Releases

[Tad Eareckson]

News flash!

It took the Davis Cult less than two and a half weeks after Shane was killed to start considering that you maybe could put BOTH releases AND weak links on BOTH ends of the bridle without risking having your balls fall off spontaneously. Only fourteen years - to the month - after my letter to the editor of Hang Gliding magazine was published.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?

Gerry Grossnegger - 2011/02/03 00:09:22 UTC

I knew I'd seen examples of the weak-link-onto-barrel-release idea somewhere. Here it is, x2...

And a photo of someone who's actually done it! With only eight life threatening defects and deficiencies from tow loop to tow loop.

http://ozreport.com/forum/files/2010_rob_kells_memorial_competition_youtubeequaloj4xu_u_cmy_3m55s_708.png

Taleofhawk - 2011/02/03 03:09:33 UTC

USE A LINK-KNIFE

How about using a link knife. It cuts the line if the angle gets too far OFF straight. I have a couple. I think I will donate one to the local scooter tow operation.

dave

And - from the Peter Cult - just one additional suggestion for another way "that eliminates the pilot from the equation". (Dave, can you clue me in about which scooter tow operation this is so I can decide whether or not to do anything about it?)

At this rate of advancement, in another twenty years things may not be a more than twice as bad as they are now.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?

Davis Straub - 2011/01/26 00:13:20 UTC

I was car towing next to a pilot who then suffered severe brain damage and he was using a Koch release (chest release).

This was all reported in the Oz Report.

Yeah, the next weekend was blown out so he was cruising on his Harley, lost it on a turn, and slid into a lamp post. No helmet. Bummer. Was unable to continue his career as a Wal-Mart greeter and was fit thereafter only for flying Dragonflies. His family was devastated.

Bullshit.

No references, I've never heard of it, nobody else has ever heard of it, nobody's bringing it up in the discussion, neither Davis nor Jim is jumping on the opportunity to talk about what a dangerous piece of crap it is and glorify the junk Steve Wendt inflicts on the public.

And anyway - I thought there were supposed to be chest injuries so severe that the 95 percent loss of brain function would be barely noticeable.

You wanna see brain damage? Check out what happens when the shit hits the fan when somebody's flying the "pro tow" crap like Davis sells.

Dennis Pagen - 2005/01

The pilot launched with his Litespeed and climbed to about forty feet when he encountered a thermal that lifted him well above the tug. After a few moments, the glider was seen to move to the side and rapidly turn nose down to fly into the ground, still on tow, in a classic lockout maneuver. The impact was fatal.

[Zack C]

Do the first Overhand over the other end of the loop, flip the loop (yaw it 180 degrees), and tie the second Overhand exactly the same as you tied the first one.

Gosh darn it, why did no one ever tell me that? That's the most important thing I've gotten from our discussions. OK, maybe not, but thanks.

Even if it's string?

Yes.

You said one of the advantages of Tost links over string is that "For all intents and purposes, they do not degrade with use." To me that implied that strings links do degrade with use.

Every time there's a fluctuation in tow tension the secondary weak link tightens and eases on the tow loop and abrades just a little bit.

See, that's the kind of stuff that makes me nervous about string.

So you're opposed to securing a string weak link directly to a harness tow loop? You've seen my setup and never said anything about this before. I had the same weak link on a tow loop from the time Wallaby put it there to the time I had the bridle wrap, which was a couple of years (didn't bother replacing it since it wasn't seeing nearly as much tension as the top one).

I was under the impression from what you said before that even a 1.5 G secondary weak link would likely break in the event of a primary wrap.

No, I'm pretty sure I never said that...

I had to look that one up. I think this is what gave me that impression:

Even when releasing at normal tow tension there are such abrupt and pronounced changes in the speeds of the two birds that the jolt is absolutely brutal. If you have a weak link at the bottom end of the bridle 120 percent of the strength of the top one you don't need to be worrying about your secondary releases.

You said this after I asked about shoulder weak links (at the end of the secondary bridle) and it was the first time you referenced putting a weak link at the end of the primary bridle. Consequently, I thought you meant the end of the secondary bridle when you said 'the bottom end of the bridle'. I now see I misunderstood you.

If you deliberately blow a secondary release because your Lookout Special does what the owner's manual says it will or one is accidentally triggered, the bottom end of the primary bridle is now MORE likely to hang up.

You're talking about compared with the thimble being installed directly in the bridle eye, right? That's a good point. I'm not sure how much confidence I should have in my new release given the lack of confidence the manufacturer seems to have. If it failed at a critical time, I'd have to use the secondary.

It seems like all the components of your setup have to work together, and omitting a single one raises a bunch of 'gotchas'. I also appreciate now why you said towing single point is so much easier, but I wanna do two point enough that I'll take the negatives.

Given the possibility of having to release from the bottom, it might be best to ditch the lower primary bridle weak link after all. In that case, with your assistance, my setup will be:
- Lookout barrel primary release
- 200 lb upper weak link (I'll stick with 200 for now because I doubt it will break and it looks like the 130 Greenspot)
- Wrap-resistant primary bridle with thimble in lower end
- Short 300 lb Bridle Link as secondary bridle and weak link. 300 puts me at 150% of a 200 lb upper weak link and 120% of a 250.
- Dual straight pin barrel secondary releases at arm's length

The primary release in the above configuration is the weakest link...unfortunate since it's also the most critical.

I've also upgraded the carabiner connecting the primary release to the keel from a 150 lb rating (what Lookout gave me) to a 350 to be sure it won't break.

What I mean is... Is there any possibility of the towline twisting at a rate of 5000 rpms?

I thought if I described the release, you could tell me. I can't see any reason why it would, but then I don't understand what caused it in the case you cited.

Half of your tug drivers voted to ban me and the other half - Gregg - voted to keep me.

Another thing going for you...John Moody is now president of the aerotow club.

I'll query the club and see what they have to say.

Zack

[Tad Eareckson]

OK, here it is...

http://ozreport.com/4.010
Oz Nats - bad day in the tow paddock

Davis Straub - 2000/01/12

We can feel a fresh breeze blowing out of the east even before we get up around 7 AM, so it looks like we'll be towing from the western end of the tow paddock, and probably heading to the south west back to the same goal as the day before. There are no clouds, so the day looks a lot like the day before.

There are thin high cumulus clouds to the north and east, but little or nothing in the direction of goal, 145 kilometers to the southwest, southwest of Balranald, and a bit further than the previous day's goal. The winds have rotated a bit and are coming out of the east northeast, so it looks like the task will be more downwind than the previous day.

In the tow paddock, the winds are 10 mph gusting to 15 or 18 mph switching directions from cross 60 degrees from the left to about 30 degrees from the left (north). Every ten minutes or so a dust devil swirls through our lane and the lane to the north of us. We are in the north most lanes.

The winds are strong enough and cross enough that you want to be sure about your launch. This requires pointing the glider into a wind a bit before running down the lane. Lots of pilots are holding their gliders into the wind and waiting for it to abate somewhat before launching.

The Moyes boys would normally be just one more lane to the north of us, but Bill decides to keep the whole team over by the trees. They have the advantage of being able to launch straight into the winds.

Between a third and a half of the first pilots to tow are getting up in the blue over the paddock. There is no big rush given the cross-wind conditions and the fact that it is a bit early for the top competitors.

I'm getting ready and have hooked up. Mike Nooy (a Dutch pilot) is to my left in the northern most lane. He's been waiting a while holding onto his glider and cocking it into the wind. A few other pilots are about to launch to the south, and the Moyes tug has been fired up.

I'm wishing that one of the calm spots would happen again. I'm not all that happy about holding my glider in one direction and running in the other, but still it looks like a go. My driver is about ready to get in the car and drive to the end of the rope, leaving me to handle the glider by myself.

Mike Nooy takes off to our left, and he launches right into a dust devil. Like I said, they've been coming in every ten minutes or so, and you can't see them as the paddock is pretty green.

On static tow, if you are not pulling in quite strongly, your nose can go straight up. We've been watching this happen to all sorts of pilots around us especially in this high wind. Problem is your weaklink can snap and then you are stalled big time. Not a pleasant situation when you are low.

The best idea is to keep running, keep the nose down, and then power through the first hundred feet or so of altitude, before letting the nose out a bit. You want to tell your driver what the wind speed is before you start your tow, so they can know not to accelerate too quickly. They might have to stop or drastically slow down immediately after you get off the ground to keep the weaklink from breaking.

Mike takes off and of course his nose is high, which has been quite common today. He's yawing to the right and left very quickly back and forth as the dust devil is right under him. His glider then yaws very fast and hard to the left and immediately dives very hard into the ground from twenty or thirty feet. It is obvious as soon as the glider whips to the left that he is in very bad trouble.

I can't remember what hits first, Mike or his left wing, but it is a crushing impact. He is obviously not moving. Almost immediately Dr. James Freeman, a meet organizer and a physician, races to the lane, and gets Mike stabilized. An ambulance has also been called within less than a minute. Towing stops.

The ambulance takes about ten minutes or so to get out to the paddock from the town a ways away. James administers some shots, we log roll Mike onto the back plate, and then lift him onto the gurney and into the ambulance. He's on his way to the local hospital with James with him. He's unconscious, and has suffered extensive head injuries. His full-face helmet is broken on the right side where the jaw protector meets the head protection element. His legs are shaking.

While a number of hang glider pilots saw all or part of Mike's launch, there can still be some interpretation as to what happened, and how we can learn from it. There was plenty of warning about dust devils on this day, and there hadn't been nearly as many of these on previous days. It was a case of bad luck launching into the dust devil, but there were probably conditions that Mike could have chosen that would have reduced the chance of a dust devil.

About 10 or 20 percent of the time, the winds were light. The dust devils were only coming through when the winds were strong. There were often times that the winds would line up pretty much along the lanes, the dust devils were coming through in the stronger winds coming from the north east.

Waiting for the winds to line up in a more favorable direction would have allowed Mike to not have to worry as much about the yaw angle of the glider and given him a better chance to control the glider direction. Soon after he crashed the winds were much calmer.

Topless gliders are relatively difficult to tow as they are unstable due to significant amounts of anhedral. We saw this earlier in Steve Blankenship's accident in a Laminar ST two years ago at Hay. It is also quite obvious watching topless pilots tow here. Mike was flying a Moyes Litespeed.

This doesn't mean that topless gliders are dangerous to tow in these conditions, it just means that they are a bit of a handful and pilots often experience significant yaw oscillations earlier in the tow. They have to learn to deal with the yaw by making the proper inputs.

Mike has towed quite a lot, and towed topless gliders before. I do not know how experienced he was on this glider. Obviously when he was in a dust devil, the yaw forces would have been quite extreme, and he may have overreacted. More likely, he may have just been tossed about by the dust devil with no possibility of control.

If Mike had been able to keep his nose down, he might have been able to power through the dust devil. Keeping your nose down for the first part of the tow is quite important and often over looked. With the nose so high, Mike could have been easily stalled in the dust devil, and not have been able to fly the glider.

After some consideration, particularly re the emotional state of the competition pilots after this accident, the day was called. Those of us next to Mike who got to see what happened were feeling pretty poorly, but made no judgment about what should happen. Zupy was attempting to get a hold of Mike's relatives as I left the paddock, and I will check with him before sending this out.

The latest word is better than expected. They didn't have to drill into his skull to relieve pressure. He is being taken by ambulance to Griffith, where he will be flown by air ambulance to Sydney.

Results after today:

Joel Rebbechi - Litespeed
Gerolf Heinrich - small Litespeed
Rohan Holtkamp - Litespeed
Andre Wolf - Litespeed
Davis Straub - ATOS
Grant Heaney - Litespeed
Atilla Bertok - CSX/Litespeed
Mike Jackson - Litespeed
Alan Beavis - CSX
Dustin Martin - Litespeed

And a second opinion...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2852
Over/under bridle

Phil Brown - 2006/06/19 13:14:25 UTC

I began towing using the Koch style two stage release. I had some ideas to make it simpler and safer. Nothing reinforced my ideas more than when I had a near lockout scenario early in my towing experience. I was flying too slow and started sliding to the left. I pulled in and went full to the right. Slowly the glider straightened out and it all turned out okay. I would have released, but I needed both hands to "fly the glider."

And moving on the timeline in the other direction...

Doug Hildreth - 1990/09

1990/07/05 - Eric Aasletten - 24 - Intermediate - 2-3 years - UP Axis - Hobbs, New Mexico - Platform tow - Fatal / Head

Reasonably proficient intermediate with over a year of platform tow experience was launching during tow meet. Homemade ATOL copy with winch on the front of the truck. Immediately after launch, the glider pitched up sharply with nose very high. Apparently the angle caused an "auto release" of the tow line from the pilot, who completed a hammerhead stall and dove into the ground. Observer felt that a dust devil, invisible on the runway, contributed to or caused the relatively radical nose-up attitude. Also of concern was the presumed auto release which, if it had not occurred, might have prevented the accident. Severe head injury with unsuccessful CPR.

The reporter was certain he saw a dust devil begin on the edge of the runway in a location that would support an invisible dust devil on the runway crossing the path of the truck and glider.

Recommendation of the reporter: If towing is done in gusty, turbulent or thermal conditions, a row of wind flags should be on each side of the runway at 50-75 foot intervals to warn of invisible turbulence. 1) Pilots should attach their release line in such a way that there will not be an auto release. 2) Weak links should be strong enough so that breaks right after launch will not occur.

Jerry Forburger - 1990/10

The 1990 Hobbs, New Mexico Hang Gliding Festival

Conditions were strong with a stiff surface breeze and cumulus clouds building. The drift was out of the southeast so making goal meant some crosswind flying along a due-north course. Dust devils plowed through the launch area and were almost invisible because the terrain around the airpark is mostly dry grass. There was not a lot of dust on the ground to help mark the devils.

...

Results

01 Tony Barton - Axis
02 Larry Tudor - HPAT
03 Mark Gibson - Kiss
04 Nelson Howe - Foil
05 Chris Arai - HPAT
06 Jim Lee - HPAT
07 Ian Huss - Sensor
08 Terry Reynolds - HPAT
09 Brad Koji - HPAT
10 Ted Boyse - HPAT

Harold Airington - 1990/10

Hobbs Perspective

As reported, Eric Aasletten launched at about 14:43 into strong conditions and was unexpectedly hit by a powerful updraft at about fifty feet off the truck. From the front it looked as though he went into a whip stall and hit the pavement at a violent rate. Upon investigation we discovered his weak link was still intact. According to the driver the gust was so strong that it shook his truck. Speaking to the folks who knew Eric and have towed him, they said that they would have towed him at the meet and in the same strong conditions. I hope this settles the rumors that he had so little experience.

Dave Broyles - 1990/11
Allen, Texas

Brad said in his article that it was prompted by the fatality at Hobbs. Brad left Hobbs soon after Eric Aasletten was killed. I investigated the accident and supplied the accident report on which the comments by Doug Hildreth were based. I believe the primary cause to be an invisible dust devil which pitched up Eric's glider just as he released at launch. This problem must be considered in any tow situation which has strong thermal activity, with or without associated strong winds. Unless the possible consequences of encountering such turbulence is made extremely clear, it is liable to happen again.

The North Texas Hang Gliding Association met on October 5 and discussed Lindsay's article. Between us we have a bunch of towing experience of all types. We have five tow rigs represented in the club, three private and two club owned. Two are ATOL and three are trailer rigs. We tow a lot. We came to a consensus about a number of things that directly dealt with Brad's article.

1) The weak link breaking strength should be between 100% and 150% of the combined weight of the glider and pilot (the gross load) being towed, but each pilot should be totally responsible for his own weak link.

...

In the opinion of the great majority of our club members, a light weak link break is as likely to endanger the pilot as to help him.

I talked to a lot of pilots at Hobbs, and the consensus was that in the course of Eric Aasletten's accident, had a weak link break occurred instead of the manual or auto release that apparently did occur, the outcome would have been the same. Under the circumstances the one thing that would have given Eric a fighting chance to survive was to have remained on the towline. The pilot must always take full responsibility for his own safety.

Steve Goldman - 1982/12
Cary, North Carolina

The release mechanism is dangerous, again this may be because of old habits since virtually all of the pilots I observed were experienced tow pilots.

In a desperate situation it can be difficult to release, which happened to me twice. In the first incident, as I said earlier, I got into violent yaw oscillations. There was no way that I could let go of the control bar and pull the release. In the second case, due to winch operator error, I was "launched" on the "cut" signal, I was not even holding the glider, and when the winch started I stumbled and was dragged. Once this happens you can't get to the release and you have to depend on someone cutting the power.

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

"Never take your hands off the bar." - Tom Peghiny

So...

In the tow paddock, the winds are 10 mph gusting to 15 or 18 mph switching directions from cross 60 degrees from the left to about 30 degrees from the left (north).

Conditions were strong with a stiff surface breeze and cumulus clouds building.

Every ten minutes or so a dust devil swirls through our lane and the lane to the north of us.

Dust devils plowed through the launch area...

...and you can't see them as the paddock is pretty green.

...and were almost invisible because the terrain around the airpark is mostly dry grass. There was not a lot of dust on the ground to help mark the devils.

Mike Nooy takes off to our left, and he launches right into a dust devil.

The reporter was certain he saw a dust devil begin on the edge of the runway in a location that would support an invisible dust devil on the runway crossing the path of the truck and glider.

His glider then yaws very fast and hard to the left and immediately dives very hard into the ground from twenty or thirty feet.

From the front it looked as though he went into a whip stall and hit the pavement at a violent rate.

Almost immediately Dr. James Freeman, a meet organizer and a physician, races to the lane, and gets Mike stabilized.

Severe head injury with unsuccessful CPR.

Now let's take Mike's date and add six month's to it to get Northern Hemisphere equivalency:

2000/07/12

The difference is A WEEK (plus a decade).

Hay, Hobbs... Might have a bit of trouble differentiating those two patches of real estate once they pulled off the blindfolds (barring kangaroos and/or emus).

And both weak links hold.

But if Mike's had been over whatever fuzz was mandated by the Hay Nazis that's what would have made his lockout so severe.

And if Eric's had been over a G that's what would have allowed his nose to get so high before he was "safely" separated from the towline (despite the fact that he was on a payout winch at maybe a half G).

But let's look at one of the differences... It's the guy who comes OFF tow that ends up in worse shape.

On static tow...

So he's on static. How might the severity of the situation have compared if he had been on payout? Eric was on payout and was doing fine - until after he came off.

...if you are not pulling in quite strongly, your nose can go straight up. We've been watching this happen to all sorts of pilots around us especially in this high wind. Problem is your weaklink can snap and then you are stalled big time. Not a pleasant situation when you are low.

Statistically - it's NEVER a pleasant situation, Davis. On any flavor of tow or at any altitude - although some altitudes tend to be worse than others. The problem is...

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

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

Here is the requirement from the 2007 Worlds local rules (which I wrote) for weaklinks:

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.

Weaklinks will consist of a single loop of Cortland 130 lb Greenspot braided Dacron Tolling line and should be placed at one end of a shoulder bridle.

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.

...you've got total fucking assholes setting policy.

http://ozreport.com/13.238
Adam Parer on his tuck and tumble

Adam Parer - 2009/11/25

Airborne Gulgong Classic
New South Wales

Due to the rough conditions weak links were breaking just about every other tow and the two tugs worked hard to eventually get everyone off the ground successfully.

And even if you DO have someone who's not a total blight on the sport and planet...

The weak link breaking strength should be between 100% and 150% of the combined weight of the glider and pilot (the gross load) being towed, but each pilot should be totally responsible for his own weak link.

...until you have mandatory minimums, closer to Dave's UPPER figure, scumbags like you and Jim - who couldn't fathom the concept of a G with guns to their heads - are still going to make towing a living hell. And Dave... Sorry, but light weak links NEVER help the pilot.

They might have to stop or drastically slow down immediately after you get off the ground to keep the weaklink from breaking.

So what weak links are YOU fucking assholes using that you gotta worry about blowing at launch when the glider's doing fine?

If towing is done in gusty, turbulent or thermal conditions, a row of wind flags should be on each side of the runway at 50-75 foot intervals to warn of invisible turbulence.

So where the fuck were the streamers? That was nine and half years prior - and you morons were KNOWINGLY FOOT LAUNCHING PEOPLE INTO INVISIBLE DUST DEVILS COMING THROUGH EVERY TEN MINUTES??? WITH LIGHT WEAK LINKS AND...

I would have released, but I needed both hands to "fly the glider."

INACCESSIBLE RELEASES???

Mike takes off and of course his nose is high, which has been quite common today.

Yeah. Off course EVERYBODY'S nose is high on tow - it's a consequence of being on tow. That's why when you're on tow it's almost never a good idea to suddenly be off tow.

It is obvious as soon as the glider whips to the left that he is in very bad trouble.

Gee, I thought it was pretty goddam obvious about two seconds after his feet left the ground.

Almost immediately Dr. James Freeman, a meet organizer and a physician, races to the lane, and gets Mike stabilized.

Great. Where were the ribbons? What were the weak link minimums?

While a number of hang glider pilots saw all or part of Mike's launch, there can still be some interpretation as to what happened, and how we can learn from it.

Bullshit. You've never learned anything from anything and never will. Nothing changed after Brad Anderson, Eric Aasletten, Rob Richardson, Mike Nooy, Mike Haas, Robin Strid, or Holly Korzilius. You slimeballs always make sure we stay stuck in 1985 for all eternity.

There was plenty of warning about dust devils on this day, and there hadn't been nearly as many of these on previous days.

But no ribbons - anywhere.

It was a case of bad luck launching into the dust devil...

Yeah. Like hitting the live chamber when you're passing the revolver around with your friends in a session of Russian roulette. What are the odds somebody's gonna get hurt?

(I left the competition results in 'cause I've always felt that when this kind of widespread dangerous bullshit is going on everybody present oughta get a little credit for the resulting atrocity.)

Waiting for the winds to line up in a more favorable direction would have allowed Mike to not have to worry as much about the yaw angle of the glider and given him a better chance to control the glider direction.

But you didn't bother to caution anybody at the time.

Soon after he crashed the winds were much calmer.

Yeah, they always are.

More likely, he may have just been tossed about by the dust devil with no possibility of control.

Yeah. And any one of you motherfuckers would've been at least equally as screwed as you all needed strong weak links and three hands to maximize control and survivability.

If Mike had been able to keep his nose down...

Yes - IF HE HAD BEEN ABLE TO.

...he might have been able to power through the dust devil.

Yeah, too bad he didn't think of that himself. If only you had been on the radio...
"Mike, if you get your nose down your might be able to power through the dust devil!"
"Copy, Davis. Yeah, I'm not having much luck with it high like this. Lemme try pulling in for a bit and see how that goes. Thanks buddy. Out."

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?

Davis Straub - 2011/01/26 00:13:20 UTC

I was car towing next to a pilot who then suffered severe brain damage and he was using a Koch release (chest release).

This was all reported in the Oz Report.

Yeah? Well ya know what WASN'T reported in your lousy rag? ANY MENTION by ANYONE of one of his hands coming off the basetube. In fact it would have been ASTONISHING if ANYONE under those circumstances would have EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT taking a hand off.

So even if the release was so fucked up you'd have needed an acetylene torch to cut it open that issue would've been a totally irrelevant side note.

And - even if he had had three hands - once the shit hit the fan what was the point at which he should've used it to ensure that he came out better than he did? He's in a dust devil at thirty feet ferchrisake.

How come there's not even a mention of the release he was using until eleven years later?

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

Rohan Holtkamp - 2005/02/07

Release failure was, same as Mike Nooy's accident.

How come there's not even a mention of a release failure until five years later?

Where's something resembling an official report? Or does the HGFA suppress crash data as effectively as USHGA?

What the fuck was everybody else using that would've been so much better? There wasn't a surface tower present who had a better release - and undoubtedly everything else's was worse.

And every one point aerotower was in worse shape.

And even in two point aero where it's brain dead easy to configure for both hands on the basetube there are tons of people too stupid to do it.

http://ozreport.com/pub/fingerlakesaccident.shtml



How much more brain damage did you get on that one anyway?
And what the fuck were YOU using that would've left YOU in such better shape?

Davis Straub - 2011/02/04 21:27:09 UTC

The Koch type release has never caught on outside Europe. Other releases work just as well and have attributes that favor them.

Yeah? Name one.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?

Jim Rooney - 2011/02/06 18:35:13 UTC

I don't really have anything against the Kotch release.
I think it's big, clunky and expensive, but I'm sure it works fine.
I'm also sure it has it's problems just like any other system. The minute someone starts telling me about their "perfect"system, I start walking away.

Here's the thing though.
You're really going to struggle to convince me to go out and buy one of those things. I pro-tow. It's simple and light.
I've got thousands and thousands of tows, so you're not really going to scare me with supposed "downsides" of it. I'm pretty damn familiar with what's real and what's horse hockey.

BTW, I'm talking about a proper protow setup.. two barrels, spectra bridal, weak link and routed through a caribiner/ring (unlike this guy)

So as much as I love the tired old debates... ya gotta wonder... if these things are so wonderful... why haven't they caught on?
Oh right, cuz simpler, lighter stuff works just fine.

I don't really have anything against the Kotch release.

You can't even SPELL Kotch release - or it's, bridal, or caribiner - so who should give a flying fuck what you "think" about it?

I'm also sure it has it's problems...

Yeah, you're SURE. So why bother finding any evidence to support your assumption? Especially after Davis has already stated:

I was car towing next to a pilot who then suffered severe brain damage and he was using a Koch release (chest release).

This was all reported in the Oz Report.

The minute someone starts telling me about their "perfect"system, I start walking away.

Yep, you sure do - you brain dead little shit.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22308
Better mouse trap(release)?

Jim Rooney - 2010/12/16 18:47:05 UTC

A few years ago, I started refusing to tow people with home made gear.

AND you'll make sure it never gets in the air.
That way - if someone actually DOES have a hang glider equivalent to a Tost sailplane system - the technology rots forever.

You're really going to struggle to convince me to go out and buy one of those things. I pro-tow. It's simple and light.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1079
$15 pacifiers

Paul Tjaden - 2005/10/08 21:34:44 UTC

BTW, In both instances I was using an off the shoulders, pro tow type bridle with Bailey release. I've always felt that it was quick and easy to use this type of bridle and release. It was right under my nose and took only a split second to pull it. There was never any delay or anxiety caused by taking my hand off the base tube to reach for it. I quickly had both my hands back on the bar and don't feel it contributed to any loss of control.

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

I got clobbered and rolled hard right in a split second. 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.

Yeah Jim, it's cheap, simple, and light. And totally useless when the shit hits the fan.

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

The barrel release wouldn't work because we had too much pressure on it.

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

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

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 (.8 G). 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.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=587
Holly's Accident

Scott Wilkinson - 2005/05/30 03:16:49 UTC

From what Steve told me, she experienced oscillations shortly after takeoff which quickly became severe. At an altitude somewhere between fifty and a hundred feet (We don't know for sure) there was a lockout situation with the glider at a near ninety degree angle. When a line broke (I don't know which one), Holly's glider recoiled backwards, almost fully inverted, then partially recovered in a dive toward the ground.

Steve saw Holly pulling in for speed. He speculated had she been ten to twenty feet higher, she might have made it... and ten to tenty feet lower, she could have died. Whatever the case, she hit the ground hard at something less than a vertical angle. Her Charly Insider full-face helmet was broken through in two places (the chin and next to her eye), and Steve believes the breaks absorbed some of the impact and probably saved her life.

The Herald on Sunday - 2009/01/10

Elliot shattered four bones in his neck and damaged several blood vessels that supplied blood to the brain. He was flown to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and put into an induced coma but died on Monday.

Dennis Pagen - 2005/01

After a few moments, the glider was seen to move to the side and rapidly turn nose down to fly into the ground, still on tow, in a classic lockout maneuver. The impact was fatal.

I've got thousands and thousands of tows, so you're not really going to scare me with supposed "downsides" of it.

1. And 'cause there are plenty of 25-year-olds who've smoked thousands and thousands of cigarettes and are in SUPERB physical shape, we can safely discount all this paranoia about lung cancer and emphysema as the horse hockey we all know it to be.

2. NOBODY wants to scare you, Jim. We want you feeling confident, safe, relaxed, complacent - right up until the critical three seconds.

Bill Bryden - 1998/12

The pilot then radioed to the vehicle driver to stop, and a few seconds later the VOX on his radio transmitted the words, "Oh no." The glider impacted in a steep nose-down attitude and then inverted.

I'm pretty damn familiar with what's real and what's horse hockey.

Yeah, someone as full of shit as you are...

BTW, I'm talking about a proper protow setup.. two barrels, spectra bridal, weak link and routed through a caribiner/ring (unlike this guy)

And when you're in a lockout and can't get to either of those Baileys...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=18868
Almost lockout

Jim Rooney - 2010/09/04 03:27:47 UTC

Aerotowing is a static system, I can snap that weaklink at will.

...NO PROBLEM. Just accelerate the lockout and blow the weak link.

So as much as I love the tired old debates... ya gotta wonder... if these things are so wonderful... why haven't they caught on?

Probably for the same reason assholes like you refuse to check their connection status "just prior to launch".

The Press - 2006/02/21

A tandem hang-gliding pilot was in hospital with serious head injuries last night after the crash, which is the latest in a series of incidents involving Queenstown company Extreme Air that have prompted Civil Aviation Authority investigations.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4247
Hook in failure in New Zealand

Jim Rooney - 2006/09/24 21:19:29 UTC

There isn't one sure-fire answer.
If there was, we'd all be doing it already.

And they actually did catch on, Jim - just not so much in the US where everybody can fly with and sell any uncertifiable crap they feel like. And the towing is virtually all aero and platform.

Oh right, cuz simpler, lighter stuff works just fine.

Yeah - as long as you just focus on the successes and keep on totally ignoring the failures.

And watch him totally get away with this shit on the Oz Report administration. Birds of a feather...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=16384
Tow Release Malfunction

1:15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJGUJO5BjnA

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?

Mike Lake - 2011/02/06 23:22:19 UTC

Do people pick and choose from a variety of different setups at random?

OF COURSE NOT!!! I'm shocked that you should even ask such an insulting question of US pilots! We generally fly whatever the flight park slaps together and tells us to.

Do you guys not have standards?

OF COURSE WE HAVE STANDARDS!!!

Luen Miller - 1996/10

I am strongly recommending formal review and analysis of releases and weak link designs for all methods of towing by the Towing Committee, and that recommendations on adoption or improvements be generated.

I believe that from preflight through release we should have more standardized procedures in towing.

That was over fourteen years ago - right after Frank Sauber got killed and Dave Farkas and his trike almost got pulled down with Bill Bennett and Mike Del Signore. Surely we've done something since then - haven't we, Gregg?

Oh, wait a minute. For surface towing everybody still uses whatever the fuck can be coat-hangered together - but for AERO...

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
10. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-B. Aero Vehicle Requirements

06. A release must be placed at the hang glider end of the tow line within easy reach of the pilot. This release shall be operational with zero tow line force up to twice the rated breaking strength of the weak link.

But fear not - Shane and other lovers of liberty and believers in individual responsibility - "within easy reach" and, since no minimum is defined anywhere, "twice the rated breaking strength of the weak link" can also translate to whatever the fuck anyone wants to coat hanger together.

So you're still totally cool with Wallaby...

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3648
Oh no! more on weak links

Carlos Weill - 2008/11/30 19:24:09 UTC

I tried to release but my body was off centered and could not reach the release.

...and Bailey...

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

The barrel release wouldn't work because we had too much pressure on it.

...releases.

And "operational". Jeez, what's that all about?

Does it mean it has to work ALL THE TIME?

Ralph Sickinger - 2000/08/26 22:18:20 UTC

After the second failed attempt to release, I thought about releasing from the secondary, but before I could move my hand the tug stalled and started to fall...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=11497
Aerotow release options?

Axel Banchero - 2009/06/20 04:57:01 UTC

I just kept hitting the brake lever for a few seconds in WTF mode...

Well OBVIOUSLY not!

Does it mean it stays shut when it's supposed to?

Doug Hildreth - 1990/09

1990/07/05 - Hobbs - Eric Aasletten

Severe head injury with unsuccessful CPR.

I mean, what are the chances of something like that happening again?

Just use what everybody else is using.

Jim Rooney - 2011/02/06 18:35:13 UTC

The minute someone starts telling me about their "perfect"system, I start walking away.

And the minute someone starts telling you about his "perfect" system just start walking away. NO - RUN away. And look away. And put your hands over your ears and hum "Row, row, row your boat" as loudly as you can so he can't tell you about it either.

Gregg Ludwig - 2009/02/12 00:05:51 UTC

Tad-

Would you be interested in a position on the ushpa Tow Committee? You can participate via e-mail if you can't make it to a BOD meeting. ..or just help me with a single project...

I need to rewrite the aerotow SOP...to include ATP and Sport pilot stuff....weaklinks...or just send me a proposal on weaklink sop ideas...

Gregg
Tow Committee Chair

Gregg Ludwig - 2009/02/22 23:17

Tad Eareckson - 2009/02/24 13:39:41 CST

The length of a bridle which is a component of a configuration making the connection between the shoulders of the glider pilot must not exceed 20 centimeters.

This seems much too short.

Tad Eareckson - 2009/02/23 00:12:28 UTC

The 20 centimeter (8 inch) one point / secondary / shoulder to shoulder bridle is just the bridle. You can add a lot of length between the AT loops on your harness with the releases themselves.

See:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/albums/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/sets/72057594141352219/
AT Systems Components set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8318603266/

Secondary Bridle Assembly
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8306152861/


and a few photos following it. Those are comfortable proportions and I and some of my small handful of converts have been flying that way for years.

The two foot jobs that everybody uses 'cause everybody uses two foot jobs are long enough to wrap on their ways through rings and have done so. The short ones can't and don't. One less failure opportunity - no downsides.

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

Jim Rooney - 2009/11/02 18:58:13 UTC

Oh yeah... an other fun fact for ya... ya know when it's far more likely to happen? During a lockout. When we're doing lockout training, the odds go from 1 in 1,000 to over 50/50.

Mark Knight - 2011/01/17 23:59:32 UTC

He was scooter towing and using a barrel release.

The release bridle got caught in the weak link loop at the end of the tow line.

Steve Davy (Ridgerodent) - 2011/02/07 04:08:04 UTC

On my tenth tow the bridle snapped back and wrapped around the base tube. I was able to get it free. Only ten tows and already I was having a problem. I quit towing after that.

Gregg,

If you and Matt and Tracy and whatever other useless assholes you had on that useless Towing Committee had implemented those revisions this Shane guy might have still died - but at least he would've died because he was violating established sane safety regulations. And you wouldn't be involved in a discussion in which scum like Jim Rooney is attributed a "KEEN INTELLECT".

My conscience is clear on this one. How's yours doing?

And are we still going to be using bridles three, six, ten times longer than what's safe and needed just 'cause that's the way we've always done it?

[Tad Eareckson]

To George Stebbins

Tad Eareckson - 2010/09/10 16:21:58

On the releases...

Yeah, I know what you said. And I know you well enough to know EXACTLY how you would respond. Technically - you're right. But I have previously gone to great lengths on the Oz Report to publicize those designs and I know you've participated in some of those discussions. So you've had the opportunity to look the designs over.

Those discussions - by the way - usually got broken up, locked down, or otherwise sabotaged by the stupid, evil, cowardly Administrator of the forum. He'd do this sport - and the gene pool - a big favor by continuing to fly with his mini barrel releases and/or failing to hook in once or twice more.

Pictures...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/sets/72057594141352219/
AT Systems Components set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8318603266/


Each one of those photos represents - on the average - about a day taken out of my life. I can't make them any clearer - they're Photoshopped down to the pixel level - literally.

There's documentation at:

http://www.energykitesystems.net/Lift/hgh/TadEareckson/index.html
mousetraps

but it's too extensive for anyone in this ten second attention span culture to ever want to read.

But the photos should be pretty self explanatory for anyone with half a brain or better who makes something in the way of effort. There are a couple of light, fairly inexpensive, one point tow releases that'll let you blow 750 pounds of tow tension no sweat while you continue to fly the glider.

As to your suggestions for getting these things up where they'll do some good... You're demonstrating the naivete in which I was mired a fair number of years ago. You're assuming that this sport is controlled by good, reasonable people who are always looking to make advances. It ain't. It's controlled by a bunch of inbred self serving scumbags who would rather continue to kill people at the rate they do rather than admit they've ever been wrong about anything and might have been negligent in the deaths or cripplings of any of their charges. We don't have seat belts in cars 'cause Detroit voluntarily adopted them. We have seat belts in cars 'cause Washington ORDERED Detroit to install them.

You're not gonna see bite controlled releases making any headway on the Oz Report 'cause Davis doesn't sell bite controlled releases. And Davis doesn't sell bite controlled releases 'cause he's at the limit of his abilities putting a bent pin in a sawed off chunk of aluminum tubing. Same goes for the assholes running the flight parks.

Test pilots, guinea pigs, family to protect... This is all bullshit.

When you get on a dolly with a Wallaby and/or a Bailey release or two and a loop of 130 pound Greenspot as a weak link you're not using equipment that has passed any kind of certification or conforms to any safety standards. You're using it 'cause everyone else is using it. And they're using it 'cause some clown in a position of authority or control threw together whatever off-the-shelf crap on which he could easily get his hands, mass produced it, DECLARED it was safe and reliable, and ignored the ensuing fatalities.

Wallaby and Bailey releases and 130 pound Greenspot weak links KILL people in known and predictable ways. But nothing is ever done about it 'cause it doesn't happen very often and nobody is ever held accountable. It's the guy who sold the equipment who writes the accident report.

Holly didn't end up in shock trauma 'cause she was in an oscillation, needed BOTH hands to fly the glider, and had no way of getting to her Bailey. Holly ended up in shock trauma 'cause she decided to tow one point and was a crappy pilot.

You HAVE been put in a dangerous situation by the standard one-size-fits-all weak link you were using. If the situation had been further compromised by an ill timed thermal you could've wound up dead. At how many Gs did it blow? Why did it blow? What's the theory that justifies it as an appropriate and safe weak link for you? Or were you just using it 'cause everybody else uses it - regardless of flying weights which may vary by a difference of 150 pounds - and you trust the guy who handed it to you 'cause he runs a flight park and/or flies a tug?

Try asking Steve Younger how many pounds of pull on the cable of this "perfect" release he's developed are required to dump 500 pounds of towline tension.

"Oh, we've been flying it for a month now. Lotsa tows. No problems."

Hang gliders on tow are DANGEROUSLY roll unstable. Ask John Woiwode next time you see him if you don't believe me. And you KNOW that every time you get on a cart with your hands on the basetube and your release actuator not on the basetube - or in your teeth - you're rolling dice with respect to your future ability to protect your family. You're taking a gamble you don't need to 'cause you trust Bobby Bailey, Peter Birren, the bozos who run the flight parks, Donnell Hewett, and Dennis Pagen more than you trust Bill Moyes, Gregg McNamee, Paul Farina, Steve Kinsley, me, the Russians, common sense, physics, decades of evidence, and your own gut feelings.

There has NEVER been a single instance of a piece of tow equipment failing in the air in a manner that wasn't easily predictable on the ground. NOBODY's a test pilot or a guinea pig when he goes up on stuff he gets from me 'cause I'm about the only one on the planet who does the equivalent of HGMA certification for releases, weak links, and other tow equipment.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8317889807/


I heard this family taking priority thing from Donnell from 29 years ago. A short time later he damn near permanently ended that relationship as a consequence of flying with the insanely dangerous equipment he was distributing and promoting all over the world to comply with the insanely dangerous voodoo physics and theory he was promoting all over the world.

If your family is top priority - and it should be - the best thing you can do for them is not tow. The second best thing you can do is avail yourself of the best technology available to bring the risk back down to something more in line with driving to the hardware store. Lemme give you an opinion from someone I didn't know existed at the time the discussion was going on.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=11497
Aerotow release options?

John Glime - 2009/04/13 18:09:32 UTC
Salt Lake City

Rick,

Not being constructive? There is one person who has put more thought and time into releases than anyone. That person is Tad. He explains the pros and cons to every release out there. I gave you the link to more release information than the average person could ever digest, and I didn't get a thank you. Just you bitching that we aren't being constructive. What more could you want? He has created something that is a solution, but no one is using it... apparently you aren't interested either. So what gives??? What do you want us to tell you? Your concerns echo Tad's concerns, so why not use his system? Every other system out there has known flaws.

You don't wanna put your hand in a loop? Good thinking. A chick got her elbow dislocated 'cause her hand was caught in a loop when she bonked in on her wheels and they stopped turning.

You want to put the string inside your hand and then between your fingers so letting go would give you your hand back to go to the uprights or whatever the next time your dangerously understrength weak link blows? You mean something like THIS?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8306300488/


So our thinking on this issue - as well - is EXACTLY the same. But I've actually done the engineering and put it in the air. But nobody's interested 'cause they don't wanna be test pilots or guinea pigs and the flight parks are selling the same Wallaby crap they were twenty years ago and telling everybody its safe and reliable (except in an emergency).

Pushing, getting banned, getting listened to, vinegar...

In the past couple of years I've been banned from about five forums and probably every flight park in the country. I'll never fly again and I'll never see glider friends I've had for as much as thirty years again. That's what always happens to whistle blowers.

But I don't feel dirty the way I did when I'd see those jerks at Ridgely pulling incredibly dangerous shit and not say anything for fear of jeopardizing my ability to fly there.

I've got a choice of:

- pulling punches, treating people like Cragin Shelton, Peter Birren, Jack Axaopoulos, Steve Uzochukwu, and Davis with respect to which they are in no freakin' way entitled, getting along with everybody, sticking around forever, and standing by while people keep getting killed for the same stupid predictable reasons; or

- speaking the truth, getting locked down and kicked out, making a difference, knowing that the next time a Kunio Yoshimura gets smashed to death in front of his wife and kids I did all I could beforehand, and having some degree of integrity and self respect.

Joe can certainly start and keep his own students on the right path but I've never seen any evidence that he, Doug Hildreth, Rob Kells, or Dennis Johnny-Come-Lately Pagen has had any influence over anyone who's already been hard wired by Matt Taber, Steve Wendt, Joe Gregor, or the CHGA.

Check out:

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=18876
Hang glider Crash

and see whose name comes up most often in conjunction with the hook-in check.

There's nothing that sparks interest in what someone has to say more than the establishment trying to stop him from saying it. So go ahead and lock topics and ban me. Then watch the numbers on the hit counters and the results on the Google searches.

So thanks again for your replies, thoughts, suggestions and amending your comment on the forum. Please take a look at the Four-String and Remote Barrel Releases which let you blow tow via a string in your teeth. If there are dangerous flaws and weaknesses in the designs please remind everyone that Tad's a dangerous asshole and to stay the hell away from him. But if they're bulletproof and a hundred times better than the cheap crap that Davis and his ilk are mass producing then say that so we can stop treating this issue of hands free releases like it's some Holy Grail that has proven itself completely unattainable for the past thirty years.

Best wishes,
Tad

[Tad Eareckson]

Gosh darn it, why did no one ever tell me that?

'Cause hang gliding people think of themselves as sky sailors and aviators but they decided that many millennia of the culture of the former and over a century's worth of the culture of the latter weren't worth looking into.

Knots are wonderful. I've loved them since I was a little kid. I think all little kids get turned on by them. Get a book (while you're picking up a North American field guide to birds) and learn and practice.

That's the most important thing I've gotten from our discussions. OK, maybe not, but thanks.

And maybe so. Human lives have often been dependent upon the integrity of a knot. A bit shy of twenty years ago one Leonard Rabbitz died at a site within day trip range of here 'cause he thought he had an idea better than a Lark's Head for installing suspension on his Comet. And it now occurs to me that he'd have almost certainly been OK anyway if he hadn't used a backup.

You said one of the advantages of Tost links over string is that "For all intents and purposes, they do not degrade with use." To me that implied that strings links do degrade with use.

Yeah, but that was in an all encompassing context.

The things that give string hard times in hang gliding are the ground, spinnaker shackle gate notches and hinges, and stupid abuse. And with a fine file, five minutes, and some common sense you can eliminate the problems from the second half of that list.

See, that's the kind of stuff that makes me nervous about string.

It's not the string that's the problem - it's the stupid abuse.

So you're opposed to securing a string weak link directly to a harness tow loop?

God YES. It absolutely grates on my nerves to see fabric to fabric connections. Look at my photos. If you start at my left shoulder and go through the tow ring up to my primary release it's fabric to metal to fabric to metal to fabric to metal to fabric to metal to fabric to metal.

This stupid fatality from last month occurred 'cause those assholes were going fabric to fabric.

You've seen my setup and never said anything about this before.

Tad Eareckson - 2010/11/04 19:30:58 UTC

If you're one of the total morons who put a weak link on one end of the bridle and the release on the other what's the limit to which your release can be subjected if the bridle fails to clear the tow ring?

Zack C - 2010/11/05 02:29:31 UTC

That said, Tad, referring to large classes of people as 'morons' or 'idiots' is not helping your case.

1. At that time I hadn't seen your setup and didn't think you'd have been in that large class of people.

2. I wasn't trying to help "my case". I was trying to help a large class of people - the vast majority of which aren't worth it (Martin Apopots and the like).

3. So how come you weren't getting nervous enough to start thinking about some of the reasons I posted that and maybe reconfiguring?

And...

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
10. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-B. Aero Vehicle Requirements

05. A weak link must be placed at both ends of the tow line.

...when USHGA actually has something in the regs that makes sense you better have a good reason for violating it and know what you're doing.

Combine Tom Lyon's secondary weak link failure with your Four Tug Lockout Release and things could get real interesting real fast.

You're talking about compared with the thimble being installed directly in the bridle eye, right?

Right.

It seems like all the components of your setup have to work together, and omitting a single one raises a bunch of 'gotchas'.

You can totally eliminate the stuff inside the basetube with negligible penalty and modify the bottom end a bit but otherwise... Yeah. Everything's there for a reason. That's why Dan Tomlinson says:

Tad's post is difficult to read but I've seen his work. His release mechanism is elegant in its simplicity and effectiveness.

while Paul Hurless, one of the many typically useless shitheads on the org, says:

Adding more parts like pulleys and internally routed components makes it that much more likely that a device will fail. Simple is best.

I also appreciate now why you said towing single point is so much easier, but I wanna do two point enough that I'll take the negatives.

If you wanna do a little bit of work on your left downtube you can pretty easily have a two point system in which you'll never hafta think of a secondary as a backup.

- Lookout barrel primary release

Keep looking at my photos - you can do better.

- 200 lb upper weak link (I'll stick with 200 for now because I doubt it will break...

It very probably won't. But 250 is the ideal string for that glider.

...and it looks like the 130 Greenspot)

You shouldn't hafta feel and/or behave like a criminal for towing half a G UNDER the max specified in the USHGA SOPs.

- Short 300 lb Bridle Link...

"Short Bridle Link" is a bit redundant - for AT anyway. They're short by definition and all the same length.

300 puts me at 150% of a 200 lb upper weak link and 120% of a 250.

IF you use a 200 on top then optimize the safety equation. The lightest Bridle Link is a Seven - 252 pounds, 1.26 times the top. The Eight is 288, 1.44.

For 250 you'd go with a Nine - 324 and 1.30.

The primary release in the above configuration is the weakest link...unfortunate since it's also the most critical.

Yeah, thanks a lot Matt. Notice he doesn't have the owner's manual, with the twenty pages of warnings and disclaimers, online - just the drooly testimonial.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8305428629/


I'd go with that any day of the week before I'd touch Matt's latest contraption. It's not all that tough to rig. I used it for years with no problem.

I've also upgraded the carabiner connecting the primary release to the keel from a 150 lb rating (what Lookout gave me) to a 350 to be sure it won't break.

I think I tested one of those for Matt to failure - about 700 pounds. But nevertheless, the right way to do things is to use hardware designed - and stamped - for the job. Go to a West Marine or something. You can do better.

I thought if I described the release, you could tell me.

Couldn't quite picture it.

I can't see any reason why it would, but then I don't understand what caused it in the case you cited.

The Cosmos trike was the first purpose built tug (fast, but it worked). An extension of the towline - think it was a steel rod was routed through an inner sleeve in the propeller shaft to a cable actuated pair of vice grips which clamped onto the end.

I'm sure that what happened was that a bearing between the sleeve and the shaft froze, the rod was twisted and jammed in the shaft and snapped off at the release, and a big problem got transmitted down the towline to the glider.

John Moody is now president of the aerotow club.

Hallelujah.

I'll query the club and see what they have to say.

Democracy based aviation... So how's that been going the past 35 years? With John in position you want something more in line with Saddam Hussein.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?

Mike Lake - 2011/02/04 21:38:33 UTC

What about listing the favourable attributes of these other systems then and just as importantly anything you think is a disadvantage.

Davis Straub - 2011/02/04 22:38:46 UTC

Lightweight, inexpensive, easily stowable.

Mike Lake - 2011/02/04 22:59:03 UTC

Three extremely worthy attributes I'm sure, but I was really meaning from a safety standpoint.

How does it compare with the positive safety attributes of a Koch type and are there really no negatives?

Helen McKerral - 2011/02/04 23:52:41 UTC

Wow, 12 pages... WITHOUT Tad!

Just kidding, Tad et al .

Davis Straub - 2011/02/05 00:06:14 UTC

Tad was kicked off the site long ago.

So how come you're not saying "*I* kicked Tad off the site long ago."? How come you're trying to portray the action as something executed by a committee for just cause after due and careful deliberation?

Davis Straub - 2011/02/05 04:24:30 UTC

...we've been discussing this for ever.

Mike Lake - 2011/02/05 19:48:35 UTC

What I am trying to do is get into one place a simple, concise and above all honest list of the good and bad attributes of the release you consider comparable with the Koch.

Davis Straub - 2011/02/05 21:24:08 UTC

We'll see if anyone (else) cares to answer.

Mike Lake - 2011/02/05 23:23:21 UTC

Does this mean you don't care to answer?

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

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

I have a direct personal and minor financial interest in the issues raised by this discussion.

Mike Lake - 2011/02/06 23:22:19 UTC

Do people pick and chose from a variety of different setups at random? Do you guys not have standards?

Steve Davy - 2011/02/07 04:08:04 UTC

On my tenth tow the bridle snapped back and wrapped around the base tube. Only ten tows and already I was having a problem. I quit towing after that.

Davis Straub - 2011/02/07 05:51:54 UTC

I think that we have provided plenty of material to allow the concerned reader to make up their own mind.

Jim Rooney - 2011/02/07 18:01:02 UTC

Uhg... I hate when people don't listen.

Mike Lake - 2011/02/07 13:56:25 UTC

Why, thank you Davis, I could not have put it better myself.

Davis Straub - 2011/02/07 19:21:29 UTC

Okay, enough. On to new threads.

LOCKED - 2011/02/07 19:21:29 UTC

Yeah motherfucker?

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

The barrel release wouldn't work because we had too much pressure on it.

Jim Rooney - 2009/11/02 18:58:13 UTC

Oh yeah... an other fun fact for ya... ya know when it's far more likely to happen? During a lockout. When we're doing lockout training, the odds go from 1 in 1,000 to over 50/50.

Maybe someday you're gonna have a HUMONGOUS financial interest in the issues raised by this discussion and the lightweight, inexpensive, and easily stowable crap you're selling.

[Tad Eareckson]

OK Mike,

I can see why Davis felt justified in locking down the thread. There was very little interest in the material - it's only picked up about four hundred extra hits so far since it was put off bounds - and he's already gone to great lengths to describe the qualities of the best of the US systems in his advertisement.

http://ozreport.com/goodies.php
Oz Report's Useful Goodies

Oz Report's Useful Goodies

Pro tow Mini Barrel Release and Bridle, $40.

If you want two mini barrel releases (one on each side), order two of these (you'll have an extra bridle). Bridle is 750 pound Vectran.

This release won't accidently open by hitting your base tube, if you connect it to your chest tabs. It is small and easily stored. If you can't store it during flight, it is the most aerodynamic one available. The bridle is thin and gets out of your way right away. Easily stored. Also creates less drag if you don't put it away. Much stronger than your weaklink. I change bridles about once a year after about fifty tows. I've never had one break.

Vectran or Spectra Bridle for Pro tow, $15.

The top one is the Spectra, the bottom, the Vectran. The bridle is thin and gets out of your way right away. Easily stored. Also creates less drag if you don't put it away. Much stronger than your weaklink. I change my bridle once a year after about fifty tows.

V-Bridle line, extra long Vectran line, $20.

This is used connect to the keel (works with the Pro tow setup). You can connect to the keel through a weak link to a line attached to the keel, or through a bicycle/cable/spinnaker release, which is attached to a line on the keel. Vectran is used because it doesn't melt when Vectran or Spectra runs through the loop at the end of the line (if you release using a barrel release).

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Pro tow...
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So only "pros" can use it? For what safety compromises is a "pro" able compensate that a Two can't?

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If you want two mini barrel releases (one on each side)...
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Why on EARTH would ANYONE want TWO? I mean, there's almost no possibility of your fine 750 pound bridle wrapping at the tow ring and leaving you in the same shape Shane Smith was in five seconds before the end of his life two weeks ago. And even if it did you've got a weak link between the other end of the bridle and your tow loop which "serves as the second release." That'll almost certainly blow, and, even if it doesn't, just how much trouble can someone get into with the 130 pounds of tow tension that that "single loop of Cortland 130 lb Greenspot braided Dacron Tolling line" that you mandate for everyone else will allow?

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.

And if you can't get to one of them when the shit's hitting the fan what's the point in having two of them you can't get to when the shit's hitting the fan?

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.

What if you're one of the rat bastards who mandates one thing for everybody else but uses something up to the job for himself? Will a two hundred pound weak link also "serve as the second release."

How come your photo shows the release connected directly to the bridle with no weak link? What happens if the weak link blows and the bridle wraps?

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This release won't accidently open by hitting your base tube...
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That is FABULOUS Davis. And not only that, but...

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.

You've absolutely NAILED that problem. There's NO FREAKIN' WAY that sucker's gonna accidentally open.

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...if you connect it to your chest tabs.
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As opposed to your ear lobes - a common rookie mistake.

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It is small and easily stored.
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Super!!! (Assuming you can get it disconnected from the towline in the first place.) How much of a grip can you get on those little stubs when the shit hits the fan? Assuming you can get to them at all?

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If you can't store it during flight, it is the most aerodynamic one available.
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1. Especially since the flight parks won't allow anything better to be made available on any meaningful scale.

2. Why are you using a bent pin and a short, fat, squashed barrel? Wouldn't it be more aerodynamic AND mechanically efficient AND easier to grip if you used a straight pin and a long thin barrel?

USHGA Aerotowing Guidelines

Bridle lines should be from 3/16 to 5/16 inches in diameter.

Thinner lines tend to whip around more during release and can thus entangle the towline.

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The bridle is thin and gets out of your way right away.
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http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14230
pro tow set-up

Jim Rooney - 2009/11/02 18:58:13 UTC

Oh yeah... an other fun fact for ya... ya know when it's far more likely to happen? During a lockout. When we're doing lockout training, the odds go from 1 in 1,000 to over 50/50.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?

Steve Davy - 2011/02/07 04:08:04

On my tenth tow the bridle snapped back and wrapped around the base tube. I was able to get it free. Only ten tows and already I was having a problem. I quit towing after that.

Yeah Davis. Make it THIN.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11655
Wrapping bridles around loops, rings, links and carabineers

Davis Straub - 2008/04/23 16:53:28 UTC

I believe that this shows that the pro-tow is a safer setup (as long as the pilot is experienced enough to handle the glider under this type of tow). Short line is a big issue in safety.

More coming.

And don't forget LONG too. Make it half a dozen times longer than it needs to be just to make sure it gets out of your way right away. That'll make in SO MUCH lighter and more aerodynamic and easier to stow. More coming. (Fucking moron.)

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Easily stored.
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Yeah, great. We heard you when you said that three sentences ago. Can't BEGIN to tell you how ABSOLUTELY THRILLED we are to know that it's easily stored. How easily is it OPERATED?

http://ozreport.com/pub/fingerlakesaccident.shtml

Her Charly Insider full-face helmet was broken through in two places (the chin and next to her eye), and Steve believes the breaks absorbed some of the impact and probably saved her life.

Elliot shattered four bones in his neck and damaged several blood vessels that supplied blood to the brain. He was flown to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and put into an induced coma but died on Monday.

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Also creates less drag if you don't put it away.
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So NOT ONLY is it "the most aerodynamic one available" "if you can't store it during flight" - as you assured it was three sentences ago - but it "also creates less drag if you don't put it away." AMAZING!!! Are you sure your charging enough for these things?

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Much stronger than your weaklink.
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WOW!!! No shit? Brilliant engineering!

Just what is MY weak link anyway, Davis? Oh yeah...

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

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

Weaklinks will consist of a single loop of Cortland 130 lb Greenspot braided Dacron Tolling line and should be placed at one end of a shoulder bridle.

You'd be the one to know.

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
10. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-B. Aero Vehicle Requirements

05. The weak link at the glider end must have a breaking strength that will break before the towline tension exceeds twice the weight of the hang glider pilot and glider combination.

I fly at 320 pounds. What if I wanna fly under USHGA rules instead of your dictates? If I fly a two G weak link how much stronger is a length of 750 pound Vectran after you bend it through the tow ring?

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I change bridles about once a year after about fifty tows. I've never had one break.
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AMAZING. 750 pound Vectran, 125 pound normal tow tension maybe spiking to 200, fifty four minute tows... And you get that sucker up to three hours and twenty minutes of service time? How sad it is that your talents are wasted in hang gliding when you'd have been such a brilliant racing sailboat rigger.

And all these other crappy bridles that everyone else is using are going off like popcorn and need to be replaced after two or three weekends.

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You can connect to the keel through a weak link to a line attached to the keel...
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So you don't even need to have a release up there 'cause a weak link "serves as the second release" just fine. Wow! Brilliant.

Peter Roth - 1983/11
Neu-Isenburg, Germany

Now to our Skyting experience. All our training is done using a skyting bridle. First we used the horse release and now, after some serious mishaps we have changed to a three-ring release, triggering the keel release first and having an auto release to the pilot. For additional safety we also use an additional auto-release running from pilot to keel. We found this to be necessary after a malfunction of the old keel release.

The pilot released his line, the drag chute opened, seeing this the winch operator assumed that all attachments were away and pulled on full power to regain the rope. At this time the rope was still connected to the keel. Just as the pilot tried to release manually, full power to the keel jerked the glider into a vertical dive. The pilot was thrown into the sail. At this instant, the bolt holding the crosstubes together sheared off and the glider folded up, spiraling in a vertical dive. The pilot could not throw his parachute.

Denis Cummings - 1983/12
Singleton, New South Wales

Pilot's 2-release type bridle released from the body ring prematurely. Top rope release still secure. Pilot was at top of tow. Glider flipped over (tuck & tumble) and the king post collapsed.

Dave McGill - 1984/03
Blenheim, New Zealand

On Sunday, 11 December 1983, at approximately 12:15 pm, intermediate pilot Rich Moore was injured while skyting his Moyes Missile 180R at the Woodborne Airport (Air Base) Blenheim, New Zealand. The accident occurred during Richy's second flight. The wind on T.O. was approximately 60 degrees off which doesn't seem to affect us when towing. Richy had a good T.O. and seemed to be controlling the glider in a satisfactory manner. When he was at approximately two to four hundred feet, the glider nosed down and tucked in an inside loop. At the bottom of the loop the glider's wings folded up and it flat spun into the ground. Richy was very lucky to sustain only a concussion and a dislocated shoulder. The glider's airframe was essentially totaled: broken keel, left crossbar, kingpost, battens, right downtube, badly ripped sail.

On seeing the video, the bottom release released prematurely causing the glider to tuck.

http://ozreport.com/9.009
2005 Worlds

Davis Straub - 2005/01/11
Hay, New South Wales

I personally can't see a good reason to cancel today's task. We already had a canceled day and a bunch of morose pilots hanging around the airport upset that someone had died towing. There is nothing we can do for the dead pilot.

What really needs to be focused on is what can we do now to make it as safe as possible for other pilots who are still with us.

Most pilots here are towing off their shoulders. Those pilots who are also towing off the keel are now required to have a release at the keel if they have a bridle release at their shoulders requiring the bridle line to slip through the that connects to the rope connecting to the tug. If you don't have a release at the keel, then you will not be allowed to tow with this system.

One can probably assume that in Davis's "the that connects to the rope connecting to the tug" gibberish he's talking about what would - on a sane person's configuration - be half of the secondary bridle needing to feed through the unprotected bottom eye of the primary bridle in order to free that bottom end to possibly clear the tow ring.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11655
Wrapping bridles around loops, rings, links and carabineers

Davis Straub - 2008/04/23 14:33:56 UTC
Santa Cruz Flats, Arizona

Is this an issue?

http://ozreport.com/9.188
Tow bridles

Davis Straub - 2005/09/13

I once had a pro-tow Spectra bridle snag or wrap around the end of the tow rope when there was no ring or carabineer at the end of the tow rope, just a loop. I had two barrel releases and I just released the other barrel and let my bridle go by-bye.

So the loop at the end of the tow rope was the real problem. With metal rings, links, carabineers, there doesn't seem to be quite that problem. But it is more interesting than that. I also wrote in this article a statement that Tracy Tillman from Cloud 9 made:

He told me that he saw Jim Prahl at Quest Air, a few years ago, wrap the upper portion of his Spectra V-bridle around the ring at the end of the tow rope and have the tug almost tuck his glider. He also told me that he had heard that this had been an ongoing problem, that every once in a while Spectra V-bridles wrapped around rings.

Well Jim Prahl is here at the Santa Cruz Flats Race so on the practice day I had an extensive discussion with him about this incident and about carabineers in general.

First, as to the incident, this was actually a test and in the test Jim Prahl actually tied a rag to one end of the spectra rope on his shoulders so that it would be sure to catch and hold as the rope slid through the loop at the end of the V-bridle coming from the keel. He was trying to test to see if the weaklink at the keel end of the V-bridle line would break when the rag stuck. Well it didn't.

What happened when Jim released the barrel on his shoulder and the rag and bridle stuck in the line of the V-bridle, was that the nose of the Wills Wing Falcon pitched straight down instantly. Jim was left towing from the keel only at about a foot in front of the carabineer/hang loop.

Now Jim was not so dumb as to do this test without a backup plan (although he didn't expect the glider to pitch down so rapidly). He had the weaklink from the V-bridle line attached to a spinnaker shackle that was connected to a brake type release. He had his hand on the brake lever. When he released the barrel release, and the rag snagged the line, he didn't have time to hit the brake lever before the nose went over (and the weaklink didn't break). He then hit the brake lever and fortunately the glider recovered (it was a Falcon after all).

The point of this experiment was to see if it was okay to just release from the barrel release and do away with the expensive brake lever, cable assembly, and spinnaker release. Just connect the V-bridle line to the keel with a weaklink that would supposedly break if the shoulder line snagged in the loop (which I proved was possible). Jim proved that this was perhaps not a good idea.

Again, I have a direct personal and minor financial interest in the issues raised by this discussion.

JD Guillemette - 2008/04/23 15:32:54 UTC

I recently heard the same story ... but I was miss-informed. I thought Jim purposely had NO weak link at the keel release for the test. I had no idea that he had a weak link and that it DIDN'T break.

That is the scariest thing I have ever heard.

I know some pilots that routinely release form the shoulder releases and save the keel release for a backup, they claim they don't have to stow the V-bridle that way. I thought that procedure seemed a little fishy.

I once had my V-bridle snag the tow line loop after releasing from the keel. Non-event, I just pulled my barrel release on my shoulder and let the v-bridle go Bye-Bye as well.

01. So we do the equivalent of instantly suspending two or three sacks of concrete from the keel a foot in front of the hang point and how surprised should we be at what happens next?

...if the shoulder line snagged in the loop (which I proved was possible).

02. Thank you SO much Davis, but I think that that concept was pretty well understood within a half an hour of the invention of rope. I'm also pretty sure that your average weaver finch would be curious as to why somebody would need to state anything that fucking obvious.

In all of my experience as a pilot -- tandem pilot and tug pilot I have not seen, heard about or experienced this. Is it really an issue or a perceived issue?

But maybe you could spend a couple of days with trying to convince Matt - he's a bit slow on the uptake.

03. And even for people who had that much lead coming through the water fountain at preschool we had pretty good field evidence pretty shortly after Donnell introduced the concept of insane release configurations to the world hang gliding community.

04. AFTER Robin gets killed at Hay - in a tiny bit shy of five years the second life destroyed as a consequence of virtually nonexistent safety standards at that competition venue - the moronic meet organizers decide that they should probably stop letting people release from the bottom.

05. UNLESS they have a release up top - then it's still totally cool.

06. Somewhere around that time Jim Prahl - either unaware of or not convinced by numerous examples from the past and not content to sit down and think things through - has another go at tucking and destroying a glider.

07. Even anticipating what should've been obvious on the ground and keeping a finger on the trigger the shit hits so fast and so violently that he can't get off a shot until his glider and life are seriously endangered.

08. But even this little loop of 130 pound Greenspot - which normally has no problem blowing at random in smooth air when the tow tension is split by the bridle - holds just fine when subjected to the full load when it's transmitting it to the keel. So - like we didn't know already - a half G going to the wrong place on the glider is plenty enough to kill us.

09. So Jim... What was the point of that exercise? If the weak link HAD blown in that single instance were you gonna tell people, "Go ahead and release from the bottom if you don't feel like dealing with a primary bridle. You won't get in any trouble if either the secondary wraps at the primary or the primary wraps at the tow ring - the weak link will blow before you tuck."?

10. And were you gonna assume that since EVERYBODY would be using THAT particular weak link that this advice would be good for EVERYBODY?

11. Plan A didn't work, Plan B didn't work. What would Plan C have been if plan B.5 hadn't come off? Parachutes don't have great records of flawless operation in these sorts of situations.

12. And regarding Plan B.5... Is a flawless performance of a spinnaker shackle / cable / brake lever release something that you wanna bet your life on in circumstances like this?

I just kept hitting the brake lever for a few seconds in WTF mode, and the instructor used the barrel release.

And remember... You've already used your secondary.

13. Again... What was the point supposed to be?

14. What's the next project? A wheel on the kingpost for people too lazy to get the glider right side up before landing?

15. This "experiment" is so catastrophic that even someone of JD's comprehension level has the crap scared out of him.

16. But nevertheless - coming on THREE YEARS after this stupid motherfucker has reported on this barely failed suicide attempt - he's telling his adoring customers that it's perfectly OK to omit a two point release and let go from the bottom with total confidence in a weak link at the top failing WHEN one of either of two likely jams occurs.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11591
Where to put the weaklink - the HGFA rules

Rohan Holtkamp - 2008/04/22 15:27:05 UTC

Once again history has shown us that this thread-through system can hook up and the hang glider remains being towed by the keel only, with the bridle well out of reach of even a hook knife. I know of just one pilot to survive this type of hook-up, took him some twelve months to walk again though.

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...or through a bicycle/cable/spinnaker release...
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I just kept hitting the brake lever for a few seconds in WTF mode, and the instructor used the barrel release.

Robin's own release failed to release. Do not use a 'Wichard' or 'spinnaker' release directly connected to a string or rope. This type of metal release has a metal knob on the opening arm that a rope will catch on, even when the release is activated and open.

I tried to release but my body was off centered and could not reach the release.

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.

Right, if you're gonna use a piece of shit secondary you better combine it with a piece of shit primary - otherwise you might get a matter/antimatter thing going.

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Vectran is used because it doesn't melt when Vectran or Spectra runs through the loop at the end of the line (if you release using a barrel release).
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1. Primary bridles don't melt or abrade when they run through aluminum tow rings.
2. NOTHING melts or abrades if you've got enough in the way of brains to put a thimble in the bottom eye of the primary bridle.
3. Things are a lot less likely to wrap if you've got enough in the way of brains to put a thimble in the bottom eye of the primary bridle.
4. Again you're telling people that it's OK to release from the bottom first.

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
10. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-B. Aero Vehicle Requirements

06. A release must be placed at the hang glider end of the tow line within easy reach of the pilot. This release shall be operational with zero tow line force up to twice the rated breaking strength of the weak link.

1. How does that piece of shit comply with that regulation when you use the single loop of 130 pound Greenspot you mandate for everybody else?

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

Davis Straub - 2009/04/26 22:15:56 UTC

Yup, at least 175 pounds- single loop of Cortland Greenspot 130 pounds test.

That was one end of the loop in a barrel release where the edges are a bit sharper than where I normally connect the weaklink loop with cloth loops at both ends.

I was jumping a bit so it is more than 175 pounds. Maybe 200+.

2. Using your carefully controlled scientific testing you've declared it to be AT LEAST 175. So - using a commonly accepted allowable maximum of a 25 pound pull - this crap locks up at 155. At 175 it takes 28. You think you can find that thing and pull 28 while the shit's hitting the fan?

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.

3. Let's be real generous - based on "at least 175 pounds" for a single and call a double 250. Now you're pulling over 40.

4. Plug it into the regulation - 80. Your release fails at less than a third of the regulation.

So to summarize...

- If you connect it to your tow loops it won't open.

- It's small, easily stored, aerodynamic, thin, gets out of your way right away, is easily stored, creates less drag if you don't put it away, thin, gets out of your way right away, is easily stored, and creates less drag if you don't put it away.

- It's much stronger than your weaklink if you change it about once a year after about fifty tows and Davis has never had one break, is much stronger than your weaklink if you change it about once a year after about fifty tows, and doesn't melt when it runs through the loop at the end of the line if you release from the bottom first.

- You really only need one of them 'cause you put the weak link at the other end of the bridle and it'll serve as a second release.

- It's so good you can omit the primary altogether and just release the bottom 'cause again - even if something wraps - the weak link on the keel will serve as a second release.

- You can use it with - or without - other crappy equipment 'cause - what the hell - your chances of survival pretty much suck at this point anyway.

Anything else you need to know? Did I mention that it's small, easily stored, aerodynamic if you can't store it during flight, thin, gets out of your way right away, is easily stored, creates less drag if you don't put it away, and is much stronger than your weaklink?

Be sure to check out a review of the latest and greatest in US two point technology from Lockout Mountain Flight Park at:

http://www.kitestrings.org/post41.html#p41