Kite Strings

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYt9p9ihZX8


Aleksey turned me on to this one on the first of the month. Real revelation for me 'cause I'd previously been assuming that a platform launch bridle needed to connect at the hips and was thinking that the required cable would be more slop than I cared to deal with.

This - with the connection at the chest (just like the Koch) is a REALLY ELEGANT solution. Totally insane to platform tow with any technology south of this.

Another nice illustration of just how much of a nonissue it is to make an easy reach for a nose release.

We don't see the separation in this one but good looks at the hardware and coming off the truck. Lotsa frames in this sequence that are of no value with respect to the tow but the lighting and colors are beautiful and it's fun seeing the terrain at this totally unknown to most of us flying site.

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Can't release the tow line

William Olive - 2015/06/06 16:01:49 UTC
Newcastle, Australia

Some fly with a barrel release on each side as a redundant system.

Yeah Billo. Like if you can't make the easy reach the bent pin piece o' shit on your right shoulder - or pry it open if you get there - put another one just like it on your left. Twice as many times doing the same thing, twice the likelihood of success. The ground's the limit.

Personally, I have not up 'til now, but I plan to in future.

Please don't delay. I don't think I could stand hearing about you getting your face smashed in at launch. And don't forget to always use an appropriate weak link with a finished length of 1.5 inches or less to increase the safety of the towing operation.

Ain't it just great the way that once every decade or two a leader in this sport will plan to do something he thinks will improve his personal setup.

Aleksey Vilkov - 2015/06/06 19:22:53 UTC

Dallas Willis - 2015/06/06 00:54:50 UTC

Why is it so hard for people to make a video of their different releases to show how they actually work?

you are wellcome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFhTTb4YD0w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqMyNael7Yc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePT3r0ZW54k

Andrew Vanis - 2015/06/08 04:21:03 UTC

Nice!

NICE?! Didn't you just hear how Davis has used his bent pin piece's o' shit hundreds of times without a problem and only smashed his stupid fucking face in once? Keep It Simple Stupid.

Dallas Willis - 2015/06/09 01:58:15 UTC

Thanks Aleksey! I would suggest a backup barrel release on the off side. Otherwise it looks pretty slick.

- How 'bout a tow ring? It looks so pretty slick as it is that it would be just nuts to use one?

- So if it jams in an emergency situation - which is when Sir Isaac, Murphy, fatality reports all say it's most likely to - just make the easy reach to your doubly loaded backup release. You'll be fine. The massive survival edge this thing gives you will no longer be a relevant issue.

There are better, bulletproof ways of doing this.

Aleksey Vilkov - 2015/06/09 06:23:47 UTC

Actually I have the backup pin mounted in the right side.

Hopefully you do not have a "BACKUP". A backup is for when a primary release fails. And there is ZERO excuse or reason for having a primary that has any possibility of failing. Hopefully you have a SECONDARY to deal with a bridle that wraps at the tow ring (that you don't have). But for a one point (pilot only) system like this you can EASILY - and SHOULD - configure to eliminate any possibility of a wrap. Don't go out of your way to defeat this pretty cool mechanism.

http://content.foto.my.mail.ru/mail/birukobu/186/h-191.jpg


The barrel release is better and I will istall it for next flight.

http://www.deltaplanerizm.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=1407&mode=view

A good barrel release is a million times better than this hitch pin job. I one hundred percent guarantee you this thing will not be operable under any significant load. And when you're not under any significant load you well may do just fine staying connected. And that barrel release is a big step backwards from THIS:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8311348069/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8312399698/

barrel release. That sucker in those photos is under a four hundred pound direct load and still pretty easily operable.

Jim Gaar - 2015/06/09 13:34:39 UTC

That kills the "curved/straight" pin argument

Kinda the way Zack Marzec killed the weak link as pitch and lockout versus overload protector, huh Jim?

There IS NO "curved/straight" pin ARGUMENT. It's like the evolution versus intelligent design ARGUMENT. People with functional brains versus a bunch of brain dead since birth twats.

Interesting, a barrel without a pin...

Fascinating. It's obviously got a PIN - asshole. How are you envisioning this thing working? Heavily starching the last couple inches of the webbing? Think they could do a bent pin version to keep you, Davis, Paul, Lauren, Trisa, Rooney, Ryan happy?

Is there any reinforcement inside the webbing that is inserted in the barrel?

Nah, ya just inject it with Viagra every four hours of your flying day.

Are the mouth releases for sale and if so how much and where?

I have no idea, Rodie. I can't figure out how to click in the link for the information decimation either.

Aleksey Vilkov - 2015/06/10 05:59:46 UTC

barrel release w/o pin

There are a piece of short pipe inside the webbing. Teh pipe is about 1/3" diameter and 2" long.
And yes, mouth release is for sale. I sent to you PM.

Cheers!

Do try to avoid doing anything to increase that motherfucker's odds of staying in the gene pool.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32776
Can't release the tow line

Joe Faust - 2015/06/11 16:35:46 UTC

Note on barrel release: Exercise and clean the parts' faces that fit into the barrel.
Accidental glue would bond the barreled parts. Consider wax or silicone release spray just on the parts' faces that face each other to maintain full non-accidental bonding of the barreled part faces.
Exercise the operation prior to flight to verify that no accidental material has entered the barrel that might bond the faces that would need to be parted during release operation.

And then match the pin to one on your parachute container...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8331328638/


to make sure it has JUST the right amount of bend - not too little, not too much.

Consider a breaking weak thread to keep the barrel into position; upon pulling the barrel, the very weak keep thread would break and let the operation occur.

And don't worry about what's gonna happen in a slack line situation. (And you can volunteer to replace the thread each tow.)

And always use a really safe weak link in case accidental glue HAS bonded the barreled parts. That way in an emergency situation you can signal your driver to floor it. Instant hands free release.

Hey Joe...

How 'bout figuring out what's going on in the REAL world, looking at what people actually operating in it have done to make shit bulletproof, not solving totally imaginary problems with totally deadly solutions?

And that being The Davis Show nobody even says anything. Precisely twenty-four hours when I click this in and not a peep.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25015
Zippy pounds in

Davis Straub - 2011/09/02 18:37:09 UTC

Concussions are in fact very serious and have life long effects. The last time I was knocked out what in 9th grade football. I have felt the effects of that ever since. It changes your wiring.

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Latest video from our founder Zack C:

http://vimeo.com/130102071
Wharton 6/7/2015

Zack C - 2015/06/08 15:32 UTC

Light wind, smooth air, and good lift all the way to base at 5,100'.
Tripped on the high grass on landing...

Good news:
- Alive and survived the late spring floods with at least his Sport 2 155 intact.
- Still flying AT.

Bad news:
Flying in association with Cowboy Up mega-asshole tandem thrill ride operators Bart Weghorst and Tiki Mashy and with his life potentially in the hands of aforementioned mega-assholes and their Dragonfly tow mast breakaway protector.

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Looks like a half twist at the secondary bridle assembly's center. Not a real issue of concern but...

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Great to see my beautiful seamless primary bridle still in action.

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Last frame with release engaged:

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Hand's off the basetube, LOTSA movement involved. Yeah, could've blown it with his hand on the basetube if he'd needed to but slap-on cable is NOT the way this job should be done. Sickening that ALL of these glider manufacturer motherfuckers REFUSE to do the job right.

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Love watching that bridle feed through.

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Ya got your barrels backwards, Zack. Port - red / Starboard - green. Just like the running lights.

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Wharton Regional Airport - ARM - 29°15'15.16" N 096°09'15.87" W

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Could practice tighter approaches - but you'll probably never need one.

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Mild bonk on an easily skiddable surface. KISS. We are NEVER gonna be able to do these foot landings consistently enough to be worth anything.

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Ended up back prone with your hands on the basetube anyway.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27415
Friday the 19th with Hawks & Friends!

NMERider - 2012/10/24 21:47:05 UTC

I have to say that landing on the wheels is so much fun it's not funny.

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Can't release the tow line

Gordon Marshall - 2013/07/02 22:58:18 UTC
York, Western Australia

Use a Llinknife, they work every time and it simply does not matter how much tension is on the line.[/quote
]

Bill Cummings - 2015/07/22 19:13:28 UTC

I have had three separate Link Knife release failures. In other words three different causes.

Any of them related to Peter Birren's award winning Wishful Thinking Actuation System? Possibly coupled with his Infallible Weak Link not breaking when it was supposed to?

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=33185
Hazy DayThermals July 4, 2015 Cloud 9 Michigan Hang Gliding

Bob Grant - 2015/07/24 00:28:30 UTC

Tom Lyon - 2015/07/24 04:25:48 UTC

Hey, that's me on my very first aerotow launch with my new Falcon 4 195.

Nice to see that you've a "release" within easy reach there, Tom.

Thanks for sharing the photo, SkyDog.

Indeed!

I have had a fantastic experience learning to aerotow with Tracy and Lisa at Cloud 9 and highly recommend them as instructors.

Fuck you, Tom.

I soloed after 13 tandems (but I had some tandems many years ago and am also a sailplane pilot with about 100 aerotows) and have enjoyed gaining confidence and moving up to more active air.

Thought you guys are fast learners and over-achievers and might just know something about it.

The release is good enough. At Cloud 9 they use a weak link for which they have an expectation of breaking as early as possible in lockout situations, but being strong and reliable enough to avoid frequent breaks from turbulence. It is the same expectation of performance that they have for the weak links they use for towing sailplanes - and had for the 130 pound Greenspot just before everybody became happy with 200 pound Greenspot.

Besides, Tom only makes very shallow banked correction turns below two hundred feet and lockouts almost always involve steeply banked turns. And above two hundred nothing much matters so what the hell.

Aleksey Vilkov - 2015/08/02 14:39:56 UTC

Hi Tad!

Yesterday we were towing again with statik line. It was very windy day and I decided do not fly with my Combat, but go driving my car to tow other pilots. At the video you can see my friend Nicolay Deeky (Wild). I would like to pay your attention to the two stage release.

Actually there are two ordinary releases. The first one is RMR, the second one is barrel type release made with webbing (I hope you remember one of my previous letters).

So, pilot is taking off with RMR and after reaching about 150-200 meters he is connecting second release with the bridle below speedbar to the ring in the end of line using ordinary carabiner. Of course he is immediately releasing RMR and continuing towing with barrel release.

Please give my your opinion 'bout that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJLG3oUbkEg


Cheers
Alksey

Yeah. This makes ALL other configurations for non platform (increasing tow angle) surface towing totally fucking obsolete - both foot and dolly launch. The stuff that Steve Kinsley and I developed for secondary and one point aerotow would be more elegant for dolly but this is the definite better solution for the first stage in a foot launch and totally effective for dolly. The Koch two stage just became expensive, heavy, overbuilt, dangerous junk.

And I'd like to pat myself on the back for foreseeing the potential this in-flight secondary hook-up allowed starting back at:

http://www.kitestrings.org/post3338.html#p3338

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il3YPp3Rfq8


This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMsIkAOeJ0I


SHOULDN'T happen with a Koch setup but CAN'T happen with this Russian one.

This near lockout tow:

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would've been abortable back at:

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Not likely to be a big fuckin' deal but this:

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doesn't happen.

The US was always supposed to be this individual freedoms based cauldron of creativity and innovation while the Soviet Union was the repressive centrally controlled Stalinist kleptocracy in which anything good that made headway had first been stolen from the West but look at what's actually happening - at this level anyway. Our repressive centrally controlled Stalinist kleptocracy won't even allow this stuff in as a gift.

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Gotta stay with the long track record, tried and true, Industry Standard, proven stuff that works and is typical for our sport.

This is a breath of fresh air.

Gotta bitch about something though. At least ten seconds prior to commitment with no hook-in check. You do this stuff enough times and something like THIS:

05-0805


12-1427

WILL happen. And that one turned out to be a career ender. You need more than just top notch hardware to keep people from being mangled and killed at tow operations.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32776
Can't release the tow line

Aleksey Vilkov - 2015/08/03 06:17:16 UTC
Saint Petersburg

Statik line towing with two stage release.
You can see here two ordinary releases. The first one is Russian Mouth Release (RMR), the second one is barrel type release made with webbing and short peace of pipe.
So, pilot is taking off with RMR and after reaching about 150-200 meters he is connecting second release with the bridle below speedbar to the ring in the end of line using ordinary carabiner. Of course he is immediately releasing RMR and continuing towing with barrel release.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJLG3oUbkEg

Davis Straub - 2015/08/03 13:05:54 UTC

Perfect.

- Yeah Davis, I said that already over here.
- But I see you're still selling your cheap, easy reach, easily stowed, bent pin crap over there on your rag.

Fuck anybody who's selling or putting anybody up on anything inferior to this configuration. It's like setting somebody up with a thousand capacity Russian roulette revolver with one bullet when there's a zero bullet unit available for the same price. Yeah, Mike Dead-Eye Robertson, I most assuredly mean you.

Nobody who's towing with anything inferior can continue to make any claim for concern for safety.

From two posts back on this thread:

Tad Eareckson - 2015/08/02 18:03:48 UTC

Gotta bitch about something though. At least ten seconds prior to commitment with no hook-in check. You do this stuff enough times and something like THIS:

05-0805


12-1427

WILL happen. And that one turned out to be a career ender. You need more than just top notch hardware to keep people from being mangled and killed at tow operations.

Actually... It WON'T. 'Cause the tow's so easily abortable. Duh.

- Good news: None of the deaths, broken necks, mushed brains, amputated legs that we've seen before.

- Bad news: Unhooked launches are no big fuckin' deals so why bother incorporating the hook-in check into the launch procedure (in ANY environment).