damage/consequences, this was essentially a career ender.

This is Quest and the posting date is 2014/01/24 - a year minus a week after Zack Marzec and these fuckin' douchebags are pulling him up on a Standard Aerotow Weak Link. We see him flying a bit cluelessly but whose fault is that? His or his dickheaded excuses for instructors? A quick glance at the chintzy crap he's using for equipment answers that question pretty definitively.

22 frames here for a little review/expansion...

006-0303
-006 - chronological order
- 03 - seconds
- 03 - frame (30 fps)

Comes off the cart slow - no pull-in, leaves it at neutral for the duration of the tow. From the beginning of the clip (with things already rolling) to the increase in the safety of the towing operation - 7.8 seconds.

006-0303
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5566/14366493082_c99a03c367_o.png


Brake lever Quest release securely velcroed within extremely easy reach onto the starboard control tube. Spreader shoved down as low as possible to prevent the top of the carabiner (carabineer) from being crushed. (Wills Wing glider. Sport undoubtedly.)

014-0628
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50045190392_abee3b3a05_o.png


Way high and the bar's way out. No clue what he's supposed to be doing. Last frame before the 130 pound Greenspot Pilot In Command decides to abort. Compare/Contrast current pitch attitude to/with 038-1120 - at which point the glider's about to resume flying mode.

Spinnaker shackle rotated perfectly perpendicularly to the bridal pressure alignment. Is Bobby Bailey a fucking genius when it comes the this shit or what. And one can only wonder what innovations the other people actually working on things will be unveiled in the near future.

I can't begin to tell you how totally sickened I was upon first seeing one of those abortions in the launch line at Ridgely. And if it actually did anything to fix an actual problem then where are all the reports of failures from the zillions of longitudinally/properly aligned configurations that had been going into circulation well over two decades prior to this point?

Tug's on the absolute brink of being nosed in. Trying to blow his release but it's a complex mechanical thing with way too many parts and fails when he most needs it. Thank God bisfal wasn't using a Tad-O-Link or doubled Standard Aerotow Weak Link (like they use to keep the tandems safe).

018-0724
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5565/14367992595_266ce1fab8_o.png


Focal point of the safe towing system kicks in. No longer is the conspicuously unidentified tug driver being mercilessly driven back into the runway. Good thing we weren't using a Tad-O-Link. (Note the top end of the bridle (and whatever's left of the Flight Park Mafia's precision fishing line) about to disappear below the horizon.)

019-0725
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3854/14367992265_7f220637c2_o.png


This is as much as we ever see the bar stuffed.

027-0827
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50045190072_b5c1c3eb51_o.png

031-0921
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5476/14344886466_60e7e9814b_o.png


Good look at the butchered spinnaker shackle flopping around in the breeze and neutralizing the performance gains afforded by the faired downtubes and kingpost.

034-1010
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2896/14366490642_0142159999_o.png


Minimum pitch - horizon's just above the wing and tug's now just above the horizon.

And now that I think of it... The tow didn't get to a thousand feet so this one's on the house. And it's obvious from his post that he didn't swap in a new hundred dollar faired VG side control tube and go back up for a successful relight to two grand or whatever. So what's the actual dollar cost to just Quest for this safety enhancing inconvenience?

038-1120
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50045189937_c88032fc28_o.png


When you see total shit equipment like this you automatically know with one hundred percent certainty without any background whatsoever that the instruction is total incompetent shit. Even with his own video up for review he posts it only with his title and:

, broken weak link. please let me know what I did wrong.

Zero debriefing, the slightest hint of help from Quest. Eight respondents, none of them from Quest - or Wallaby or any other AT op.

When was the last time you heard a u$hPa instructor advise to commit to the wheels if...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27086
Steve Pearson on landings

Steve Pearson - 2012/03/28 23:26:05 UTC

I can't control the glider in strong air with my hands at shoulder or ear height and I'd rather land on my belly with my hands on the basetube than get turned downwind.

...one's situation is compromised?

Beginning to struggle to get his hands past the obstructions to optimal control positions on the control tubes.

050-1414
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2924/14181418320_3698744d75_o.png

058-1523
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2903/14181363788_4af1824094_o.png

067-2409
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5080/14344877416_cfbed6aa37_o.png

068-2417
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5153/14388163103_3646dd6f0a_o.png

069-2424
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3877/14364650211_49d6efd794_o.png

071-2505
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3909/14181520657_ce47c75a8b_o.png

074-2515
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3919/14181359918_bb957a6b1c_o.png


Can't even grasp the concept of staying prone on the control bar and doing a sane controlled landing. I sure am happy that my training didn't kick in to the extent his did.

077-2529
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5578/14366477502_4e2e309770_o.png

080-2605
http://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3893/14388153183_4a1ecd97ff_o.png

084-2614
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5476/14181355378_15f3e5ff16_o.png

086-2717
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2936/14388154813_48e832c6b7_o.png

088-2808
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2926/14366472232_702102ac4c_o.png

092-2812
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50044366603_0a8941c5b5_o.png

096-2906
http://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2903/14367066564_0f7e3408ba_o.png

Philip Montague
Way too high on the tow broke the weak line (before you would have locked-out). Then on approach too late/slow on

Paul Walsh
Get some wheels dude. Seriously.

Andre van der Lingen
Exactly. Too high behind the tow and why don't u have wheels?

bisfal bisto
glider suddenly went high fast.

bisfal bisto
yes, I have wheels , small ones.

Bill Cummings
Search Youtube for the video below for another trick to save your bacon when landing on either grass, class 5 gravel, or pea gravel. There are landing areas like those listed where a flare isn't needed at all.
NO FLARE LANDING, HANG GLIDING
Your right hand hit the flying wire from the tail to the right down tube.
Just like your parachute handle look then grab the down tube earlier than you did.
Next your left hand missed the left down tube twice. Look and grab earlier than you did. Your left hand was at or slightly above your flight deck on the left down tube. No way are you high enough on the down tubes for a flare. Play it back again and see that your elbows are almost locked straight already. With your hands that wide, that low, on the down tubes you will only get the bar forward maybe two more inches.
You have to try for at least midway up the down tubes for a flare. Does you harness fight you getting vertical? If so make some changes.
Bigger wheels helps.
Pull on more speed for final.
Level out with knees slightly bent with toes almost dragging.
Bleed off the speed by holding you're your same height above the grass by letting the control frame pull your hands forward.
When the control frame stops pulling your hands forward that is trim speed.
Once you have trim speed give it one more second then flare by pushing forward and up.
Notice too that the tug was back and forth between your down tubes. That is mild PIO. (Really Designed Induced Oscillation.) If you didn't have a vertical stabilizer on the tail already putting one on will help with the mild PIO.
Don't increase the strength of your weak-link. (Don't--Don't!)

bisfal bisto
thank you.

steve davy
Try this link. http://www.kitestrings.org/topic6.html

Tim Berendsen
lots of stuff did not go well.. try again is the only way!

Tom Vancil
Didn't look like to you where pulling in much after your release off the cart, when the tendency is for the glider to shoot up. I always try to stay low after release from the cart to allow the tug to climb.
When you balloon up on release from the cart you also pull the rear end of the tug up with you and the pilot has to fight like heck to not nose in close to the ground. This is the worst condition for Good for all involved that everyone is fine and live to fly another day. Thanks for sharing

mike jackson
You didn't do much of anything wrong. I'm just a student myself, but my advice is that no matter how experienced you are you should never fly without wheels. That was your biggest mistake. You definitely should have changed your weak link before, but no big deal. The problem I had was my weak link wasn't weak enough. When the primary release failed, and I forgot how to use the secondary, I was trapped on a scooter tow track to disaster. It never broke and when I was above the pulley on the other side, the cable yanked me to a stop and I dropped out of the sky.

This isn't showcasing bisfal bisto's massive incompetence. This is showcasing the massive incompetence of Quest - after a quarter century's worth of perfecting aerotowing. And remember that the Pilot In Command of this one is out front and way below. And we judge the Pilot In Command by the condition in which his passenger and latter's luggage is delivered back to the surface. Also the passenger's inclination to continue patronage.

There IS something to this "Pilot In Command" bullshit that Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney made the mistake of publicly proclaiming. The Pilot In Command is primarily the guy on the glider paying the guy with the engine to power him up to workable altitude - just like in surface towing. It's his life that's most at risk and what he's doing virtually ALWAYS requires more competency, precision, judgment than what's required from and delivered by the other end. But the driver is ALWAYS functioning at least as a copilot and he can be in a position in which the life of a glider doing everything right is totally dependent upon his actions.

Also as a copilot he's responsible for not participating in a flight if the Pilot In Command is unqualified, intoxicated, sleep deprived and/or if the plane isn't airworthy. And if any of that is the case - as it was so obviously the case in spades on this one - then, yeah, he bloody well WAS the Pilot In Command and he's totally responsible for this outcome.

And in cases like this his responsibility doesn't end until that glider's safely parked on the ground. And that includes a broken arm from an imperfectly timed flare even if that happens a hundred miles and two hours later at the end of an XC. Think Yoko Isomoto, Ron Keinan, Emma Martin... That may sound like / be a bit of a stretch but one shouldn't be towing people who don't know how to set up RLF approaches and/or aren't equipped and mentally prepared to land their gliders in certified configuration.

And let's look at Mark Frutiger and Zack Marzec as an example... The survivor of that flight made the mistake of blabbing out an accurate account of that inconvenience fatality incident. He wasn't the least bit surprised watching:
- Pro Toad Zack rocketing up behind him in the monster thermal blast he himself had entered seconds before
- the whipstall, tailslide, tumble after the safety device kicked in when everybody and his dog knew it would

And shortly afterwards in the Davis Show damage control discussion during which many of us will suddenly become happy with a Tad-O-Link he doesn't want to engage in speculation about what happened and why.

He knows he could've aborted that tow and everything would've been good for a relight five or ten minutes later and he's gotta live with that for the rest of his life. Also can't engage in speculation about how much worse things would've gone with a two point bridle and/or Tad-O-Link 'cause of what the repercussions to and from the Flight Park Mafia would be.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/07/22 22:30:28 UTC

I've heard it a million times before from comp pilots insisting on towing with even doubled up weaklinks (some want no weaklink). I tell them the same thing I'm telling you... suck it up. You're not the only one on the line. I didn't ask to be a test pilot. I can live with your inconvenience.

Yeah Jim... I'll bet that made you real popular with all your "friends" and colleagues and a million comp pilots right after:

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Davis Straub - 2011/08/26 14:04:52 UTC

We had six weaklink breaks in a row at Zapata this year. Russell Brown (tug pilot, tug owner, Quest Air owner) said go ahead and double up (four strands of Cortland Greenspot). He knows I used his Zapata weaklink in Big Spring (pilots were asked to tell the tug pilot if they were doing that).

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/12.081
Weaklinks - the HGFA rules

Davis Straub - 2008/04/22 14:47:00 UTC

For many years a number of us (US pilots) have felt that #8 bricklayers nylon line was not an appropriate material to use for weaklinks as it is not as consistent in its breaking strength (as far as we are concerned) as the Greenspot line used in the US. At the 2008 Forbes Flatlands Greenspot for the first time was used as the standard weaklink material (thanks in large part to the efforts of Bobby Bailey). We applaud these efforts to improve the safety of aerotowing by using a better weaklink material.

If the weaklink is at one end of the bridle then there is little to no reason to replace the weaklink after each flight. The weaklink should be replaced if it shows any signs of wear as its strength may be reduced. The weaklink is constructed using "fisherman's knots."

For many years a number of us (US pilots) have felt that #8 bricklayers nylon line was not an appropriate material to use for weaklinks as it is not as consistent in its breaking strength (as far as we are concerned) as the Greenspot line used in the US.

- About how many years is "many years"?

- About what number is "a number of us"? Fifteen months to the day prior to your post Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney tells us...

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/07/22 22:30:28 UTC

I've heard it a million times before from comp pilots insisting on towing with even doubled up weaklinks (some want no weaklink). I tell them the same thing I'm telling you... suck it up. You're not the only one on the line. I didn't ask to be a test pilot. I can live with your inconvenience.

...that a million primarily US comp pilots felt that their Greenspot would be more appropriate and consistent in its breaking strength if it were doubled. So around what are we talking about here? Ten million? And why aren't they coming out in support of Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney and helping silence the mere million who feel otherwise?

And why have we never once in the global history of hang glider aerotowing heard a request for 125 pound Greenspot from even a two hundred pound little girl comp or training glider? And/Or shouldn't two hundred pound little girl gliders be ENCOURAGED to fly weak links that show signs of wear? Don't we usually shoot for the middle in issues like these? Glider and parachute size for example? Or helmets or harnesses as precise as possible or custom match? It's easier for The Industry to produce custom fitted harnesses than it is to make available graduated weak links? À la the Tost stuff that's produced in hang and para glider ranges?

02-00820c
http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7252/27169646315_9af9a62298_o.png


Wouldn't that go a long way towards improving...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052
Poll on weaklinks

Jim Rooney - 2013/03/05 01:32:20 UTC

Btw, it's nothing to do with you "counting" on the weaklink breaking... Its about me not trusting you to hit the release.
If it were only about what you want, then you could use what you like.
You want the strongest weaklink you can have.
I want you to have the weakest one practical.. I don't care how much it inconveniences you.
I don't trust you as a rule. You Trust you , but I don't and shouldn't.

...overall consistency and safety?

(Note that Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney says he wants us "to have the weakest one practical". So now we know that he considers 130 Greenspot to be the weakest practical - the stuff that Russell and his fellow douchebags finally found to be decidedly IM practical at Zapata on 2011/08/11.)

- As far as WE are concerned? So obviously there were other concerns from some of the non We contingent. But please don't degrade the dazzling brilliance of what you've presented from the We contingent by presenting any inconsistent concerns. Besides, I have very little tolerance of long winded posts.

At the 2008 Forbes Flatlands Greenspot for the first time was used as the standard weaklink material...

And the horrors at the 2007 and earlier Forbes Flatlandses before the first time Greenspot was used as the standard weaklink material are just too extensive and traumatizing to begin to recount. The nonstandard weaklink material would break when it wasn't supposed to and I can recall at least a dozen inconveniences that sent comp pilots to the emergency room or worse. And it would fail to succeed when it was supposed to - during low level lockouts when both the front and back end mechanical things the tug and glider pilots normally use to effect separation would become inoperable - and at least fifteen tug and thirty glider pilots were killed instantly upon impact. And at altitude ten gliders had their wings torn off. (The forces of an aerotow can get high enough to tear the wings off the glider. This is no exaggeration... it can be done.)

What ABSOLUTE MORONS those Aussies (including Bill Moyes) were for thinking they could get away with using No. 8 bricklayer's twine for such a critical aeronautical application as this! And one wonders why it wasn't until the 2008 Forbes Flatlands...

At the 2008 Forbes Flatlands Greenspot for the first time was used as the standard weaklink material (thanks in large part to the efforts of Bobby Bailey).

...that Greenspot for the first time was used as the standard weaklink material (thanks in large part to the efforts of Bobby Bailey). And why even at that point the implementation required so many of the efforts of Bobby Bailey on top of the feelings of a number of us (US pilots). One would've thought something like would've been TOTALLY FUCKING OBVIOUS at least a decade and a half before. Also that the applause would be immediate and universal - rather than just from just a number of us (US pilots) with only Davis speaking on their behalf.

We applaud these efforts to improve the safety of aerotowing by using a better weaklink material.

One can only IMAGINE the efforts involved.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Davis Straub - 2011/08/26 14:04:52 UTC

We had six weaklink breaks in a row at Zapata this year. Russell Brown (tug pilot, tug owner, Quest Air owner) said go ahead and double up (four strands of Cortland Greenspot). He knows I used his Zapata weaklink in Big Spring (pilots were asked to tell the tug pilot if they were doing that).

It boggles the mind to understand how Russell had the fortitude to continue flight ops immediately after an effort like that. I'd think mere mortals such as ourselves would need a minimum of three weeks recovery time before again getting within five miles of either end of a flight line.

If the Greenspot line used in the US was felt for many years by a number of us (US pilots) to be more consistent in its breaking strength (as far as we are concerned) then...

Pilots must use weaklinks provided by the meet organizers and in a manner approved by the meet organizers. All weaklinks will be checked and use of inappropriate weaklinks will require the pilot to go to the end of the launch line to change the weaklink.

...why was it necessary to punish other comp pilots - almost undoubtedly the ones who wanted to fly the 125 - by penalizing them at a minimum or totally grounding those more out of step with the specified official feeling? If someone arrived at the front of the line with an unbuckled helmet, unsecured batten, twisted suspension was he penalized in the same manner?

We all know that the weak link is...

Towing Aloft - 1998/01

A weak link is the focal point of a safe towing system.

...the focal point of a safe towing system and that its strength is...

http://www.questairforce.com/aero.html
Aerotow FAQ

Quest Air Hang Gliding - 1998/02

The strength of the weak link is crucial to a safe tow.

... crucial to a safe tow - not only for the glider, but for the...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15716
weak links

Davis Straub - 2009/04/26 22:05:31 UTC

Tad doesn't agree, but the rest of us no doubt do, that we are in a partnership with the tug pilot, and that he needs to be protected also, and therefore our weaklink has to be less than his.

...Pilot In Command...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/31 09:25:57 UTC

See, you don't get to hook up to my plane with whatever you please. Not only am I on the other end of that rope... and you have zero say in my safety margins...

...as well.

There has never in the entire history of hang glider aerotowing been a single documented incident in which a pilot (or passenger) has inadvertently installed an inappropriate weak link with a finished length of 1.5 inches or less. Plenty in which a foot launch pilot has failed to connect himself or his passenger to the glider but zilch on the weak link. So this is ALWAYS a DELIBERATE action which is why you define a penalty. A pilot DELIBERATELY puts both his own life and that of his Pilot In Command at extreme risk for ZERO rational reason and the penalty is that he has to go to the back of the line and swap in a weak link that for many years a number of us (US pilots) have felt is more consistent in its breaking strength (as far as we are concerned) as the Greenspot line used in the US? Why isn't he immediately expelled from the competition and had his AT rating revoked for two years for a first offense and permanently for a second?

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Steve Davy - 2011/09/02 20:58:16 UTC

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TTTFlymail/message/11545
Cart stuck incidents

Keith Skiles - 2011/06/02 19:50

I witnessed the one at Lookout. It was pretty ugly. Low angle of attack, too much speed and flew off the cart like a rocket until the weak link broke, she stalled and it turned back towards the ground. Since then, Lookout went through the trouble of "sizing" their carts to help avoid that. They even made a handy plywood gauge you could hold up to your keel and verify the AOA was good.

Had the weak link held she would have had a nice flight. A ten year old could figure that much out.

Kinsley Sykes - 2011/09/02 21:06:32 UTC

I was there. Two possibilities;

1. Weaklink held and "she would have had a nice flight"
2. In the process of "taking off like a rocket" she got into a lockout and she would have been seriously injured or died.

I don't think she was hurt at all if I remember correctly. I just love folks who think they can fly their way out of a lockout, particularly at less than 10' off the ground.

None of my comments have anything to do with the skill of the pilot in this incident. Lot's of other things going on. But to say she crashed because her weaklink broke makes no sense.

Rob Clarkson - 2011/09/02 23:07:13 UTC

3. The tug pilot gives her the rope and she pounds in any way.
4. The tug can't get off the ground because the tail is being pulled up so much and they both crash into the fence at the end of the run way.

Not sure why you guys aren't getting Jim's point. If you come off the cart at the proper speed and break a week link you should be able to land it. If not some thing else has gone wrong. By making the weak link stronger you are creating other problems. Let me give you an example:

Lets say the wind switches and now you have to move, wait or, tow down wind. Pilot decides to screw it lets just tow down wind. As he comes off the ground he gets hit with some nasty turbulence and breaks a weak link. He pounds in and breaks a down tube because he's not real good at landing down wind.

Next time out same thing happens wind changes direction. Now our pilot learned his leason last time out. This time he doubles up his weak link to make sure it doesn't break right of the cart. Again he hits strong turbulence, locks out cart wheels his glider and totals it off. Gee I guess a stronger weak link wasn't the answer. Perhaps the problem was towing down wind. FYI if you tow down wind expect to get nailed hard by the prop wash right when you come off the cart.

Rodent if you don't really believe what your saying please stop being a dick. Some less experienced people might buy into what your saying. It may seem funny now get people all worked up but it won't be so funny when some gets hurt because they believed what your were saying.

If you believe what your are saying please stop flying before you hurt yourself.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=18777
Accident - Broken Jaw - Full Face HG Helmet

Keith Skiles - 2010/08/28 05:20:01 UTC

Last year, at LMFP I saw an incident in aerotow that resulted in a very significant impact with the ground on the chest and face. Resulted in a jaw broken in several places and IIRC some tears in the shoulder.

If the weaklink is at one end of the bridle then there is little to no reason to replace the weaklink after each flight. The weaklink should be replaced if it shows any signs of wear as its strength may be reduced.

So obviously a worn weak link would be considered an inappropriate weak link and checked at the front of the line. So you're obviously sending people with weak links with any visible fuzzing to the back of the line. Also not mandating a new appropriate weak link for each flight. So you can't attribute any inconvenience blow - glider in position towing normally - to pilot negligence. You also can't attribute any inconvenience blow to use of a worn weak link since the nice fresh inspected ones are well documented to go off like popcorn in light morning conditions with top gun comp pilots driving.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

Zack C - 2013/02/13 15:02:38 UTC

Can you explain, then, exactly how we arrived at the current 130 lb weak link standard?

Jim Rooney - 2013/02/13 19:09:33 UTC

It was already worked out by the time I arrived.
The reason it sticks?
Trail and error.

Every now and then someone comes along with the "new" idea of a stronger weaklink. Eventually, they scare themselves with it and wind up back with one that has a very proven track record. I mean really... no exaggeration... hundreds of thousands of tows.

Say what you will, but if you want to argue with *that* much history, well, you better have one hell of an argument... which you don't.

http://airtribune.com/2019-big-spring-nationals/info/details__info
2019 Big Spring Nationals (pre-Pan-Americans)
http://airtribune.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/contest/files/2019/07/GTxd6mT4AIn8.pdf
Local Rules

15 - Launch

Weaklinks of 140 and 200 pounds will be available and provided by the organizers. Weaklinks provided by the organizers must be used by the competitors.

So I guess now a number of us (US pilots) feel that unidentified flavors of 140 and 200 pound string tied in loops with unidentified knotting installed on unspecified gliders flown by pilots of unspecified weights and ratings behind tugs using unspecified engines in whatever-the-hell conditions will be more consistent in their breaking strengths (as far as we are concerned) than the one-size-fits-all 130 pound Greenspot we mandated for over one and a half decades.

27-0721


31-1011

So whose efforts to improve the safety of aerotowing by using better weaklink materials are we applauding this time? Those of the few people who are actually working on things? How come we tend to know the identities of all the people designing our gliders, harnesses, parachutes, wheels but total shit about our towing equipment?

Notable exceptions...

The idiot Hewett Skyting Bridle that people with functional brains stopped using about a half hour after its introduction and...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skysailingtowing/message/6726
Weaklinks

Peter Birren - 2008/10/27 23:41:49 UTC

You trying to tell me the pilot had time to release? Not a prayer.

I know about this type of accident because it happened to me, breaking 4 ribs and my larynx... and I was aerotowing using a dolly. The sh*t happened so fast there was no room for thought much less action. But I wasn't dragged because the weaklink did its job and broke immediately on impact.

You're focusing on AT but there's a lot more towing going on then at the flat/smooth-ground country club sites. On a crowned country road, off the back of a truck or trailer... ain't a place for a dolly or a threaded bridle of any type.

Imagine if you will, just coming off the cart and center punching a thermal which takes you instantly straight up while the tug is still on the ground. Know what happens? VERY high towline forces and an over-the-top lockout. You'll have both hands on the basetube pulling it well past your knees but the glider doesn't come down and still the weaklink doesn't break (.8G). So you pull whatever release you have but the one hand still on the basetube isn't enough to hold the nose down and you pop up and over into an unplanned semi-loop. Been there, done that... at maybe 200 feet agl.

By the way Jim... BOTH of the AT weak links permitted by the Flight Park Mafia operatives running AT comps are more dangerous than 130. And since you've documented a million comp pilots wanting doubled up Standard Aerotow Weak Links - which we've documented to blow at 200 - it's a no-brainer as to what's being selected. That and the fact that we no longer seem to have any inconvenience issues at comps. And strangely enough there hasn't been one account of anybody being the least bit frightened of a Tad-O-Link - either end.

Even when Jeff Bohl bought it locking out on a 200 pound Tad-O-Link at Quest on 2016/05/21 there wasn't a single whisper from anyone - very conspicuously including Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney - about moving back eight ounces towards the Rooney end of the scale. Any comment?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/12.081
Weaklinks - the HGFA rules

Davis Straub - 2008/04/22 14:47:00 UTC

For many years a number of us (US pilots) have felt that #8 bricklayers nylon line was not an appropriate material to use for weaklinks as it is not as consistent in its breaking strength (as far as we are concerned) as the Greenspot line used in the US.

Yet here we are well over a dozen years later and not a single individual anywhere has identified himself as one of the Founding Fathers of the 130 pound Greenspot Standard Aerotow Weak Link innovation - one of the most outstanding advancements in the entire world history of hang glider towing. And isn't it a bit odd that not one single individual from outside of the US had hopped on that bandwagon - even though US comps (which are 100.00 percent AT launched) attract lotsa out-of-country participants.

When you hear "a number of us" in this context you tend to think twenty, thirty... But TWO is also a "number". (And the dictionary says the minimum for "several" is THREE.)

...(US pilots)...

Doesn't say US COMP pilots. We know exactly how those gutless motherfuckers feel about 130 pound Greenspot...

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/07/22 22:30:28 UTC

I've heard it a million times before from comp pilots insisting on towing with even doubled up weaklinks (some want no weaklink). I tell them the same thing I'm telling you... suck it up. You're not the only one on the line. I didn't ask to be a test pilot. I can live with your inconvenience.

...from the year prior. Doesn't even say US hang glider pilots.

The only two motherfuckers behind this bullshit...

At the 2008 Forbes Flatlands Greenspot for the first time was used as the standard weaklink material (thanks in large part to the efforts of Bobby Bailey). We applaud these efforts to improve the safety of aerotowing by using a better weaklink material.

...are the only two motherfuckers identified in this post - Davis Dead-On Straub and Bobby Fucking-Genius Bailey.

http://ozreport.com/9.032
The Worlds - weaklinks

Davis Straub - 2005/02/07

For a couple of years I have flown with a doubled weaklink because, flying with a rigid wing glider, I have found that there is little reason to expect trouble on tow, except from a weaklink break.

http://airtribune.com/2019-big-spring-nationals/info/details__info
2019 Big Spring Nationals (pre-Pan-Americans)
http://airtribune.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/contest/files/2019/07/GTxd6mT4AIn8.pdf
Local Rules

15 - Launch

Weaklinks of 140 and 200 pounds will be available and provided by the organizers. Weaklinks provided by the organizers must be used by the competitors.

So whom do we thank and applaud for that one? Weaklinks of 140 and 200 pounds available and provided by the organizers surely beat the crap outta 130 pound Greenspot in the breaking strength consistency department.
---
2020/08/22 23:30:00 UTC

This was Tad Eareckson Post 8888.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

Jim Rooney - 2013/02/13 19:09:33 UTC

It was already worked out by the time I arrived.
The reason it sticks?
Trail and error.

Every now and then someone comes along with the "new" idea of a stronger weaklink. Eventually, they scare themselves with it and wind up back with one that has a very proven track record. I mean really... no exaggeration... hundreds of thousands of tows.

Say what you will, but if you want to argue with *that* much history, well, you better have one hell of an argument... which you don't.

It was already worked out by the time I arrived.

Absolutely astonishing that anything of any actual importance in this sport could've been worked out prior to your arrival.

The reason it sticks?

Tell us just how well it's sticking now.

Trail and error.

Funny there doesn't seem to be any historical record of any of the testing programs concerning this super critical and eternally controversial issue.

Every now and then someone comes along with the "new" idea of a stronger weaklink.

Like for example:

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32824
Weaklink testing

Davis Straub - 2013/07/04 13:47:57 UTC

Mark Knight and Jim Rooney put the loops through the wringer

Mark Knight

My calculations and test suggest the 200 lb. is right for me. I weigh 185 pounds, fly a T2 154 (75 lbs), and my harness fully loaded is 35 pounds. Total all up flying weight is 185 + 75+ 35 = 295 lbs. Times 1.4 = 413. I use Pro tow barrel release so divide by 2 = 206.5. I feel the White and purple is a good fit for me.

Well done guys.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Cragin Shelton - 2011/09/03 23:57:33 UTC

Nice Reference Citation

Ridgerodent:
Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974

"The greatest dangers are a rope break or a premature release."- Richard Johnson

Do you REALLY think that there has been no progress in knowledge about the practical applied physics and engineering of hang gliding in 37 years? OR that an early, 3+ decade old, information book written by a non-pilot is a solid reference when you have multiple high experience current instructors involved in the discussion?

Only took about three decades to start getting back to where we were in 1974. (Where WOULD we muppets be now if it weren't for professional tug pilots (one now dead and the other extinct) such as yourselves.)

Eventually, they scare themselves with it and wind up back with one that has a very proven track record.

Can you quote somebody? Here, lemme save you the trouble:

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3391
More on Zapata and weak link

Paul Tjaden - 2008/07/22 04:32:22 UTC

The lockout Lauren mentioned was precipitated by my attempt to pull on more VG while on tow. I have done this before but this time the line wouldn't cleat properly and while I was fighting it, I got clobbered and rolled hard right in a split second. There was a very large noise and jerk as the relatively heavy weak link at the tug broke giving me the rope. I recovered quickly from the wingover and flew back to the field to drop the line and then relaunched after changing to a normal weak link. I have never had a lockout situation happen so quickly and dramatically and had no chance to release as I have always thought I could do. Had the tug's link not broken, things could have gotten very ugly very fast. I still don't like weak links breaking when they shouldn't, but the one I was using was way too strong.

Compare/Contrast with:

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Marc Fink - 2011/08/28 21:11:09 UTC

I once locked out on an early laminarST aerotowing. went past vertical and past 45 degrees to the line of pull-- and the load forces were increasing dramatically. The weaklink blew and the glider stalled--needed every bit of the 250 ft agl to speed up and pull out. I'm alive because I didn't use a stronger one.

But he was never the least bit concerned 'cause he was flying an Infallible Rooney Link which always breaks before one can get into too much trouble.

I mean really... no exaggeration... hundreds of thousands of tows.

Over a period which started up in the early Nineties and ended rather abruptly on the early afternoon of 2013/02/02 - with Paul Tjaden in close proximity. And when was the last time we heard anything from either Mark Knight or Paul Tjaden about anything?

Say what you will, but if you want to argue with *that* much history, well, you better have one hell of an argument... which you don't.

Well then let's try this one:

http://airtribune.com/2019-big-spring-nationals/info/details__info
2019 Big Spring Nationals (pre-Pan-Americans)
http://airtribune.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/contest/files/2019/07/GTxd6mT4AIn8.pdf
Local Rules

15 - Launch

Weaklinks of 140 and 200 pounds will be available and provided by the organizers. Weaklinks provided by the organizers must be used by the competitors.

So are we evolving backwards? And, if so, then why has your cautionary voice been so conspicuously absent from the near entirety of the Post Marzec Era?

Trail and error.

Donnell Hewett - 1981/10

A properly designed weak link must be strong enough to permit a good rate of climb without breaking, and it must be weak enough to break before the glider gets out of control, stalls, or collapses. Since our glider flies level with a 50 pound pull, climbs at about 500 fpm with a 130 pound pull, and retains sufficient control to prevent stalling if a weak link breaks at 200 pounds pull, we selected that value. Of course, a pilot could deliberately produce a stalled break at 200 lbs, just as he can stall a glider in free flight. But if he is trying to limit his climb rate and the forces exceed the break limit, the glider simply drops its nose to the free flight attitude and continues flying. If the weak link breaks (or should the towline break) at less than the 200 pound value, the effect is even less dramatic and controlled flight is still present.

That's almost certainly the earliest written record on this Infallible Weak Link "thinking" crap.

If you walk into it with your bullshit radar switched off you think this was some kind of group effort and the "conclusions" were the results of an afternoon or two of test flying a range of fishing line flavors. Meanwhile, back in the REAL world...

He was towing with nylon parachute cord which would blow at two hundred pounds. Nice and stretchy so that would keep the Tension Constant good enough and a crude gauge that measured up to two hundred pounds. And no sane person would ever consider going above two hundred 'cause at those levels you'd have the potential to lock out and the glider would stall in response to what would otherwise be a mere inconvenience.

He started out with two hundred 'cause that's what he had and could afford. And those of us who were victims of the Standard Aerotow Weak Link - which increases the safety of the towing operation on a two point glider at 226 pounds (pulling from STRAIGHT AHEAD) max - all know we don't hafta wait too long even in glassy smooth air to be protected from the unknown horrors involved in continuing up to wave-off. And if we're staying in position and everything's going right - which is the case - 999 times out of a thousand, there's no stall. The glider simply "recovers" from not stalling and we set up to land with a perfectly timed and executed flare.

So Donnell does a dozen tows and benefits from three random safety increasing inconveniences and is now qualified to tell everyone on the planet how we should all be doing everything. And after a few more decades worth of consideration, experience, analysis we have:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skysailingtowing/message/4597
Weaklinks

Donnell Hewett - 2005/02/08 23:28:13 UTC
4597

The sole purpose and function of this weaklink is to limit the towline tension to a manageable level, i.e. a level such that the pilot can still maintain control of the aircraft in the event that the weaklink breaks.

Donnell Hewett - 2008/10/14 00:49:34 UTC
6686

In my opinion, the sole purpose of a weak link is "to allow the aircraft to recover safely when the weak link does break".

Anybody still think he arrived at any numbers through any hint of experimentation?

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3034
Weak Links and Tow Bridles

JD Guillemette - 2008/02/10 18:26:50 UTC

Jim Rooney adds:

Jim Prahl took that idea to task one day too... he wanted to know what would happen if you took out the top weak link and the lines snagged. So he had someone tow him up to intentionally try it... he rigged things so they would snag and released from the shoulders first. What happened next is a bit scary (esp with your story in mind). A glider towing off the keel only goes negative instantly... you flap around in the wind with zero control.

Yeah that was an experiment we really needed to do. Otherwise we'd have people hooking up one point glider and deliberately releasing from the bottom on two point.

Neither Hewett nor anyone else has been stupid enough to flight test weak links to select an optimal safety value.

If you're flying straight and level in smooth air on a light weak link you're not gonna let the nose up to find out what happens. This glider:

10-03323
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2928/14397296584_1d0e5e389b_o.png


is UNDOUBTEDLY flying at well under 1.0 Gs and we don't even wanna think about what's gonna happen if it's abruptly inconvenienced.

Normal tow tension inconvenience at below weak link - the turnaround pulley anchor tears out of the ground:

10-00704
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1527/25000631815_67393621b6_o.png

13-00820
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1621/24370019994_04c2e9db56_o.png

15-00921
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1461/24882605932_14a37e9798_o.png


Goddam near a tumble. No, we're not gonna run that experiment to see what happens. Every milligram of pilot instinct we have is gonna be working overtime to avoid that situation to the maximum degree possible.

A typical AT lateral lockout...

061-03627
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49973150233_be7ab2e04e_o.png

063-03805
http://live.staticflickr.com/8256/15786161205_1b6de38d88_o.png

064-03816
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49971569623_a10353b3de_o.png


On even a Rooney Link - which is what these BHPA assholes are using - if you're low you're dead. If you're high it doesn't matter. You WILL recover and a 2.0 G weak link will blow a millisecond later than a 0.8 G weak link.

Trail and error my ass.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=28697
Weak links why do we use them. in paragliding.

Forum Moderators - 2010/02/24 22:02:46 UTC

Tad Eareckson

We, the Moderators, feel that weak links are an important topic. In our view Tad Eareckson's posts have discouraged others from taking part in this discussion, so, after several warnings, he has been banned. His most recent post, after this topic was locked, is here:

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=30195
moderation

We are happy to lift the ban if we come to the view that Tad has further positive contributions to make - please contact us by PM or by email if you feel that this is the case.

We, the Moderators...

The motherfuckers in place to make sure that no actual issues get properly resolved. 'Cause anything along those lines would reveal you to be the stupid, incompetent, corrupt total douchebags you actually are - along with the commercial interests like BHPA and Stuart Caruk.

...feel that weak links are an important topic.

- Goddam right. Focal point of a safe towing system. Keeps you from getting into too much trouble.

- Why? Donnell Hewett totally nailed it a little shy of three decades ago and all hang and paragliding regs, SOPs, operations are written and run accordingly. What's to discuss?

- Who the fuck gives a rat's ass how douchebag forum moderators feel about anything? What qualifications do they have to have any feelings about anything?

In our view...

List your NAMES - assholes. Also your qualifications.

...Tad Eareckson's posts have discouraged others from taking part in this discussion...

- Goddam right again. Tad Eareckson's posts were so astronomically toxic that even now, ten years, six months, and a few hours later, there hasn't been a single relevant post on the topic here (three totally irrelevant ones). If you guys had really been on the ball and banned him right after his first post - 2009/12/04 05:09:05 UTC - and deleted same then this discussion could've been continued in a civilized manner to this very day.

- Why is that a bad thing? What qualifications do "others" necessarily have to participate in rational discussions? Back in 2013 following the Zack Marzec pro toad inconvenience fatality the Tad's Hole In The Ground Gang discouraged TONS of Rooney Linker total douchebags from taking part in discussions. Under current Davis Dead-On Straub comp rules the lowest permissible AT weak link strength increased 8 percent and the highest increased 54 percent. And I haven't heard about any long lines forming to score the safer of the two weak links. Other Person Bart Weghorst got his balls torn off 2018/09/15 05:23:24 UTC shortly after he made the mistake of taking part in a discussion about AT weak links.

...so, after several warnings, he has been banned.

Warnings for what? What rules was he violating? I just noticed you don't specify any rules, guidelines, mission statement. I guess that's so the Moderation Team can do whatever the fuck it feels like whenever the fuck it feels like it.

His most recent post, after this topic was locked, is here:

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=30195
moderation

Oh. You locked this topic 2010/02/23 21:04:04 UTC because, in your view, Tad Eareckson's posts had discouraged others from taking part in this discussion. Then you permanently locked the other topic that Tad Eareckson started 25 minutes and 18 seconds after he started it because, in your view, Tad Eareckson's post had discouraged others from taking part in that discussion. Then you announced banning Tad Eareckson 3 hours, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds after that, simultaneously unlocking this at-that-point 278 post discussion. And after that... NOTHING. Hard to do much better encouraging others to post than that.

We are happy to lift the ban if we come to the view that Tad has further positive contributions to make - please contact us by PM or by email if you feel that this is the case.

- And any of you others who feel this is the case make goddam sure you don't post anything here publicly because we feel that that would also discourage others from taking part in this discussion and we would feel it necessary to deal with you accordingly.

- And then we will reply to you by PM or by email to let you know whether or not we feel that what you feel has significant merit.

- And to this day the absolute lunatic specifications in the BHPA Technical Manual for parascending, paragliding, and hang gliding (surface and AT) remain IDENTICAL to what they've been since the beginning of time thus proving beyond the slightest shadow of a reasonable doubt that they had it 100.00 percent right at square one and Tad Eareckson was and is totally full o' shit.

- Meanwhile in the US we found out that back in 2004 the FAA had pulled hang gliding in to sailplane AT regs minus the least peep of a protest from u$hPa; many of us suddenly became happy with 200 pound Tad-O-Links regardless of max certified operating and flying weights, conditions, skill, experience, anything else you wanna name. And outside of the UK there are tons of unregulated operations flying whatever the fuck they feel like - including no dedicated weak link - and the only shit we hear about comes from the ops running the really safe weak links and experiencing dangerous inconvenience stalls.

Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney (jimrooney on the Bags dump) has a posting record from 2007/09/02 12:10:11 UTC to 2015/01/31 08:28:02 UTC. (Last recorded PG launch - 2016/09/29.) Extremely interesting that he was nowhere to be found in this or any other PG weak links discussion.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=25536
Whoops! Snapped another tip wand :-O

NMERider - 2012/03/14 15:17:14 UTC

Landing clinics don't help in real world XC flying. I have had the wind do 180 degree 15 mph switches during my final legs. What landing clinic have you ever attended that's going to help? I saved that one by running like a motherfukker. And BTW - It was on large rocks on an ungroomed surface.

Jim Rooney threw a big tantrum and stopped posting here.

His one-technique-fits-all attitude espoused on the Oz Report Forum has become tiresome to read. It does not work in the fucked-up world of XC landings and weary pilots.

NMERider - 2012/03/14 15:43:09 UTC

I refuse to come in with both hands on the downtubes ever again. I have had some very powerful thermals and gusts kick off and lost control of the glider due to hands on the DTs. I prefer both hands on the control bar all the way until trim and ground effect. I have been lifted right off the deck in the desert and carried over 150 yards.

Christopher LeFay - 2012/03/15 05:57:43 UTC

<rant>January's canonization of Rooney as the Patron Saint of Landing was maddening. He offered just what people wanted to hear: there is an ultimate, definitive answer to your landing problems, presented with absolute authority. Judgment problems? His answer is to remove judgment from the process- doggedly stripping out critical differences in gliders, loading, pilot, and conditions. This was just what people wanted- to be told a simple answer. In thanks, they deified him, carving his every utterance in Wiki-stone.</rant>

That's his pattern. With PG weak link practices all over the map (figuratively) all over the map (literally) there was no way in hell he was gonna get within a country mile of that topic in any discussion. Couldn't even afford to take a shot at Yours Truly.

Tost Flugzeuggerätebau

Weak links protect your aircraft against overloading.

No asterisks. But since hang and para gliders require TWO hands to effect and maintain safe control and intelligence, effort, expense is involved in release design and production... Until Hell freezes over.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAdIkB5rbgo


http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/31 09:25:57 UTC

Oh how many times I have to hear this stuff.
I've had these exact same arguments for years and years and years.
Nothing about them changes except the new faces spouting them.

It's the same as arguing with the rookie suffering from intermediate syndrome.
They've already made up their mind and only hear that which supports their opinion.

Only later, when we're visiting them in the hospital can they begin to hear what we've told them all along.

Nobody's talking about 130lb weaklinks? (oh please)
Many reasons.
Couple of 'em for ya... they're manufactured, cheap and identifiable.

See, you don't get to hook up to my plane with whatever you please. Not only am I on the other end of that rope... and you have zero say in my safety margins... I have no desire what so ever to have a pilot smashing himself into the earth on my watch. So yeah, if you show up with some non-standard gear, I won't be towing you. Love it or leave it. I don't care.

So please, find me something... that you didn't make... that I can go out and buy from a store... that's rated and quality controlled... that fits your desire for a "non one size fits all" model, and *maybe* we can talk.
But you see... I'm the guy you've got to convince.
(or whoever your tug pilot may be... but we all tend to have a similar opinion about this)

You've not heard about strong-link incidents.
Uh, yeah... cuz we don't let you use them.

"light" weaklink issues?
"I had to land"... boo hoo.
Oh, I thought of an other one... I smashed into the earth after my weaklink let go cuz I fly as badly as I tow, and I'm only still here cuz my weaklink didn't let me pile in harder.

Your anecdotal opinion is supposed to sway me?
You forget, every tow flight you take requires a tug pilot... we see EVERY tow.
We know who the rockstars are and who the muppets are.
Do you have any idea how few of us there are?
You think we don't talk?
I'll take our opinion over yours any day of the week.

Ok, I'm tired of this.
I'm not really sure who you're trying to convince.
Again, I don't care to argue this stuff.
I'll answer actual questions if you're keen to actually hear the answers, but arguing with me? Really? Have fun with that.

Gimme a call when you think of something that we haven't already been through years ago... cuz to date, you have yet to come up with anything new. Well, maybe it's new to you I guess. It's old as dirt to me though.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052
Poll on weaklinks

Jim Rooney - 2013/03/04 19:31:36 UTC

The accepted standards and practices changed.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://bermudahighsoaring.com/uploads/3/4/1/0/34107938/towpilots-1.htm
TOW PILOTS - THE UNHEALTHY BOND TO THE SAILPLANE PILOTS

TOW PILOTS - A TREASURE WE NEED TO PRESERVE

Whenever there is an accident or incident involving a tow plane there is one question I invariably hear. Why didn't the tow pilot release? Let me try to explain. First, it should be noted that, in most cases, the tow pilots are some of the best airmen on the field. In a majority of cases they are also sailplane pilots. In other words they know "both ends of the rope". One of the biggest fears of a tow pilot is releasing a sailplane before it is absolutely necessary. At low level the tow pilot is all too aware that releasing a sailplane may very well cause the sailplane pilot to crash. Hence, tow pilots don't want to pull the release. In addition, in many cases the tow pilot knows the sailplane pilot. Also, the tow pilot might even be part owner of the operation and, hence, part owner of the sailplane being towed. It seems that every variable tends toward encouraging the tow pilot to hold on a little longer before pulling the release.

Don't for a second think that the tow pilot does not know you are getting high. He can tell instantly that his tail is being lifted. When things start going wrong on tow the tow pilot believes that he can wait just a little longer, hoping that the sailplane pilot will gets things under control. The tow pilot wants to help the sailplane pilot get out of the situation. He holds on. He knows things are bad, but he holds on just a little longer. In many cases the tow pilot holds on and the sailplane pilot does indeed get things back together. However, more often than we want the tow pilot holds on too long and then cannot recover.

There was some early misinformation on the Internet about the Genesis sailplane accident in Minden. Some people thought that the tow pilot released the sailplane. (It was later determined that this was not the case.). There was an outcry from some sailplane pilots about the tow pilot. "The tow pilot should release only if the tow plane is in jeopardy." "The glider pilot should be the one who decides when to release." This last statement is absolutely incorrect. There are two cases where the glider pilot must release. He has no choice. There are no decisions to be made. One is when the tow pilot rocks his wings. The second is when the glider pilot loses sight of the tow plane. I repeat, there is no choice in either of these situations. The sailplane pilot must release immediately. It appears to be the second situation (the glider pilot loses sight of the tow plane) that is causing some real problems. The latest being the death of a tow pilot in Washington State. Releasing after losing sight of the tow plane does not seem to be as automatic as it should be for glider pilots. There always seems to be an excuse. "I hit a lot of lift." "I was busy trying to close my canopy." "I was preoccupied with closing my spoilers." None of these are acceptable reasons for not immediately releasing if the sailplane pilot gets so high that he cannot see the tow plane. They are nothing more than poor excuses for not doing what you were trained to do. IF YOU LOSE SIGHT OF THE TOW PLANE YOU MUST RELEASE IMMEDIATELY! This means regardless of your altitude. If you are low that's tough. You still must release. Don't expect the tow pilot to pay the price for your inability to stay in position behind the tow plane.

Tow pilots are an extremely valuable asset in our sport of soaring in the US. Let's treat them that way. The next time you are at the field give your tow pilot a big hug and thank him for providing you with the opportunity to have FUN soaring. And then as you are walking away tell yourself that you are going to fly in such a way as to never endanger the life of that wonderful person.

FLY SAFELY,
Frank Reid

Donnell Hewett - 1981/10-07

Now I've heard the argument that "Weak links always break at the worst possible time, when the glider is climbing hard in a near stall situation," and that "More people have been injured because of a weak link than saved by one."

Towing Aloft - 1998/01

Pro Tip: Always thank the tug pilot for intentionally releasing you, even if you feel you could have ridden it out. He should be given a vote of confidence that he made a good decision in the interest of your safety.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skysailingtowing/message/6726
Give 'em the rope? When?

William Olive - 2005/02/11 08:59:57 UTC

I give 'em the rope if they drop a tip (seriously drop a tip), or take off stalled. You will NEVER be thanked for it, for often they will bend some tube.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/08/01 13:47:23 UTC

Whatever's going on back there, I can fix it by giving you the rope.

Jim Rooney - 2007/08/01 19:49:30 UTC

It's more of this crappy argument that being on tow is somehow safer than being off tow.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3600
Weak link question

Jim Rooney - 2008/11/24 05:18:15 UTC

Well, I'm assuming there was some guff about the tug pilot's right of refusal?
Gee, didn't think we'd have to delve into "pilot in command"... I figured that one's pretty well understood in a flying community.

It's quite simple.
The tug is a certified aircraft... the glider is an unpowered ultralight vehicle. The tug pilot is the pilot in command. You are a passenger. You have the same rights and responsibilities as a skydiver.
It's a bitter pill I'm sure, but there you have it.

BTW, if you think I'm just spouting theory here, I've personally refused to tow a flight park owner over this very issue. I didn't want to clash, but I wasn't towing him. Yup, he wanted to tow with a doubled up weaklink. He eventually towed (behind me) with a single and sorry to disappoint any drama mongers, we're still friends. And lone gun crazy Rooney? Ten other tow pilots turned him down that day for the same reason.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15716
weak links

Martin Henry - 2009/04/26 16:23:56 UTC

Trike Tug pilots (most), Bailey Tugs with the smaller two strokes or anything that is simply underpowered have a pretty small margin of safety when it comes to the towing envelope. It's a complicated balance. I've heard the expression, "it's like flying two aircraft at once". Getting your tail hauled up, down, left and right buy less then cooperative customer can be down right nerve wracking. If your tug pilot wants you on a "weak" link, you should respect his wishes. If you don't like it, find a tug pilot that can handle the challenge.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Davis Straub - 2011/08/28 15:26:28 UTC

Then again, Russell Brown had us double up behind him after six breaks in a row at Zapata. We couldn't figure out why we had so many breaks so quickly. Maybe just coincidence.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

Davis Straub - 2013/02/09 16:45:39 UTC

I am more than happy to have a stronger weaklink and often fly with the string used for weaklinks used at Wallaby Ranch for tandem flights (orange string - 200 lbs). We used these with Russell Brown's (tug owner and pilot) approval at Zapata after we kept breaking weaklink in light conditions in morning flights.

http://ozreport.com/20.102
The Quest Air Open Part 2

Davis Straub - 2016/05/22 02:26:08 UTC

The pilot's weak link broke at apparently the same time as tug pilot gave him the rope. The tug pilot gave the hang glider pilot the rope because the hang glider pilot's glider was pulling the tow plane's tail to the east forcing the tug toward trees that the tug with this drag would not be able to get above. All of the hang glider's undersurface was visible in the tug pilot's mirror.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3600
Weak link question

Brian Vant-Hull - 2008/11/13 19:18:04 UTC

Yes, it will take something else. But the approach you always slide into is not it. I think Matthew pointed out what needed to be done. But if you write articles nobody will listen unless you write with some humility.

BTW, a highly experienced source who wishes to stay anonymous (call him "Deepfloat") because he doesn't want to get entangled in the name calling (we're all tired of it), has a very interesting point to make.

Deepfloat says the reason 3 strings are used on the tug end instead of 4 is because experience has shown that a 4 strand breaking strength causes damage to equipment, the tug being a far more complex mechanism than a glider. Using a 4 strand weaklink on a glider as advocated for heavier pilots effectively means you don't have a weaklink and will end up with the rope.

Deepfloat says that EXPERIENCE has shown that a four strand breaking strength causes damage to "EQUIPMENT"?

- What "EQUIPMENT"? The rudder pedals? The airspeed indicator? Oh yeah...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skysailingtowing/message/4633
Weaklinks and aerotowing (ONLY)

Steve Kroop - 2005/02/10 04:50:59 UTC

You are completely correct about weak links and lockouts. If I can beat the horse a little more: Weak links are there to protect the equipment not the glider pilot.

Textbook Flight Park Mafia babble. Weak links don't protect from structural overload, some component getting damaged... The protect "the equipment". Hey Davis... What equipment will you flying in this comp?

We know goddam bloody well what the EQUIPMENT is.

http://ozreport.com/5.126
Flytec Dragonfly

USAFlytec - 2001/07/14

Steve Kroop - Russell Brown - Bob Lane - Jim Prahl - Campbell Bowen

The tail section of the Dragonfly is designed so that it can accept in-line as well as lateral loads. Furthermore the mast extension, which is part of the tow system, is designed to break away in the event of excessive in-line or lateral loads. The force required to cause a breakaway is roughly equivalent to the force required to break the double weaklink used on the tail bridle. More simply put, the mast would break away long before any structural damage to the aircraft would occur.

The extremely complex "equipment" - if we can believe these douchebags - was DESIGNED to be "DAMAGED" at four strand breaking strength. And that's not even considered damage - or do we consider a four strand weak link success to be damage? The tow mast is considered to be the same as the fuse that protects your toaster from getting overloaded. You get a current spike, the fuse blows, you pop in a new one.

Some other piece of equipment being damaged in this complex aircraft? Fine, tell me why the fucking genius who designed it wasn't able to protect it with either the four strander or the breakaway tow mast.

- EXPERIENCE? What if before we started selling tandem thrill rides we put up a top gun tug/glider pilot extremely gifted in the timing department (Bo Hagewood comes to mind), on a four strander, took it up to two grand in glass conditions, pulled a deliberate hard lockout. Glider weak link, tug weak link, breakaway tow mast. One item's gonna blow and the other two are gonna be severely and visibly stressed. So whenever we blow a four strand we need to replace the breakaway tow mast (plus two double loops of precision fishing line).

Note - Brian - that they didn't say that they COULDN'T design a more resilient tow mast - they said they DELIBERATELY designed a four strand equivalent tow mast. (One can only imagine the degree of trail and error was involved in coming up with such a precise design.) And one morning at Ridgely I was at the back end of a Dragonfly with Sunny looking at a substantially bent tow mast and we were discussing options for keeping that from happening. So apparently there's nothing in The Fucking Manual to inform the owner that this is what's SUPPOSED to happen. (And one might expect that Bobby would throw in a couple dozen spare fuses for all Dragonflies destined for AT ops.)

And now that I think about it... It's not supposed to bend. They designed it to BLOW. If it bends - and doesn't get noticed and replaced before the tug goes up again - it's no longer at design strength. It's been weakened. And the whole reason we use 130 pound Greenspot is because of its unparalled breaking point consistency. So much for that now - for at least the gliders with twice the number of humans on them.

- WOW! We're racking up all this EXPERIENCE damaging the equipment at 350 pounds double loop towline. And yet we're hearing about relatively few Dragonflies being crashed and killed as consequences. Go figure.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/07/22 22:30:28 UTC

I didn't ask to be a test pilot.

Tell me how you could be a test pilot if all these tow masts are getting trashed with nothing going on during routine tandem rides.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14230
pro tow set-up

Jim Rooney - 2009/11/03 23:42:15 UTC

Ryan, Ryan, Ryan.... Hasn't anyone let you know that Tad knows everything?... and that the rest of us are complete morons?

I'll put Highland's (perfect) track record of over 60,000 successful tandem aerotows (yes, by this I mean ALL of them) against Tad's rantings.

Remember kids... always blame the equipment.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14312
Tow Park accidents

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/11/12 14:49:58 UTC

One of the stated goals of this site is to promote HG. MOST views on this site are NOT from members but from visitors, they have no ignore button.

Having Tad run around every day giving the impression that there is a massive weekly slaughter of pilots at tow parks due to their horribly dangerous devices surely doesnt promote HG. Especially when the safety records are quite excellent.

Like Jim said, theyve gone a decade with no fatalities at their tow park. Pretty damn good I say.

A decade's worth of / sixty thousand tandem tows, zero incidents reported or observed at any altitude and the only problem they're having is the tow mast bending.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3107
I have a tandem rating!!!

Lauren Tjaden - 2008/03/23 22:20:15 UTC

When Jim got me locked out to the right, I couldn't keep the pitch of the glider with one hand for more than a second (the pressure was a zillion pounds, more or less), but the F'ing release slid around when I tried to hit it. The barrel release wouldn't work because we had too much pressure on it.

Anyhow, the tandem can indeed perform big wingovers, as I demonstrated when I finally got separated from the tug.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3380
Lauren and Paul in Zapata

Lauren Tjaden - 2008/07/21 14:27:04 UTC

Zapata has delivered as promised, day after day with howling winds and good lift, where flights of over 100 miles (and much more) are possible.

Yesterday I chased Paul again. The tow rope weak link broke when Paul locked out and the weak link he got from Tad did not break. Russell said it was about the worst he has ever had his tail pulled around. Anyhow, I would advise against those weak links, though Tad's barrel releases do seem better able to release under stress. After Russell got a new rope and Paul recovered, he was late leaving and got trapped under some cirrus.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3391
More on Zapata and weak link

Paul Tjaden - 2008/07/22 04:32:22 UTC

The lockout Lauren mentioned was precipitated by my attempt to pull on more VG while on tow. I have done this before but this time the line wouldn't cleat properly and while I was fighting it, I got clobbered and rolled hard right in a split second. There was a very large noise and jerk as the relatively heavy weak link at the tug broke giving me the rope. I recovered quickly from the wingover and flew back to the field to drop the line and then relaunched after changing to a normal weak link. I have never had a lockout situation happen so quickly and dramatically and had no chance to release as I have always thought I could do. Had the tug's link not broken, things could have gotten very ugly very fast. I still don't like weak links breaking when they shouldn't, but the one I was using was way too strong.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3600
Weak link question

Lauren Tjaden - 2008/11/20 22:50:53 UTC

Tad gave Paul a couple of HIS links while we were at the ECCs this year. Paul used them happily ( without any situation that might cause a problem) until one day at Zapata in rough air while he was attempting to adjust his VG. Paul locked out badly and the link didn't break. The double weak-link attached to the tug plane BROKE because the forces were so extreme. Russell quoted afterward that he'd never had his tail pulled around so violently. Luckily, Paul's glider was not stressed to the point of failure, and Paul was able to drop the rope and landed safely.

And everybody forgot to say something about the tow mast.

And thanks bigtime, Lauren, for confirming for us that the DOUBLE WEAK-LINK attached to the tug plane BROKE because the forces were so extreme. 'Specially since the AT operation Russell owns and runs tells us that...

http://www.questairforce.com/aero.html
Aerotow FAQ

Quest Air Hang Gliding

Weak Link

The strength of the weak link is crucial to a safe tow. It should be weak enough so that it will break before the pressure of the towline reaches a level that compromises the handling of the glider but strong enough so that it doesn't break every time you fly into a bit of rough air. A good rule of thumb for the optimum strength is one G, or in other words, equal to the total wing load of the glider. Most flight parks use 130 lb. braided Dacron line, so that one loop (which is the equivalent to two strands) is about 260 lb. strong - about the average wing load of a single pilot on a typical glider. For tandems, either two loops (four strands) of the same line or one loop of a stronger line is usually used to compensate for nearly twice the wing loading. When attaching the weak link to the bridle, position the knot so that it's hidden from the main tension in the link and excluded altogether from the equation.

IMPORTANT - It should never be assumed that the weak link will break in a lockout.
ALWAYS RELEASE THE TOWLINE before there is a problem.

...the pressure of the towline hadn't even reached a level at which the handling of the glider was compromised. What WAS Paul thinking? (How to fuck T** at K*** S****** over with this one? Sorry. Backfired.)

Paul's also flying a bent pin Bailey release. I'd offered at the time I GAVE him a couple of my Tad-O-Links to also GIVE him one of my non moronic twin barrels bridle assemblies. But he wasn't interested. So we also know that Paul's double loop lockout tension was below Bart...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=21033
barrels release without any tension except weight of rope..

Bart Weghorst - 2011/02/25 19:06:26 UTC

I've had it once where the pin had bent inside the barrel from excessive tow force. My weaklink was still intact. The tug pilot's weaklink broke so I had the rope. I had to use two hands to get the pin out of the barrel.

No stress because I was high.

...Weghorst's solo pro toad weak link limit - which was over the tug's tandem limit.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3600
Weak link question

Jim Rooney - 2008/11/20 22:25:38 UTC

Something to bear in mind... the tug's weaklink is three strand.

The tug's weak link wasn't three strand precisely four months ago on 2008/07/20 when Paul's Tad-O-Link didn't break when it was supposed to. So where's the safety bulletin on this critical safety issue that we were supposed to have read and acknowledged our understanding of it with our signature? How were we supposed to have borne it in mind from late summer on in the flying season that ended over a month ago?

Russell's weak link might have been three. Lauren was never able to count very reliably beyond two. But the mission was to advertise how insanely overstrength and dangerous the Tad-O-Link was so she said four. And nobody corrected her. So it was four.

Jim Rooney - 2008/11/20 22:25:38 UTC

Something to bear in mind... the tug's weaklink is three strand.
For clarity... A normal single loop weaklink would be considered two. A tandem double loop is considered four.
In the tandem setup, the "weaklink" in the system is at the tug end, not the glider.

Ya'll seem to be missing this.
Once you go beyond three strand... you're not using a weaklink. If the weaklink goes, you're getting the rope.
Paul found this out the hard way in Texas.

Theory's wonderful and all, but reality is not forgiving.
Ask yourself... are you willing to bet your life on your theory?
Dress accordingly.

Keep fighting Janni. He'll never listen to you, but it's entertaining to watch

Jim Rooney - 2008/11/24 18:54:27 UTC

I'm confused. I never said the tug's ass was endangered. That's why we use 3strand at the tug's end. Using 4 strand can rip things off (it's happened). When forces are achieved that do break a 3 strand, your tail gets yanked around very hard, which does have implications as to the flight characteristics and flightpath. AKA, I have no desire to allow you to have the ability to have that effect on me when I tow you... esp near the ground.

What I said was that by using a weaklink that's stronger than the tug's, you're effectively removing your weaklink. Big difference.

Yes, this is what tandems do... because they must. A tandem with a single weaklink doesn't even leave the ground (it's been tested). You on the other hand have a choice.

By using a 4 strand weaklink, the tandem flies with the tug's weaklink as "the weaklink". Both the tug pilot and tandem pilot understand this and agree to it. I personally tow behind Zach more in a weekend than most (any?) of you tow in a year. We both have a clear understanding of the added risk we incur.

A tandem with a four strand weaklink is not equivalent to a solo with a 4 strand btw. Tandems are way heavier than even the fattest of the fatboys out there. The principle of removing the glider weaklink is the same, but the tug's weaklink is effectively stronger with a solo. Weren't you the one advocating "scaling" weaklinks?... this concept should make perfect sense to you then.

That cover it?

Not quite. 'Cause sixteen months ago you said:

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/07/22 22:30:28 UTC

Hahahahahahahahaha
Oh that's just rich!
Riiiiiight... it's my attention span at issue here....
and I'm the one that's arrogant!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

No, I'm not being nice. No, I do not feel the need to be nice. You're trying to convince people to be less safe. I don't want to be on the other end of the rope when someone listening to this drivel smashes in.

I've heard it a million times before from comp pilots insisting on towing with even doubled up weaklinks (some want no weaklink). I tell them the same thing I'm telling you... suck it up. You're not the only one on the line. I didn't ask to be a test pilot. I can live with your inconvenience.

Please tell me again what's wrong with the wheel? Why you keep trying to reinvent it?

Yes, please fall back on the "I'm just saying they could be stronger" bull when you've made it quite clear that anything lower than cable (1200lb) is acceptable.

The simple fact is that you're not improving the system.
You're trying to make it more convenient and trying to convince yourself that you should be towing with a stronger weaklink.

Enjoy your delusion.

How come you weren't telling the million comp pilots that if they towed with even doubled up weak links it would be exactly the same as towing with NO weak link? That they WOULD be getting the rope.

When the back end weak link blows it's a total nonevent - an inconvenience every now and then that's the price of increasing the overall safety of the towing operation. And if the glider crashes and the pilot leaves the field on a stretcher it's 'cause he or she was a fundamentally incompetent muppet who had no business hooking up in the first place.

But if the FRONT end...

http://ozreport.com/10.124
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2808
Weaklink Break

Davis Straub - 2006/06/17 12:43:23 UTC

Davis Straub - 2006/06/17 12:43:23 UTC

When you have something like this happen to you, the first thing you want to avoid is it happening again, no matter what the actual or proximate cause. Avoiding that tug for a while seemed prudent.

I wonder who was responsible for the tow line coming undone.

Jim Rooney - 2006/06/18 14:31:22 UTC

The tow line was two pieces of spectra spliced together. The splice didn't hold and the line seperated.

If you're curious or unfamiliar with the types of splices used, check out your bridal ends... the loops are formed by a splice. Normally splices involve a twisting weave to ensure the splice holds. There was question as to how much weave was used and how close of a weave, etc.

They either switched out the line or knotted the line after it failed... probably both.
It was impressive to watch quick reactions have such a positive outcome... nice work Davis.

..."becomes detached" it's a huge fucking deal - potentially life threatening.

Flight Park Mafia ops DO NOT lose the front end. It:
- could easily crash a tandem
- is a major pain in the ass at altitude whether the glider has to:
-- coil it up and land with it
-- dump it
- makes the operation look as shoddy and incompetent as it actually is

Whatever they're telling you they're doing with the front end at any given point in history they're making sure that front end doesn't blow. Even at Lockout where they don't install weak links of any description on the tandem rides the tandem rides aren't pulling ropes off of tugs.

At Zapata Paul had to go to extraordinary lengths:
- pro toad
- easily reachable release
- Tad-O-Link
- topless bladewing
- violent thermal conditions
- fucking around with the VG with his right hand while flying the glider with the other

But OH!

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=463
Davis Straub's "Oz Report" Conflict of Interest

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/12 06:56:36 UTC

Without naming names (I'm curious to see if they'll own up to it first), on May 10, 2009, one Director wrote:

We need to consider getting an injunction against this guy communicating with the FAA on this subject.

That same day, another Director responded:

I forwarded the letter to Tim Herr yesterday asking about this.

For those who don't know, Tim Herr is ... USHPA's lawyer!!

A third Director (who I'll call "Mr. X") chimed in that same day with this:

Mr. X wrote:
Perhaps a strongly worded letter from Tim will do the trick. We can't force Tad to work within the USHPA framework but we can make it unpleasant and expensive for him if he chooses to makes derogatory and false statements about USHPA to the FAA he can't back up.

We can use this to embarrass, humiliate, discredit Tad - and keep everybody on Rooney Links until we start sanding peoples' knees down to the bone on the runway and killing tandem aerotow instructors using procedures and equipment Quest Air has been involved in perfecting for over twenty years.

No, we couldn't force Tad to work within the USHPA framework and we could make it unpleasant and expensive for him when he chose to make derogatory and false statements about USHPA to the FAA he could back up. But Tad made it a lot more unpleasant and expensive for you motherfuckers:
- Highland Aerosports, Cloud 9, Peter Birren, Jim Rooney, Ryan Voight, the Standard Aerotow Weak Link are extinct
- Mark Knight's dead
- The Jack Show's a total ghost town
- the sport's going down the toilet

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPdygEHyUkE


Interesting video I stumbled across via:
http://ozreport.com/24.192
Finally Flying

Bob Grant, SOGA, almost certainly shot that weekend (2020/09/26-27).

44°01'04.87" N 080°19'28.84" W
1-02224
- -1 - chronological order
- -0 - minutes
- 22 - seconds
- 24 - frame (30 fps)

The top end of the tow bridle is anchored on the rudder post maybe two and a half inches below the top edge of the rudder.

1-02224
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50400794713_f1628df0b2_o.png

2-03202
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50401646907_5a93ca0fd3_o.png


Routed on the starboard side of the rudder such that it will interfere with the pilot's ability to yaw starboard. Maybe they wanna experiment, get some feel of what happens to the glider with a shitrigged tow bridle.

3-03525
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50400794653_eab89d1f51_o.png


This pro toad Atos is what's on the other end of the string. (Speaking of shitrigged tow bridles.) (At least it has a tail so it won't tumble (à la Zack Marzec).)

4-04011
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50401488331_14080cc61c_o.png


But here we're back up at the top of the tow mast.

5-04807
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50401488306_5f99b34775_o.png


Seems SOGA doesn't want anybody to know where they're flying. "Shelburne" is all they give. Figured I'd be able to find it easily but those wind turbines are EVERYWHERE and I had to go through a lot of those ovals. (Have no idea what they are, what they're for.) Took me forever. (But now we have the coordinates for our medium range bombers.)

Still flying with Standard Aerotow Weak Links on his primary and "backup", 1.5 point bridle, shoddy Wallaby release and related garbage posing as tow equipment. - but at least we have the actuator not within easy reach.

6-12419
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50401646802_0b78299bd1_o.png


And we're landing on skids.

7-42518
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50401646777_442f4ece20_o.png


http://www.sogaclub.ca/AeroTowDetails.htm
Aerotow details

SOGA - 2020/09/30

AeroTow Details

All you ever wanted to know about aerotowing.

The "release" actuator looks like a bicycle brake lever and is Velcro-mounted on the lower control frame. When you squeeze that lever an attached cable actuates the primary release at the keel attachment point. The "long part" of the bridle is then free to run through the ring on the tow rope and you and the glider are left in free flight. A weak link connects the long V-pull bridle to the release, providing a safe limit on the tow force. If you fail to maintain the correct tow position (centered, with the wheels of the tug on the horizon), the weak link will break before you can get into too much trouble.

A "secondary release" is a simple "hook & barrel release" attached to your harness shoulder loop. One side of the short "v" bridle is attached to the "secondary release," so in the event the "primary release" fails the pilot merely slides the hook barrel back and the tow line is released.

That has to be from Bob Grant. Spends a third of his life at Wallaby hanging out with Malcolm and all the other really great people down there.

P.S...

http://ozreport.com/forum/files/2_264.jpg


I guess yellow is still SOGA's favorite color for tugs. Probably makes the wreckage easier to find after some asshole sneaks in line with a Tad-O-Link.
---
2020/10/07 22:40:00 UTC

Just figured out what the ovals are while flying Google Earth around my Lower Kent (Eastern Shore) Christmas Count area and seeing more - horse racing tracks. (Don't know what made it click.)

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlIGsgNFRWM

PSUCVOLLIBRE - 2012/06/12

Video quality leaves a bit to be desired but the content is hard to beat.

http://www.kitestrings.org/post2288.html#p2288

Trike with I'd guess a four bladed prop, pro towed Atos rigid wing, don't know the location. Arizona's my best guess. Note the evenly spaced shrubs on the far edge of the runway that little dusty propwash puffs but aren't. Looks like a couple of assistants back at launch position.

01-0001
- 01 - chronological order
- 00 - seconds
- 01 - frame (25 fps)

01-0001

02-0108

03-0210

04-0215

05-0223

06-0308

07-0322

08-0424


Lifts off from the cart but...

09-0506


...regrips the ends of the hold-downs hard enough to wheelie the cart. I wonder what he thinks the point to doing that is.

10-0514

11-0519


And here comes the brick wall smash of the propwash.

12-0600

13-0606


My best shot at calling the point at which the safety of the towing operation is increased is between the next two frames. Going through frame by frame one sees a little jolt.

14-0610

15-0611

16-0618

17-0624


Doesn't look like we're going for a perfectly timed landing flare. (What a fag.)

18-0710

19-0719

20-0801

21-0807

22-0821

23-0904

24-0913

25-0922

26-1015


Looks like a digital zoom-in. Quality sure isn't getting any better.

27-1104

28-1124

29-1213

30-1322

31-1503


Two expensive planes, gas, launch dolly, two pilots, two launch assistants, one emergency landing assistant, one guy behind the camera, gawd knows how many road miles for the vehicles, nice looking soaring conditions... But a three and a half penny (not counting the labor to cut, tie, install, connect it) loop of 130 pound fishing line decides to err on the side of safety ten feet off the deck with everything going textbook... Tug has to do a go-around, glider has to do an emergency landing, another loop of Greenspot needs to be installed properly so that it will break with max possible consistency, everybody has to reset. And there’s another shot at hitting a dust devil below fifty feet...

But don't worry... There's also another one in fifty thousand chance that if that happens the weak link will succeed at just the right millisecond required for a minimal impact abort. And its call will be tens of thousands of times better than that of either of the pilots 'cause it has tens of thousands of times the experience that they do.

At this point over three decades since Hewett published his total lunacy and it's only beginning to unravel.