Soaring – August 2019

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

the desired vertical or lateral position,
and the sooner you sense a deviation
the easier it is to address it.
As with any new physical skill de-
velopment, there is a natural human
tendency to overcontrol. Think about
the first time you tried riding a bicycle.
This tendency to overcontrol results in
the identified common error of “chas-
ing the towplane.” To help the student
get past this initial learning hurdle, I
use the following technique.

With the tug flying wings level, any
deviation from the in-trail position is
the result of the glider being banked
in the direction of the deviation. If
the glider is banked, the horizon will
appear to slope in the opposite direc-
tion. The trick to arresting a devia-
tion (the first order of business) is to
roll the glider opposite the deviation
until the horizon once again appears,
for lack of a better description, “hori-
zontal.” As the student deviates left or
right, I pause the simulation, switch to
an external view, and adjust the view-
ing angle to show the difference in
bank angle between the glider and tug
(Figure 10). I then switch back to the
cockpit view and draw the student’s
attention to the appearance of the ho-
rizon, sloped opposite the deviation
(Figure 11).
As I restart the simulation, I in-
struct students to “level the horizon,”
reminding them again to not look di-
rectly at the towplane. With the glid-
er’s wings now leveled, the towrope’s

lateral force component begins draw-

ing the glider back into position be-

hind the tug. The glider’s momentum

will likely carry it past the in-trail po-

sition, but if the student simply con-

tinues to hold the glider’s wings level,

the rope stops the opposite side devi-

ation and again draws the glider back

toward the desired in-trail position.

This technique quickly and effec-

tively resolves the tendency to over-

control laterally on tow. With the

overall dynamics of the tow now

damped to a workable level, the stu-

dent can relax and begin to focus on

identifying vertical and lateral devia-

tions and mitigating them with less

dramatic control inputs.

As students become comfortable

and competent with holding the glider

reasonably in-trail, I have them move

the glider laterally out of trail and then

recenter it behind the tug. This gives

them experience with “intentionally”

moving  the glider  around  on  tow –   

proactively controlling the position of

the glider rather than just reacting to

seemingly random deviations.

If for any reason, students lose sight

of the towplane, they are instructed to

release immediately. At several points

in the exercise flights, I have students

intentionally kite on the tug and im-

mediately release from tow. This im-

prints on their brains the visual image

of the event and reinforces the appro-

priate physical response.

As the tow exercise approaches the

specified release altitude, I again pause

the simulation and review my recom-

mended release procedure, outlined

previously in this article. I then restart

the simulation and have the student

fly the procedure.

At some point in the lesson, I also

review the “standard” release pro-

cedure and have the student fly it. I

make it clear my nonstandard release

procedure would likely be unaccept-

able to most flight instructors and

flight test pilot examiners. That said,

I stand by the rational for my proce-

dure in that it makes absolutely no

sense to intentionally lose sight of

any aircraft in the immediate vicinity

of your own.

Student Solo

With the instructional component

of the lesson complete, students are

instructed to independently prac-

tice taking off and flying wings-level

aerotows to release altitude. I encour-

age them to occasionally release from

tow at their own discretion, and to

practice both the standard release pro-

cedure and Manley’s Renegade Release.

After each release, I recommend

the student locate the departure air-

port, fly a controlled descent to the IP

of the active runway, fly a standard or

nonstandard traffic pattern, and land

the glider  –    essentially    accomplishing,

after only 8 flight lessons, a complete

flight in a glider. In addition to provid-

ing more experience performing their

previously acquired individual skills,

this exercise requires combining those

skills into a comprehensive whole. It

is also highly motivational in that it

quickly brings students close to their

ultimate goal of independent flight.

As always, students are free to con-

tact me for additional critique, either

by sending me a Replay of their flight

performance or scheduling an online

review.

In the Next Issue

Teaching Aerotow While Turning.

Scott Manley has an undergraduate

degree in secondary education and more

than 45 years of teaching experience. He

provides year-round, simulation-based

glider flight instruction at-a-distance

(Condor/Skype) to glider rating candi-

dates nationwide. The back of his pilot’s

certificate reads: Commercial pilot: air-

plane single-engine land & sea; instru-

ment airplane; glider. He owns and flies

an Alisport Silent 2 Electro. Feel free to

contact him at: [email protected] or via

his website gliderCFI.com.

Figure 11

Figure 10