Soaring – August 2019

10 Soaring • August 2019 • http://www.ssa.org

The position of the glider relative to
the tug is primarily intended to keep
the glider clear of the towplane’s wake.
Because Condor does not visually
represent the towplane’s wake, I cre-
ated an instructional aid using a Con-
dor screenshot and Microsoft Office
drawing tools to help students visual-
ize the wake and the glider’s position
above it (Figure 4).

For this introductory lesson on
aerotowing, I currently limit my dis-
cussion of position on tow to high
tow, i.e. flying the glider above the
towplane’s wake. However, recent dis-
cussion threads on the Google group
Rec Aviation Soaring have me thinking
about introducing both high and low
tow positions in this initial lesson on
the topic.

Demonstration – Wings-Level
Aerotow (Exterior View)
This segment of the demonstra-
tion also shows the glider kiting on
the towplane to an extent that visual
contact with the tug is lost. I pause the
demonstration at this point to discuss
the potentially disastrous results of
this flight condition (Figure 5).

Common Errors

After visually establishing the prop-

er position on tow, the animation con-

tinues with a demonstration of what I

call “chasing the towplane.” It shows

the glider oscillating back and forth,

from one side of the towplane to the

other, as the pilot attempts to reposi-

tion the aircraft in-trail. These lateral

oscillations are the result of the pilot’s

overreaction to an out-of-position

condition, lack of experience manag-

ing the aircraft’s momentum, and the

level of control precision required. To

make matters worse, the distraction

associated with correcting these lateral

deviations often results in a failure to

properly manage the glider’s vertical

position relative to the tug.

The point of this segment of the

demonstration is to reassure students

these types of errors are to be expected

and are not a reflection on their abili-

ties at this point in their training.

The demonstration continues with a

discussion of my recommended two-

step process for correcting out-of-

position conditions:

•    First, stop    the deviation

•    Then,  reposition  the glider  behind  

the tug

Mastery on Tow

The Exterior view demonstration

concludes with a series of maneu-

vers designed to introduce the idea of

“mastery”; the ability to intentionally

place the glider at various positions

relative to the tug, to maintain those

positions for as long as desired, and

then return to the normal in-trail po-

sition, all under complete control.

The Release Procedure

The release procedure I learned

while earning my glider rating was as

follows:

•    prior  to  the release 

o clear the airspace

o stabilize the glider in the normal

high-tow, in-trail position

•    pull   the release

•    visually   confirm the rope    came    off 

the glider

•    make   a    climbing   (or at   least  level)

90° turn to the right

•    trust  the tug to   make   a    descending

90° turn to the left

I don’t remember ever receiving

an explanation, so I may have sim-

ply assumed that the rational for the

divergent turns after release was to

maximize separation between the two

aircraft, and for years I dutifully per-

formed the standard release procedure,

and taught it to others, without giving

it more thought.

However, I have always had a very

questioning nature, often driving my

instructors more than a little crazy

with my insistence on always hav-

ing to know “why.” Upon becoming

an instructor, the need to understand

the “why” of things became even more

imperative.

Demonstration – Wings-Level

Aerotow (Exterior view) – cont.

Somewhere along the line, I heard

or read (or maybe dreamt) of a situ-

ation in which a glider released

from tow into lift. The glider duti-

fully turned right away from the tug

and the tug appropriately turned

left away from the glider. However,

rather than limiting its turn to 90°

and flying away from the point of

release, the glider continued circling

to the right in an effort to work the

lift. Because the airport was to the

right of the release site, rather than

limiting its turning to 90° and fly-

ing away, the tug continued turning

to the left, back toward the airport.

With both aircraft having lost sight

of each other, and both pilots having

assumed the other had flown away

(out of sight/out of mind), the two

aircraft circled into each other, col-

liding in midair.

Figure 3

Figure 2

Figure 4

Figure 5