How NOT to tow a hang glider!

Hang glider Tow training using a scooter tow and a turn around pulley.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Hang
• glider
• towing
• scooter
• tow
• pulley
• paraglider

[cybrcnc]

Could it be that the operator added too much tension too fast, and then rapidly backed it off, hence the drogue blossomed? THese guys clearly have no business using this training technique and should stop before they kill someone. Listen to the obvious level of concern after the pilot pounds in... or lack thereof.

[cybrcnc]

Some of you guys miss the point. Low and slow scooter towing of hang gliders is purported to be super safe and nothing can go wrong... With a Paraglider, if the pilot get's out of sorts on a low and slow tow, you can drop tension and the issue will resolve itself. With a HG there was nothing that could be done to prevent this accident. And if the operator is so good, why does the drogue pop open right after the tow starts...

[cybrcnc]

Personally I think Scooter towing of paragliders is a very safe activity. They exhibit pendular stability and if the pilot gets out of sorts, simply reducing or releasing line tension allows the pilot to fall back under the canopy and regain control.

Hang gliders don't have the same self stabilizing tendancy so the low and slow towing is potentially more dangerous.

[jwm239]

@cybrcnc ...I had 21 such tows via Mitch Shipley at Quest Air. All went well, and wind conditions were very benign.

[MrOOSTUOO]

I'll bet he was pissed.

[peterdarian]

As for stalling, first 200' normally done at 80% power to minimize line and weak link breaks and to keep nose a little lower.You're moving a bit faster too so in case of line break you have a good couple of seconds to recover with minimal height loss, otherwise stall recovery is same as any others stall. As always you just have to be double cautious when close to the ground. Michael Robertson in Pickering Canada is a pro and has manuals dedicated to towing.

[peterdarian]

Towing by winch is a very effective and safe way to get into the air. Learning can produce it's challenges but for an experienced pilot, it's really easy to launch and stay straight on tow (provided you don't fly an old, super stiff hard to fly blade wing) . You can even dolly launch. With step towing can gain you altitudes up to 4,000 feet. I've been up to 3,000 with a passenger. For non-tow pilots the high angle is a little unnerving at first but glider flies more responsive on tow.

[peterdarian]

This is obviously student on low and slow tow. This is most difficult for winch operator. More tension reqd to get feet off the ground than flight hence power drop as pilot leaves ground. Tension could have been dropped slightly sooner. This is a little more hard with scooters but line did tighten up before impact. Either rope wasn't cut or it caught in pulley. Still 90% pilot error. For this type of low towing/training a WW Condor is very effective. Slow, forgiving and 1 size fits all.

[winterka100]

Pilot error.He just stalled and pointed away from the tow line. If the winch powered up, it would have caused a more violent lockout and caused more damage to the pilot.(And glider)