Awkward thread. Initiated to illustrate Dave's two point application of the Russian release, Joe's release mentioned as an option with a pretty much identical safety margin, secondhand and essentially erroneous report of a potentially lethal catastrophic failure of Joe's release, thread evolves into a discussion about the presumed issue with Joe's release, "ADVISORIES" topic created as a response to the essentially nonexistent critical issue with Joe's release and splits the discussion, then verification that there is no actual issue with Joe's release.
What causes the cable housing to move forward to compress the spring and what holds it in place?
Short answer: Nothing.
Don't you pretty much have to go through the motions of actuation every time you connect it?
Nah, you're just gonna squeeze the flanges together.
Besides actuating the release under zero load on the ground in order to connect the bridle is not the same as actuating the release under normal or max / weak link load in the air in order to DISconnect the bridle.
Reminds me of one of the biggest scams run by u$hPa and the Aerotowing Industry. As part of his preflight the responsible focused pilot always makes the easy reach to the bicycle brake lever velcroed onto his starboard control tube actuates his release under zero to thirty pounds of "bridal" end "pressure". This ensures that he'll be able to safely, reliably, quickly blow tow in a low level lockout at the five hundred pounds of towline pressure u$hPa now recommends for AT weak links. (Any comment on THAT false sense of security, Tom Galvin?)
Joe Street - 2015/11/07 14:01:02 UTC
I asked John to return the release to me and I'll send him a brand new one. I don't want that old model in circulation. I can imagine one day it might fall into someone else's hands who decides to take the hose clamps off to avoid sail abrasion...
And we'd wanna retain some vegetable who'd do something like that in hang gliding in particular and the gene pool in general because?
I don't caution people not to flip the barrel release pin through the loop or eye.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psucvollibre/5935859745/
I show them and tell them how to do things right and if they feel like getting creative... Fine. Knock yourselves out.
2011/01/15 - Shane Smith. "Let's remove the tow ring from the end of the towline and run the stupidly snaggy bridle through the appropriate weak link loops." Thank you, Charles Darwin. There's just so much stupidity this sport can absorb and we were pretty saturated thirty years ago. (And note that those surviving sleazy Phoenix motherfuckers didn't provide any photos illustrating the two issues - bridle locked in the focal point of their safe towing system and cut towline end tied to the turnaround pulley - that sealed that unfortunate idiot's fate.)
Compare/Contrast what Joe's doing with/to:
http://www.kitestrings.org/topic19.html
LMFP Release Dysfunction
Matt Taber and his off-the-scale sleazy operation.
Yet another application of hang gliding's inverse-square law: The integrity of equipment engineering and concern for the wellbeing of the user is inversely proportional to the square of the direct and indirect profit one is making from the equipment.
- Sell mass produced junk with the biggest price tag you think you can get away with to hundreds of trusting and brainwashed newbies at your huge monopolistic commercial tow operation, you:
-- make sure your victims don't see until after the sales are complete the fuckin' manual which informs them that the mass produced junk isn't warranted as suitable for towing anything and if they're not happy about it they can go play checkers
-- watch idly as it fails left and right, kills someone every now and then
-- ignore communications from your surviving victims until a major stink is made on international forums and then pretend you never received the communications
-- lie about having had a bad batch run
-- pretend to fix the problem while doing NOTHING
- A recreational pilot with no commercial interests and the desire and competence to address a deadly issue operating at cost or a major loss busts ass to do everything right and immediately jumps all over any issue that comes to his attention.