Now getting to the main issue. To take the hand off the control bar to release or not. It has not been my experience that having to remove a hand momentarily to operate a release causes a problem for a pilot with experience. Why? Because the glider in flight, being surrounded by several tons of air takes several seconds to react to any change. Thus there is ample time for a pilot to operate a release or even slap a 3-string release that is hanging.
Thompson's Gazelle
It has not been my experience that a Cheetah causes a problem for a Thompson's Gazelle with experience. Yeah, they're pretty fast - but...
- you can see them coming a mile away
- they're virtually always interested in somebody WITHOUT much experience, past his prime, and/or having a bad day
- they're pretty big so they can't exactly turn on a dime
- their endurance SUCKS
- I've had a bunch of encounters with them and have never been so much as scratched
Imagine if you will, just coming off the cart and center punching a thermal which takes you instantly straight up while the tug is still on the ground. Know what happens? VERY high towline forces and an over-the-top lockout. You'll have both hands on the basetube pulling it well past your knees but the glider doesn't come down and still the weaklink doesn't break (.8 G). So you pull whatever release you have but the one hand still on the basetube isn't enough to hold the nose down and you pop up and over into an unplanned semi-loop. Been there, done that... at maybe 200 feet agl.
(Yeah Peter, that's why people WITH functional brains don't use the crap equipment you do for aerotowing.)
Bill Bryden - 2000/02
The rapidity of the lockout was absolutely stunning to those observing the event. Understanding how incredibly fast this can occur, we should question and reexamine the procedures and equipment utilized to abort a tow.
Gliders are surrounded by untold billions of tons of air. That doesn't impede them from blurringly fast responses to proper or improper pilot input, lack of same, or external forces.
Killer Whales operate in a medium about 820 times as dense as the one in which hang gliders do. Watch what happens when one decides to have a Sea Lion for lunch.
There is always ample time for a pilot to operate a release when there is ample time for a pilot to operate a release. Towing fatalities tend not to occur in situations in which there is ample time for a pilot to do much of anything - especially anything that compromises or eliminates any remnant of control he may have remaining.
A Hang Five trying to fly a hang glider with one hand is just as comical as a Hang Two trying to fly a hang glider with one hand. The glider doesn't give a rat's ass about one's experience.
Normally a hanging three-string is a mere irritant which will disappear on its own - given enough time. That doesn't make a three-string a great release for this application. Slack line situations can be and have been catastrophic.
Even someone who racks up tens of thousands of tows spends a microscopic portion of the years of his flying career in the 0-250 foot towing death zone - especially when you look at something like the time a commuter spends behind the wheel.
A Thompson's Gazelle is on the Serengeti Plain 24/7 and there's a one hundred percent certainty that he will eventually have a serious problem with a Cheetah - or Cheetah facsimile - regardless of his experience and almost always with reflexes and physical conditioning we can only dream about.
Yeah Bill, we really should question and reexamine the procedures and equipment utilized to abort a tow. But - thanks to people like you - we don't.
Tad Eareckson wrote:And you could do a secondary weak link something like the last couple of photos...
So you have a weak link around the thimble at the lower end of the primary bridle? Wouldn't this configuration negate the need for weak links on the secondary bridle? What kind of material would be appropriate for the lower weak link? I'd expect you'd want it to be nearly twice as strong as the upper weak link, but the string in your pictures doesn't look very thick (though it's hard to get a sense of scale). And how does wrapping it around a thimble like that affect its breaking strength?
Tad Eareckson wrote:Homework assignment....Richard Graham.
I don't think there's enough information to make an educated guess as to why he locked out. Maybe he was aligning with the road and not the rope, but there's no evidence that that was the case. But I certainly wouldn't be towing in the described conditions.
Tad Eareckson wrote:I despise cable.
When I first saw your release years ago on the Oz Report forum my impression was the same as most people's. I didn't know what the pictures were showing but it looked way more complicated than it needed to be. After seeing the problems that even the best releases on the market have and learning more about your release, however, I understand why you made it the way you did and the advantages it provides.
Tad Eareckson wrote:Before I built my rig and started doing things right I'd put my 220 pound (same weight) ass in a sling and drop it on a stack of sofa cushions downstairs. (Don't ever do that - it's a lot more dangerous than you'd think.)
I started to do something similar but stopped when I realized I was probably going to hurt myself. I wish I had a proper test rig of my own.
Tad Eareckson wrote:Don't understand the Fisherman's Knot versus Lark's Head thing. You need the former - or something similar - to form the loop and the latter to install it.
The Lookout method is to tie the loop directly to the bridle. So a Fisherman's Knot is employed but not a Lark's Head. The weak link material is wrapped around the bridle several times before its ends are joined. I quit using this method because it doesn't allow you to pre-tie weak links.
Tad Eareckson wrote:They [LMFP] dispense 200 pound Greenspot - in addition to 130 - at the flight line.
Really? This is news to me. I wasn't aware of anyone using the 200 lb stuff.
I got some 200 lb Greenspot recently, by the way...the stuff looks almost identical to the 130, just slightly thicker. I doubt anyone would notice the difference even on close inspection (which could be a very good thing at some tow operations). I'll have to have a loop of it tested, but it might be my new weak link material.
So you have a weak link around the thimble at the lower end of the primary bridle?
Yes and no.
On a conventional bridle, yeah, you have a conventional string loop weak Lark's Headed onto both the bottom Primary Bridle eye (as you would at the top) and onto the Thimble. The Lark's Head on the Thimble is secured with a bit of stitching 'cause you REALLY don't want it coming off and noosing the Secondary Bridle. (Once it's loaded up at the beginning of the tow it ain't going nowhere nohow but you don't want any problems happening and going undiscovered before that happens.)
On the Ribbon Bridle - which is the better but REALLY labor intensive way to do things - it's pretty much the same but the actual weak link is the stitching securing the Shear Link Base to the end of the Bridle.
Wouldn't this configuration negate the need for weak links on the secondary bridle?
Yes and no.
If you do the Secondary assembly right - keep the Secondary Bridle too short and stiff to wrap - you're good.
But the Bridle Link - as I've said before - is so cheap and easy that there's no sane reason not to incorporate it. And if you've got it you're ready to tow one point - say if you blow a Shear Link (or two) on a Primary or lose it altogether. Or you wanna fly a bladewing without a bunch of crap all over it.
What kind of material would be appropriate for the lower weak link?
Anything that tests to, at best, 120 or, at worst, 200 percent of the upper. Actually, after you do the trig to compensate for the apex angle, 174 percent of the upper.
I'd expect you'd want it to be nearly twice as strong as the upper weak link...
No. It's critical that those weak links blow in sequence (so you don't pull a Len Smith) but the more you push the lower envelope the less likely you are to hafta respond to a wrap.
This is out of my Mousetraps document:
The Secondary Weak Link is only strong enough to reliably survive the Primary. An increase of 20 percent used in conjunction with a 1.4 G Primary translates to 0.966 Gs when directly loaded. The Secondary is better defined and thought of as an auto-release mechanism which comes into play in the following circumstances...
Those circumstances being a wrap following release or primary weak link failure or the snag of a trailing bridle while landing (which doesn't seem to be an issue in real life (so far anyway)).
Weak links protect your aircraft against overloading.
I'm not using that "weak link" to protect my aircraft - I'm using to protect ME. I'm using it to enhance the reliability of my release - the thing over which I have control. So it's not a weak link in the proper sense of the word.
...but the string in your pictures doesn't look very thick...
That's 1000 pound 3/32 Yale Cordage Crystalyne. Bastards discontinued it on me about three years ago - I was heartbroken. Had to go to four strands for my Ribbon Bridle using 350 pound 3/32 Dacron leechline.
...hard to get a sense of scale...
The barrels are four inches - about a palm's width - and the outside length of the Ronstan RF2180 Sailmaker's Thimble is 7/8 inches. I go as small, light, clean as possible for everything I do.
And how does wrapping it around a thimble like that affect its breaking strength?
With the Shear Link approach, as per above - it doesn't.
With the conventional string loop weak link approach...
You guilted me into hauling the test rig out of mothballs. A weak link installed as per the 205 leechline blows - as I believed and hoped it would - at one of the two points at which it exits the bridle. Which is where I find just about all Lark's Head installed loops blow. So the answer again is - it doesn't.
I don't think there's enough information to make an educated guess as to why he locked out.
I don't think there's enough information to make definite pronouncement but I think there's plenty enough for a pretty good educated guess. Damn thing - as far as it goes - reads like a carbon copy of John Woiwode.
I haven't been around truck towing in over sixteen years and haven't paid too much attention to it since the Dragonfly got rolling so you can probably help me out here. But I get the impression that it's REAL hard to lock out when you're getting blasted into the air that fast and on a payout winch. So why's he locking out?
Check this one out:
Luen Miller - 1996/12
An Advanced pilot with sixteen years of experience starts on a platform launch using a payout winch. Immediately after launch the pilot drifts slightly left due to a crossing wind, corrects strongly, stabilizes, then begins a hard roll to the right. The pilot apparently releases quickly but the glider continues to roll and turn until it is headed downwind and inverting. It hits the ground just past vertical, noseplate first then kingpost. The pilot suffers head, face, neck, chest and back injuries. His full face helmet is cracked in two places.
CORRECTS STRONGLY? Like this is standard operating procedure in truck towing?
This is a seventeen year tow pilot going up behind Steve Instructor-Of-The-Year Wendt who expects the weak link to blow in a lockout on a payout winch AND...
Starts making you wonder why Debbie Young - "an enthusiastic new novice-level pilot" - locked out.
May have even been an issue with Frank Sauber. I never recall him doing the lightbulb thing on that issue. He tended to go by "rules" rather than feel or common sense. Somebody must've told him that it was good to have lotsa airspeed and I think it took me at least a year to get him to stop hugging the contour of the training hill. He once made a round trip from the top of a hundred foot training hill rather than fly my glider down without a backup loop. When he towed he'd pin off the instant the truck stopped at the end of the runway - ignoring the fact that he was still under tension and climbing well.
When I first saw your release years ago on the Oz Report forum...
From the instant the dolly starts rolling until you at least clear a couple of hundred feet your parachute, hook knife, weak link, VG system, carbon basetube, radio, and Flytec 6030 are all useless - and your wheels and full face helmet may easily become so. People don't wanna put the bucks and/or engineering into the one thing that most matters.
I started to do something similar but stopped when I realized I was probably going to hurt myself.
You're a lot smarter than I am. I kept doing it after I hurt myself - repeatedly - and for different reasons. I'd accidentally trigger things before I was ready or not intending to when the cushions weren't in place. And even when I was set up properly and dropping myself the minimum possible distance I found out that it was doing a number on my back. And the kick a barrel release pin has under that kind of loading can just about take a finger off.
One thing that you can do fairly safely to test weak links up to your body weight (or your body weight plus a backpack)... One foot in a sling coming off the weak link, the other on a spring-type bathroom scale. Slowly transfer weight, watch the dial, do the arithmetic. I got pretty good and consistent results that way. That's how I finally realized that Ridgely was full o' shit about a loop of 130 with a "hidden" knot being 260. (And I was still too hardwired and stupid to question its validity as a weak link for another year or so.)
That is one of the COOLEST toys I've ever owned! It ain't cheap and it ain't real easy but if you get serious I can put together a components list and give you templates for drilling.
And you could do a dumbed down version without all the block and tackle stuff. That just takes up the slack and partially tensions things before you go into screw mode - but that is not an insignificant issue.
And of course I'll be happy to test anything you want to send me.
The Lookout method is to tie the loop directly to the bridle.
Yeah, I recall that now. Test your batch, tie the knots carefully and precisely, and don't worry if the result is a third of what it should be - all we're concerned with is hypothetically maximizing the pathetic piece of string we've arbitrarily selected as your sacred standard.
I wasn't aware of anyone using the 200 lb stuff.
They had a spool of it at the south end when I was there and I helped myself to a few feet for testing. It's freakin' unbelievable that they made no recommendation after your first 2010/11/27 tow.
I doubt anyone would notice the difference even on close inspection (which could be a very good thing at some tow operations).
Bet I could make a fortune making counterfeit 130 out of thousand pound Kevlar. There are a lot of competition pilots who would happily pay five hundred bucks a loop to get themselves past the Australian weak link Nazis at the next Worlds. If they'd promise to use a couple of feet to garrote Davis they could have it for free.
I think that's a REAL good idea. And if you could find some 250 test something for the other end of the bridle...
Anyway, I suspected you'd want a complete copy of the Lookout release document, but I didn't have the software my scanner needed installed at the time so didn't bother scanning it. I've since got it working and have attached the complete document.
Gold mine. Thanks. Cool software - digital text. Thought I was gonna hafta transcribe everything you hadn't already.
Realize that a couple of my digs in my 2011/01/11 were unfairly made based upon excerpts not in context but now - with everything in front of me, including color photographs, this shit's so outrageous that it's real tough to feel a tinge of guilt.
Page 1:
WARNING
Your aerotow gear needs to be properly installed on your glider. We highly recommend that ONLY an aerotow instructor that is familiar with this equipment and its proper installation and use should install and test fly it. Failure to properly use this gear can result in death and or serious injury.
It is your responsibility to insure that an experienced instructor properly installs this gear and that the glider is test flown by a qualified pilot prior to your using this equipment. Furthermore, it is just as important that there is no doubt in your mind that you are capable of properly using this equipment and that you understand how to properly use this tow equipment -- your life may depend on it. GT Manufacturing Inc. (GT) and Lookout Mountain Flight Park Inc. (LMFP) make no claim of serviceability of this tow equipment. There is no product liability insurance covering this gear and we do not warrant this gear as suitable for towing anything. We make no claim of serviceability in any way and recommend that you do not use this aerotow gear if you are not absolutely sure how to use it and or if you are unwilling to assume the risk. Towing and flying hang gliders is inherently dangerous.
If properly used, there is a minimum of three ways to release from the towline. Do not depend on any of these ways by themselves and fly with a back up. The first release is the primary release which under certain situations may fail, second, is the secondary release that works most of the time, if all is set up correctly, and third, the weak link which will break under the right load. You should also fly with a hook knife that will allow you to cut the line if need be.
GT and LMFP Inc. assume no liability for the function and serviceability of this equipment. If you are uncomfortable with the risk of using this tow gear you will need to get gear that you are comfortable with or do not tow. There is an inherent risk in towing hang gliders that you must assume if you want to use this gear and you want to tow. Learn and understand the risk and the use of this gear. Your safety depends on it.
LMFP pilots: You will want to make an appointment to have this gear set up and installed on your glider and harness either at the top of the mountain (preferred) or down at the tow pavilion. Please do not expect the instructors to stop flying scheduled student and discovery flights to install and familiarize you with your new gear. This gear should be purchased when you take your aero tow instruction so that your instructors can teach you about it at that time.
Once your gear is installed you will need to get your glider test flown to test that the gear performs as it should and is set up correctly.
Page 2:
{Photo: Release Mechanism}
The new GT aerotow release, new as of July 11th 2009, is designed to be used with a V bridle and a 130-pound green stripe Dacron tournament fishing line weak link. At this time it is not recommended to use this release with a higher value weak link. We are confident that with an ultimate load of 130 pounds at the release point, the new GT aerotow release works better than all cable releases that we have experience with.
In designing this new release we wanted strength, consistency, ease of use, and less release pull-pressure. Also, in comparison to the industry standard Wichard spinnaker release, the barrel release is designed so that the pilot can easily tell that it is connected properly. We have demonstrated that the smooth stainless steel flipper is a lot easier on weak links and has no edge to hang up. Also, the hinge area is not sharp like we find on the Wichard release. A sharp hinge can cut your weak link and cause premature releases. We feel that this design has exceeded our expectations in all regards. We hope the GT barrel release exceeds your expectations as well!
To release from the tow plane it is best to pull in so that the tow rope has a light sag in it and then give the release handle a sharp yank.
Preflight (inspect) your release and the components prior to each flight. Look for a kinked cable housing, kinked or frayed cable, and a frayed release handle. Test your release for smooth release prior to use. While using, note if your release requires more pull-pressures to actuate than past releases under similar conditions or if the release pull-pressures are increasing. If the release pull-pressures required to release are increasing, your release will need to be inspected. Basically, if you notice a trend of increasing release pull-pressures under similar load conditions then your release needs to be inspected. We are currently using one of these releases on our tandem gliders and are able to put a lot of use on the release in a short time frame. In the meantime, if you have any issues with the release, email GT Manufacturing at fly@hanglide.com. Use the subject "GT Barrel Release".
This release is a new design and has been tested to 388 pounds ultimate load connected directly to the release where the release functioned properly. With over a hundred high load releases the new release performed, as it should. With a 220 pound load at the release the release required about 16 pounds of pull to actuate the release.
Thanks!
From the GT team!
Page 3:
Aerotow Release System
Warning: GT and LMFP Inc. assume no liability for the function and serviceability of this equipment. It is your responsibility to insure that an experienced aerotow instructor properly installs this gear and the glider is test flown by a qualified pilot prior to your using this equipment. Hang Gliding is a dangerous sport and misuse of equipment can result in injury or death.
Your aerotow release package should contain:
{Photo: starboard control frame corner}
1. Primary release- this is rigged to the glider and releases the weaklink/long bridle.
{Photo: Bailey Release installed on starboard AT loop}
2. Secondary release- rigged to your harness and attached to the short bridle.
{Photo: secondary bridle installed on harness}
3. Short bridle- rigged to harness tow loop and goes through long bridle to secondary release.
{Photo: primary bridle running between secondary bridle and keel}
4. Long bridle- rigged from short bridle to weaklink which is then attached to primary. The tow rope from the plane clips directly to your long bridle.
{Photo: excessively long loop of 130 pound Greenspot installed on primary bridle and engaged by release mechanism}
5. Weak-link- 130-pound test, green stripe Dacron tournament fishing line, rigged to the end of the long bridle. Use proper knotting technique!!
The weak link is used to protect the equipment by breaking at a set value. The compact design of this release requires the use of a specific sized weak link. That weak link value should be at 130-150 pounds depending on pilot weight. Because of the compact design, (Note) weak link can not exceed 1/8" in diameter or else the pull pressure to activate the release will become very high. We recommend the green stripe 130-pound test tournament fishing line. Our tests have shown that when tied properly this line breaks consistently at 130 lbs. With a "V" bridle angled at 60 degrees or less this will give you a breaking strength of 260 lbs at the tow line. The primary release and the secondary release require more force to actuate and release the towline as tow pressure builds.
Our tests utilize a double overhand knot after the weak link line is wrapped a minimum of three times around the bridle. Pull one of the wraps free and tow from that line eliminating the knot from the weak link circle. Research shows that a knot can weaken the strength of line (rope) by 35% to 50% depending on the knot. Avoid towing off of the weak link with a knot in the main circle that you clip your release to.
Page 3:
{Photo: hook knife and sheath}
6. Hook Knife- secured in harness so it is readily accessible.
{Photo: carabiner from primary release mechanism engaged on keel mounted anchor}
7. Carabineer- used to connect primary release to towpoint.
The barrel release mechanism must be oriented as shown in photo 7. The hole on the release body that holds the black webbing connecting the release mechanism to the carabineer and tow point must be on the top. The flipper that holds the weak link must face down. This is to reduce the remote possibility of the weak link getting wedged into the flipper joint.
{Photo: excessively long loop of 130 pound Greenspot installed on primary bridle and engaged by release mechanism (duplicate with "Top" and "Bottom" designations)}
{Photo: primary release mounting carabiner suspended from keel anchor}
8. Towpoint Line- rigged to glider by qualified aerotow instructor only!!
Towpoint must be set by a qualified aerotow instructor!! Arrange this at our pro-shop or with your experienced aerotow instructor!!
Some gliders will require or benefit from mounting the release to the keel. Gliders like the WW Falcon, Eagle and Sport 2, as well as other makes and models, require much less work load on the pilot when the release is mounted on the keel in between the hang loop and the nose plate. Precisely where the release is mounted depends on the type of aircraft used as a tow plane, how fast the tow pilot flies the plane, and the site where the flying is taking place. Have your aerotow instructor mount the release then test fly and tune to get the best location.
The place where the tow release is mounted effects your in-flight bar pressure, or where the glider trims, only while on tow. This value in miles per hour is approximately 30 to 32 mph at Lookout Mountain Flight Park. Keep in mind that when you go to another location your tow pressures are likely to be different than at your home site. Be aware of the different tow pressures and adjust as needed with your inputs or have your tow point moved by a qualified individual.
Page 4:
Additional Release Information
The primary release must be routed correctly with sufficient slack in order to function properly. The cable should be secured along the front of the downtube with the Velcro ties and clipped to the tow point via carabineer with no tight bends in the cable. There must be enough cable slack between the top downtube tie and full forward pull of release when rigged to tow point. Also, cable must be in front of hang straps!!
The primary release is actuated by pulling on the strap that is securely fastened to the basetube. The Velcro should retain the pull strap, but for backup there is a length of line that must be tied off to the downtube. Test the primary before each use!!
It is best to pull in prior to pulling the release strap. Look for a slight sag in the line. Pulling in is not always practical prior to actuating the release, however it is desirable for minimizing stress on the gear - specifically, the release, the bridle, and weak link.
The primary release may fail at any time; this is why a secondary release must be used on all tows. Remember, you were trained to tug your primary only once before going straight to the secondary! Be prepared for a release at all times.... Pull in, give your release strap a sharp pull and then go to secondary if the primary release failed.
Aerotow refreshers
- Only get in the takeoff line when you are 100% ready for takeoff with ticket accessible!!!
- Make sure conditions are suitable for you by asking beforehand.
- Help others when there is no groundcrew, you will get yourself in the air quicker!
- Never pull in while on the dolly cart or try to steer it with weight shift!!!
- Did you pre-flight that dolly cart?
- A proper weak link must be used and a hook knife must be rigged on harness or tow will be denied.
- Expect an early release every moment of tow up to 600 feet; only then may you relax a little.
- If released early, pull in, pull your release to get rid of the rope, and land where you've planned for in just this situation!!!
- If you start oscillating or get into trouble of any sort, Release! There is no need for a lockout - especially a low level lockout - we do not want to have lockouts! Release before a problem develops!
- If you are outside the cone of safety and unable to immediately correct your position - release immediately. If you are uncomfortable - release immediately.
- Be prepared to release at any time. The towline does break, the bridle breaks, the tow plane release may release you, and any one of the several weak links in the tow system can fail.
- Keep your energy (airspeed) and if released realize that the first thing to do is keep your aircraft flying - this usually requires you to get your nose down enough to avoid a stalled angle of incidence.
Page 5:
- Preflight your launch dolly and all tow gear. Insure that it is properly operating, hooked up and that your weak link is properly tied and in good condition. If in doubt replace it.
- Have your emergency landing procedure organized in your mind prior to launching.
- If you are uncomfortable while towing - release immediately, if you are oscillating - release immediately.
- If you are unable to stay in the cone of safety while towing, release immediately.
- Practice using your secondary release and be able to immediately go to the secondary release while maintaining control of the glider.
- Exit runway immediately after landing, there are others trying to land or takeoff.
- If practical always pull in prior to release - this is much easier on your gear and the release pressure is much less.
2009/07/12
And now for a proper comprehensive hatchet job. Pardon any redundancy from before.
01. Note the title of this document is "WARNING" - 25 point capitalized, italicized, underlined text. What, the art department couldn't do a skull and crossbones? "The new GT aerotow release" isn't even mentioned until Page 2.
02. Approximately a third of the text is dedicated to cautioning the proud new owner about how this this piece of hardware - along with other related items of Lookout equipment - is actually no more suitable for use in aerotowing a hang glider than a Pop-Tart and listing dangerous B, C, and D Plans the long since dead pilot is supposed to be able to use to compensate.
Since Lookout bridles are incapable of wrapping the secondary release only functions as a backup and thus all references to it are included in the total.
The loop of string described is not a weak link. A weak link as required by USHGA as well as in real aviation functions to infallibly protect the aircraft against overloading. Since primary bridles actually ARE capable of wrapping this piece of string does not, cannot, and is not intended to fulfill that function. Its only functions are to protect the release manufacturer in the event the product is unable to handle required loads and to mislead the user into believing that it can serve as an alternate emergency release. The "weak link" described is so understrength for virtually any glider as to be MUCH more dangerous than no weak link at all (as is a parachute which accidentally deploys) and thus all references to it are also included.
At no point is there a reference to a weak link in terms of Gs.
03. An additional sixteen percent consists of erroneous material, conflicting statements, half truths, obfuscations, and absolutely deadly misinformation.
04. So half of this document is crap.
05. Within its 2198 words all about aerotow equipment and procedures there are six references to release actuation "pressure", three to tow "pressure", and not a single use of the word "TENSION". Great to know how well acquainted with grade school level physics are we at GT Manufacturing and Lookout Mountain Flight Park.
If properly used, there is a minimum of three ways to release from the towline. Do not depend on any of these ways by themselves and fly with a back up. The first release is the primary release which under certain situations may fail, second, is the secondary release that works most of the time, if all is set up correctly, and third, the weak link which will break under the right load. You should also fly with a hook knife that will allow you to cut the line if need be.
06. If you see a semi about to blast through the intersection there is a minimum of three ways to stop the car. The first is the hydraulic brake system which, under certain situations, may fail. Second is the parking brake that works most of the time. Third - downshift. You should also keep your seat belt unbuckled and door unlocked so you can jump out of the car if need be.
07. What's "the right load"? Is it possible to slam into the ground with tow tension under "the right load"? Does a "proper weak link" blow at "the right load" and thus keep the glider from slamming in? If so, how come Jamie Alexander, Frank Spears, Rob Richardson, Mike Haas, Arlan Birkett, Jeremiah Thompson, Steve Elliot, and Roy Messing ain't around no more?
08. If you're rolled and locking out and still shy of "the right load" can you roll more and push out to achieve "the right load"? What happens after you achieve it?
Learn and understand the risk and the use of this gear.
09. If he learned and understood the stated risks of this gear why would a responsible pilot go or put another benign living thing up with it?
Once your gear is installed you will need to get your glider test flown to test that the gear performs as it should and is set up correctly.
10.
Robert Benchley
Calvin Coolidge is dead.
Dorothy Parker
How can they tell?
The new GT aerotow release, new as of July 11th 2009...
11. So it's been a while since it's been NEW.
...is designed to be used with a V bridle and a 130-pound green stripe Dacron tournament fishing line weak link.
12. If you're gonna condemn everybody to another twenty years of uninterrupted 130 pound GreenSPOT hell at least get its name right.
At this time it is not recommended to use this release with a higher value weak link.
13. At this time - due to the limitations of the braking system - it is not recommended to drive this automobile at more than 25 miles per hour or downhill.
14. AT THIS TIME it is not recommended to use this release with a higher value weak link? At what time will it be recommended to use this release with a 0.8 G weak link? It's been a year and a half so far. Does its performance increase with age? Use cycles? Are you working on a firmware upgrade?
We are confident that with an ultimate load of 130 pounds at the release point, the new GT aerotow release works better than all cable releases that we have experience with.
15. Minnesota Spike was the fastest porcupine over to enter the Kentucky Derby.
16. This is the best papier-mache bulletproof vest with which any of us have experience.
17. Translation into Lesser Sleaze...
We are stating an unsubstantiated opinion that at up to three quarters of a G this "works better" than the Wallaby, Quest, and our previous cable based garbage. Above that loading, despite its unsuitability for use as an aerotow release mechanism, the Wichard 2673 spinnaker shackle totally kicks ass. Tim Hinkel's cable based design may be vastly superior to ours but we have no experience with it.
Also, in comparison to the industry standard Wichard spinnaker release...
18. INDUSTRY? STANDARD? Bullshit. There are no industry standards. There are just a bunch of assholes slapping together whatever crap they feel like, putting it into the air, and killing people with it with no accountability whatsoever. The Wichard 2673 spinnaker shackle wasn't intended, designed, tested, or certified for aerotowing hang gliders. It was intended, designed, tested, and certified for holding heavy ropes under heavy loads and releasing them under light loads in noncritical situations using a leechline lanyard giving a two to one mechanical advantage on sailboats. Wrong industry, wrong standards, wrong configuration.
...the barrel release is designed so that the pilot can easily tell that it is connected properly.
19. The spinnaker shackle wasn't designed to be butchered by some jerk with a welder and rigged with a bunch of cable crap. Use it with a leechline lanyard the way it WAS designed and it opens and closes just fine up to about three hundred pounds.
Also, the hinge area is not sharp like we find on the Wichard release.
20. If you spend a couple of minutes with a small file the spinnaker shackle hinge won't be sharp either.
We have demonstrated that the smooth stainless steel flipper...
21. GATE.
A sharp hinge can cut your weak link and cause premature releases.
22. And 130 pound Greenspot doesn't do that anyway?
We feel that this design has exceeded our expectations in all regards.
23. Enough so that we can say with no reservation or hesitation whatsoever:
---
GT Manufacturing Inc. and Lookout Mountain Flight Park Inc. make no claim of serviceability of this tow equipment. There is no product liability insurance covering this gear and we do not warrant this gear as suitable for towing anything. We make no claim of serviceability in any way and recommend that you do not use this aerotow gear if you are unwilling to assume the risk.
If you are uncomfortable with the risk of using this tow gear you will need to get gear that you are comfortable with or do not tow.
Learn and understand the risk and the use of this gear.
The new GT aerotow release is designed to be used with a 130-pound green stripe Dacron tournament fishing line weak link. At this time it is not recommended to use this release with a higher value weak link. We are confident that with an ultimate load of 130 pounds at the release point, the new GT aerotow release works better than all cable releases that we have experience with.
Basically, if you notice a trend of increasing release pull-pressures under similar load conditions then your release needs to be inspected.
The primary release may fail at any time; this is why a secondary release must be used on all tows.
---
We hope the GT barrel release exceeds your expectations as well!
24. Yeah, it's pretty easy to wow people who fly with and speak highly of Bailey releases. Kinda like it doesn't take much to bring tears of joy to a dung beetle.
Look for a kinked cable housing, kinked or frayed cable...
While using, note if your release requires more pull-pressures...
The primary release must be routed correctly with sufficient slack in order to function properly. The cable should be secured along the front of the downtube with the Velcro ties and clipped to the tow point via carabineer with no tight bends in the cable. There must be enough cable slack between the top downtube tie and full forward pull of release when rigged to tow point. Also, cable must be in front of hang straps!!
25. Would you hafta worry about any of that bullshit if you used some fucking common sense and built it into the control frame the way the VG actuator is?
We are currently using one of these releases on our tandem gliders and are able to put a lot of use on the release in a short time frame.
26. Yeah?
The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
10. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-B. Aero Vehicle Requirements
06. A release must be placed at the hang glider end of the tow line within easy reach of the pilot. This release shall be operational with zero tow line force up to twice the rated breaking strength of the weak link.
Does that release comply with that regulation? What are you using for a weak link? Oh! That's right! You guys don't use weak links on the tandem. You just do whatever the hell you feel like.
So you're saying that it's OK for other operations to use this thing for tandem - as long as the weak link doesn't exceed 130 pounds?
OR, like you, they don't use any weak link so, strictly speaking, they're in compliance with the advisory that:
...it is not recommended to use this release with a higher value weak link.
This release is a new design and has been tested to 388 pounds...
27. You're welcome.
It is your responsibility to insure that an experienced aerotow instructor...
The same experienced aerotow instructors who tell people:
...the weak link will break before you can get into too much trouble.
and
Most flight parks use 130 pound braided Dacron line, so that one loop (which is the equivalent to two strands) is about 260 pounds...
?
Hang Gliding is a dangerous sport...
28. Appropriately run by dangerous people.
...and misuse...
29. Or, as you've stated about five times in this document with respect to this release, use.
...of equipment can result in injury or death.
Primary release- this is rigged to the glider and releases the weaklink/long bridle.
30. Is there any possibility whatsoever of the long bridle not clearing the tow ring?
Secondary release- rigged to your harness and attached to the short bridle.
31. You told us you can blow the primary at 220 pounds with a 16 pound pull. How come you're not spewing figures about the secondary? What's it need at that load? Over 35 pounds? Can the average person get a decent enough grip on that little stub of a barrel to pull twice the load in an emergency after the primary has failed? How come every organization that's made a half-assed attempt at setting a standard has capped the pull at 25?
32. I don't see a weak link on either end of the bridle in that photo? What's limiting the load on that release?
Short bridle- rigged to harness tow loop and goes through long bridle to secondary release.
33. Is there any way for the "short" bridle to hang up before it clears the "long" bridle. Would there be some harm in at least putting weak links and barrel releases on BOTH ends of the bridle?
34. Define "short".
Weak-link- 130-pound test, green stripe Dacron tournament fishing line, rigged to the end of the long bridle. Use proper knotting technique!!
35. I thought the weak link was supposed to go on the end of the towline.
The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
10. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-B. Aero Vehicle Requirements
05. A weak link must be placed at both ends of the tow line.
Is it just as safe to put it on the top end of the bridle?
36. What about the other end of the towline? You got a weak link there, right?
The weak link is used to protect the equipment by breaking at a set value.
37. WHAT equipment? What set value do you need before before you start bending it?
We recommend the green stripe 130-pound test tournament fishing line.
38. Who is WE? What is the basis of our recommendation? Is it really the same for all gliders? What happens when you go lighter? Heavier?
Our tests have shown that when tied properly this line breaks consistently at 130 lbs.
39. My tests have shown that when tied improperly this line breaks consistently at 125 pounds. BFD.
With a "V" bridle angled at 60 degrees or less this will give you a breaking strength of 260 lbs at the tow line.
40. Bullshit. It gives you 226 pounds - and NOBODY tows with a bridle long enough to give less than that apex angle. So only the lightest of gliders gets up to a full G. And everybody who's got a fucking clue what he's talking about knows that that's not even getting you up to the safe range. And that screws me down to 0.7 Gs - if I'm lucky - no more that half of what I should have and about a third of what USHGA says I CAN have.
Avoid towing off of the weak link with a knot in the main circle that you clip your release to.
41. Yeah, you sure don't wanna be losing that five pounds - especially when the thing's only half of what you need for a safe tow to begin with.
Hook Knife- secured in harness so it is readily accessible.
Bill Bryden - 2000/02
Dennis Pagen informed me several years ago about an aerotow lockout that he experienced. One moment he was correcting a bit of alignment with the tug and the next moment he was nearly upside down. He was stunned at the rapidity. I have heard similar stories from two other aerotow pilots.
42. Define "readily accessible".
Carabineer...
Can't even be bothered to run a spell check. That's OK, the spell check is just to keep you from looking like an idiot - and that boat sailed a long time ago.
This is to reduce the remote possibility of the weak link getting wedged into the flipper joint.
43. Bullshit. Turn it up, down, or sideways. You pull on the release with the bridle it's gonna align with the bridle. It makes no difference whatsoever.
...and the site where the flying is taking place.
44. Perhaps we could get a table showing how to adjust the trim on the basis of latitude, longitude, and altitude? (Do you hafta adjust the trim over the course of a two thousand foot tow?)
The place where the tow release is mounted effects...
45. Affects...
The primary release may fail at any time;
46. GREAT!
...this is why a secondary release must be used on all tows.
47. So why not just use the bottom release as your primary all the time? Or are there any downsides to doing that?
Remember, you were trained to tug your primary only once before going straight to the secondary!
48. Right. Just like they train you in driver's ed. Stomp on the brake pedal only once - then go straight to the parking brake! And close your eyes in case the air bag goes off before you get there.
Tommy Crump - 1986/10
There are some things that you must rely on hundreds of thousands of times without failure. A release mechanism that is properly designed can do that.
But then, Matt, you'd hafta prioritize properly designing a good release instead of punching out yet another cable based slap-on piece o' crap and writing a Russian novel's worth of disclaimers and ludicrous patches which will only be successful after the pilot's been dead for ten or fifteen seconds.
Aerotow refreshers
49. Yeah, we could sure use a couple at this point.
Help others when there is no groundcrew, you will get yourself in the air quicker!
50. Especially if you double up all their weak links.
Did you pre-flight that dolly cart?
51. What's are the differences between a dolly, a cart, and a dolly cart?
52. Are you using a safe release or one that "may fail at any time"?
A proper weak link must be used and a hook knife must be rigged on harness or tow will be denied.
53. Define "a proper weak link". Do we get to talk about Gs? Or is it whatever any flight park or Davis caliber shithead feels like saying it is?
54. Does it hafta be on the end of the towline like it says in the regulations? Or can you put it anywhere you feel like?
55. Do we hafta use a proper primary release? Or will you let us slide with one that the manufacturer "does not warrant as suitable for towing anything"?
56. What about the "backup" release? Does it hafta meet any standards whatsoever? Or is it OK to use a Bailey?
57. Has a hook knife ever once - aside from cutting someone free of his wreckage before the chopper arrives - been of any use whatsoever in the entire history of aerotowing?
58. But - as long as we've got that hook knife - you're totally cool with the idea of a bare basetube.
A few years back a friend who had good landing skills missed ONE. Stuck his speed bar in the dirt and whacked hard. He swung through the control bar and hit the top of his helmet on the keel buckling his neck. He was a quadriplegic for eight months before committing suicide. Would wheels have worked? YES - no debate by those who were there and witnessed the accident.
I really admire your concern for safety.
If you start oscillating or get into trouble of any sort, Release!
59. Yeah, don't worry if you're at the extreme of an oscillation cycle, slow and rolled, mushing, or going up like a rocket in a thermal - just release! What's the worst that could happen?
There is no need for a lockout - especially a low level lockout...
60. There is no need for a thermal either - especially a low level thermal. But unless we're easily amused and perfectly content with morning and evening sleds there's gonna be a need for lockouts - including low level lockouts.
...we do not want to have lockouts!
61. Yeah. And people who live in trailer parks in Oklahoma do not want to have tornadoes. Lotsa luck.
Release before a problem develops!
62. Yeah. Consult your horoscope before making the call to roll to the flight park. Save yourself the gas.
One moment he was correcting a bit of alignment with the tug and the next moment he was nearly upside down.
63. So obviously, he should've released before the problem developed. So obviously no one should ever correct a bit of misalignment - he should just release immediately. So obviously no one should ever tow in thermal conditions 'cause in thermal conditions you're doing nothing but correcting misalignment. You'd never make it to fifty feet so why bother?
If you are outside the cone of safety and unable to immediately correct your position - release immediately. If you are uncomfortable - release immediately.
Dennis Pagen
Soon after lift-off the trike tug and I were hit by the mother of all thermals. Since I was much lighter, I rocketed up well above the tug, while the very experienced tug pilot, Neal Harris, said he was also lifted more than he had ever been in his heavy trike. I pulled in all the way, but could see that I wasn't going to come down unless something changed. I hung on and resisted the tendency to roll to the side with as strong a roll input as I could, given that the bar was at my knees. I didn't want to release, because I was so close to the ground and I knew that the glider would be in a compromised attitude. In addition, there were hangars and trees on the left, which is the way the glider was tending.
64. C'mon Dennis, you're WAY the hell outside the cone of safety, there's no freakin' way you're gonna correct your position and with all those hangars and trees around, a proper weak link, the bar stuffed, and a piece o' shit Bailey release on your shoulder you just gotta be really uncomfortable... So why didn't you do like Matt said and release immediately? If ever a response to a situation were a no brainer...
The towline does break...
65. Really?
The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
10. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-B. Aero Vehicle Requirements
08. The tow line must be at least twice as strong as the weak link in use.
So you guys don't care enough about the towline even enough to make sure it doesn't blow before one of your "proper weak links"?
1978/06/06
John Walbert
Martha Galvis
Lahaina, Maui
Seagull III
Splice in towline snapped at high pitch attitude.
...the bridle breaks...
66. Why stop there? Why not talk about the emergency response to a broken sidewire? At least one could concoct a reasonably sane excuse for getting on the cart with a marginal one of those. How often are bridles failing?
...the tow plane release may release you...
67. Not "the tug pilot may release you because of an emergency with his plane"... but "the tow plane release may release you". The release may open for no reason whatsoever.
...and any one of the several weak links in the tow system can fail.
68. What do you mean "SEVERAL" weak links?
69. For starters you assholes don't have ANY weak links. A weak link is something you put between the plane and the towline so that no matter what happens you can't get into an overload situation. You don't do that. You put one piece of string between the bridle and the release on both planes - unless the back end plane is a tandem, in which case you don't even do that.
The bridle is part of the plane. It goes up with it and - unless the other end connects with another weak link or can be released - will come down with it. And if the string breaks on either end and the bridle wraps at the tow ring - which it's most likely to do in an already high tension situation - you've got NOTHING to limit the ensuing tension to anything that the release can handle.
70. Next, your reference to "SEVERAL" weak links means that you know people capable of understanding the obvious issue above are more safely configuring their systems. But that's all you're gonna say on the issue 'cause otherwise you'd hafta concede that you're deliberately adding an extreme danger to your shoddy operation that could be fixed by adding a penny's worth of string to each plane that shows up on the runway.
71. Why would an official LMFP properly tied one-size-fits-all proper weak link dump you off tow unless you had already screwed the pooch so egregiously that the tow could not safely be continued?
- Keep your energy (airspeed) and if released realize that the first thing to do is keep your aircraft flying - this usually requires you to get your nose down enough to avoid a stalled angle of incidence.
72. And occasionally requires you to get your nose down and wait a while for the glider to recover from a stalled angle of incidence.
...and that your weak link is properly tied and in good condition. If in doubt replace it.
73. And never EVER broach the subject of Gs. As long as it's properly tied and in good condition it's just right for you.
- If you are uncomfortable while towing - release immediately, if you are oscillating - release immediately.
- If you are unable to stay in the cone of safety while towing, release immediately.
74. You said both of those already - and they're no less stupid and dangerous that they were the first time.
- Practice using your secondary release and be able to immediately go to the secondary release while maintaining control of the glider.
75. Yeah. Practice doing it on a stationary dolly. That way you won't do what Peter Birren refers to as an "unplanned semi-loop" and slam back into the runway the way it happens in the real world.
- Exit runway immediately after landing, there are others trying to land or takeoff.
76. Or, if they're using proper weak links - both.
Yeah, but it was good to get it out of my system.
By way of contrast - If you go to people who know what the fuck they're doing in terms of making something airworthy... This is the entirety of the somewhat analogous disclaimer bullshit out of the entire 2007 eighty page owner's manual for the entire zillion component Will's Wing T2 bladewing.
---
Wills Wing hang gliding products are not covered by product liability insurance.
Wills Wing makes no warranty of the suitability of the glider for towing.
We do not know, and cannot know, the full range of maneuvers or conditions that may cause the pilot's safety to be compromised, nor can we test the glider in all possible circumstances.
On the other hand, a wire that has been kinked one time can fail very quickly after that, and should be replaced immediately.
---
Wills Wing hang gliding products are not covered by product liability insurance.
OK, statement of fact. But Wills Wing products don't lock up and fall out of the sky at one and a half Gs either.
Wills Wing makes no warranty of the suitability of the glider for towing.
Fair enough. Put a string on a hang glider and it becomes dangerously roll unstable. Everybody - 'cept Donnell and his disciples - has known that for thirty years and accepted the risk.
We do not know, and cannot know, the full range of maneuvers or conditions that may cause the pilot's safety to be compromised, nor can we test the glider in all possible circumstances.
Like any other aircraft from the Wright Flyer to the Space Shuttle.
On the other hand, a wire that has been kinked one time can fail very quickly after that, and should be replaced immediately.
Yeah, wires can be dangerous and you've gotta be careful with them but they're the price to which we've agreed for a light clean plane we can fold, transport, and store.
When I first saw your release years ago on the Oz Report forum my impression was the same as most people's. I didn't know what the pictures were showing but it looked way more complicated than it needed to be. After seeing the problems that even the best releases on the market have and learning more about your release, however, I understand why you made it the way you did and the advantages it provides.
Can you start to see how analogous to a good VG system it is? I didn't make that connection until after it fully evolved and I flew it for several years, then stepped back, looked at things, and realized I had reinvented a wheel and modified it for a different, infinitely more critical but much less demanding application.
Can you start to see why I can - without reservation - tell somebody who flies at 350 pounds that he's good from zero to 1.75 Gs - PERIOD? Preflight it, hook up, it'll work - first time, every time. Whereas an asshole like Matt's telling that same pilot:
Velcro it in place just right, stay below two thirds of a G, expect it to fail at any time, figure on its performance degrading with use, learn to fly in a lockout with one hand so you can go to the backup, be ready to roll harder and push out to blow the weak link, make sure that you've got a readily accessible hook knife, and keep an emergency contact number on you in a ziplock so it's not all blood soaked when we need it.
Tested an old but virgin Mason (three-string) release at 350 pounds. Subjective evaluation of the required actuation tension: non issue. Can't see anyone having a problem at 420. Criticism - he used perlon for the base and loops. Never use elastic materials for anything that feels any portion of tow tension. Easily enough replaceable.
I've been moved to a new hospital in Salt Lake: Aspen Ridge, 963 East 6600 South, Murray, Utah 84121, 801-713-3104 direct.
Thanks to the many well-wishers who have written me. I am humbled by the steady stream of good thoughts and prayers, especially from so many avowed agnostics and atheists!
Rocket's intentions are good. He and I need to sit down and put all the pieces of the puzzle together before an accurate accident report is posted for dissection by the list. Let me say that it was my third tow of the day, the first to 1200' in sinking air, the second had a premature release at about 200'. Nothing unusual in these tows. But after this I most likely will never platform tow again. More when Rocket and I can collaborate.
The docs have all said in one form or another that by all reason I shouldn't have made it. Broken back, shattered pelvis, lower legs both shattered, closed head injury that affected mental acuity as well as both eyes and ears, internal organ damage, right arm and both knee soft tissue injuries, in and out of a coma for sixteen days. The first night I entered the Trauma Unit, after I'd received 18 units of blood, my body electrolytes would not stabilize and they gave me twelve hours to live. SLC pilot Lisa Verzella sat down with me and said "They can't stabilize you, JW. It has to be up to you. You have to be the one." The next morning I was stabilized, and they started the long process of rebuilding me from the ground up, a process which continues with surgeries that have been as recent as last Friday, on my left leg.
The lead doc told me recently that the body has crumple zones, and I used all of mine protecting the cardiac and pulmonary systems. It is a credit to the superb medical care that I am writing this. I cannot walk or even stand yet, but I'm hopeful that will occur within the next two or three weeks. Antoinette and the two babes are here in SLC and I see them every day, which really helps.
Again, thanks so much for all the thoughts, wishes and prayers.
I had read and archived this before but had forgotten about and mislaid it. Posting it for two main reasons...
The first is to make sure we know and remember how incredibly devastating this impact was. Hate to admit it but it always seems more horrifying to read something like this than it does about a clean kill.
The second...
Let me say that it was my third tow of the day, the second had a premature release at about 200'. Nothing unusual in these tows.
I provided the bridle and release (unknown manufacturer) that were identical to my own and purchased in the mid 1990's from a local ATOL and Wills Wing dealer. The release used the standard 3-loop arrangement.
The driver reported winding in the line with the electric retrieval system and parafoil fully inflated as normal when recovering from the previous tow that was inadvertently terminated early. However, it seems possible that the low altitude early release during the previous tow created some sort of problem spot in the reel at that point.
Un fucking believable. They're platform towing in the desert, they've got dust devils in the area, they're using weak links on the light side, and they're almost certainly both running the release lanyards to their wrists. Premature release at about two hundred feet... Nothing unusual. Happens all the time.
And this is 58 days before Arlan Birkett and Jeremiah Thompson are gonna have a premature release at about two hundred feet. And fifteen years and two days after Eric Aasletten at around or under half that.
Three tows for this guy. One potential lethal equipment malfunction on the second. And possibly another contributory equipment malfunction precipitated by the previous on the mostly lethal third.
And nobody even comments on it. 'Cause he's right - in hang gliding it IS nothing unusual.
But after this I most likely will never platform tow again.
Got that right too - unfortunately. But there's no flavor of towing that you'd likely have survived very long with those foundations.
Thanks for the explanations. One more question...is the thimble required to use a Bridle Link, or would a Bridle Link thread through the eye of a conventional primary bridle without issue?
Tad Eareckson wrote:I haven't been around truck towing in over sixteen years and haven't paid too much attention to it since the Dragonfly got rolling so you can probably help me out here. But I get the impression that it's REAL hard to lock out when you're getting blasted into the air that fast and on a payout winch. So why's he locking out?"
I find it easier to diverge from the tow line when truck towing as compared to aerotowing. I'm not sure if it's the higher line tension or the fact that I truck tow single-point and aerotow two-point (or some other factor). At any rate, I could see low-level lockouts being caused by conditions. Here's a clip from the roughest truck tow I've ever experienced (password = 'red'; tow starts at 24 secs):
You can see how much trouble I had getting pointed back at the line at 0:48 despite full control deflection. I could imagine in more violent conditions that not being enough. And the conditions Richard Graham was towing in sound nuts to me, especially in what I'd expect to be hilly or mountainous terrain.
Getting blasted into the air might be helpful for the first thirty or so feet, but after that the tow's the same as with any other launch method.
Glad to know you've already tested the 200 lb stuff. I used it for the first time recently...just happened to be the roughest air I've towed through in a very long time. I was real glad I wasn't using the 130 or I'd have been thinking 'please don't break...' the whole time (assuming it held).
Tad Eareckson wrote:The same experienced aerotow instructors who tell people:
...the weak link will break before you can get into too much trouble.
...?
To be fair to Lookout, their instructors never told me anything of the sort.
About the Mason release, nothing on mine (a recent model) can stretch. They seem to have no trouble releasing under (subjectively) high tensions. They can, however, fail under no tension because pulling the release line can pull the release towards you instead of the pin if nothing's holding the release down. It's easy enough to release with two hands in this case, which would be unacceptable to me if not for the fact that I can't imagine a situation where I'd need to get off the rope ASAP with no tension on it.
One more question...is the thimble required to use a Bridle Link...
Forgive me for going ballistic here, but... YES!!!
My father was a sailboat racing nut and I spent a LOT of time on crew. When glider designers started getting their shit together they started ripping off sailboat technology and hardware left and right. (To make a hang glider you just take two small sailboats, cut the hulls off, and glue together the bottoms of what's left.)
Sailboats are all about lines and using and treating them right. The goddam thimble oughta be mandatory at the bottom end of ALL two point bridles.
The primary and secondary bridles are two critical components of your aerotow release system.
1. The way EVERYBODY configures them they're constantly sawing each other apart. In theory that's a great way to set yourself up for a Lenny. In the real world the material - Spectra - is so ridiculously overstrength - especially in comparison to one-size-fits-all 130 pound Greenspot - that that's never gonna happen. But it's SHODDY unprofessional way to run an airline. The instant those components go up on a tow they start abrading each other. And the instant they start abrading each other is the instant they become unknown quantities. And I really don't like unknown quantities in stuff on which my life depends.
2. If you're using a secondary bridle three feet longer than it should be - like everyone is hell-bent to do for all eternity - it doesn't hurt the chances of its clearing.
3. If you're using a Bridle Link - which you should be - you REALLY don't want it being chewed up.
4. The goddam thimble costs two and a half bucks and pops into an eye slice REAL easy.
5. You'll NEVER find ANY moving rope-on-rope connection ANYWHERE on ANY boat - from an aircraft carrier to the America's Cup to a kid in a dinghy.
I find it easier to diverge from the tow line when truck towing as compared to aerotowing.
That could be read several ways. It's...
- no BFD to diverge.
- harder to stay in position.
- harder to stay in position but it's no BFD if you don't.
- harder to stay in position and, thus, easier to get killed.
I'm not sure if it's the higher line tension or the fact that I truck tow single-point and aerotow two-point (or some other factor).
It's a bit pointless to talk about two point with respect to platform towing. Barring some grotesque Rube Goldberg arrangement involving a wide spreader bar, you're towing one point whether you want to or not. As long as you're pointing in something resembling the proper direction about all the glider knows is that you're heavier. And all you know is that you're heavier and not proportionally stronger - you're flying with ballast. Your muscle memory responses are gonna get messed with.
When you're aerotowing two point with the glider properly trimmed you're in pretty good shape. The tension's coming from the best direction and thus there's less of it 'cause you're towing more efficiently. And you're splitting the less of it in half.
But when you start rolling away from the tow you rapidly start approximating and surpassing everything that's wrong with truck towing while losing all the advantages. (You really need to lock out on aero once or twice.)
You can see how much trouble I had getting pointed back at the line at 0:48 despite full control deflection.
1. Kinda cool the way Mother Nature cuts us some slack most of the time on this issue. She tends not to hit us with this crap until we're high enough to be able to deal with it.
2. Can't tell how high you are (probably could get pretty close if I knew your rate of climb - maybe a hundred feet?) but with enough air there's lotsa stuff that's scary without really being dangerous.
3. Nevertheless, that video clip is a pretty damn good argument for having a button under a finger.
Looks like you've changed bridle/release assemblies between the first and second tows. How come?
I could imagine in more violent conditions that not being enough.
1. In violent enough conditions you can be out of control - and possibly dead - regardless of whether you're on or off tow. It's a continuum and there are no guarantees. That's what Mike Meier says with respect to HGMA certification standards. That's why the Wills Wing manuals include the disclaimer I quoted in my 2011/01/14 post on this thread. That's true for ANY aircraft.
2. As we've discussed... It's USUALLY safer to be off tow when this kind of shit hits the fan - low or high - but not always.
And the conditions Richard Graham was towing in sound nuts to me...
Maybe. But...
1. Whatever happened to him happened gradually. There was plenty of time and - given a hands-on-the-basetube release - opportunity to abort.
2. I've towed at Ridgely in such a strong cross that I wouldn't have done it if I had had to rely on my own judgment. But I figured those guys knew what they were doing - in that regard anyway - and it turned out to be a non issue. Sunny told me not to worry about anything beyond staying level. I came off the cart, went way sideways INSTANTLY, the tug lifted off, and everything weathervaned and fixed itself.
...especially in what I'd expect to be hilly or mountainous terrain.
Grover appears to be pretty safely inside the Kansas part of Colorado. There's an astonishingly abrupt transition at the eastern edge of the Rockies.
Getting blasted into the air might be helpful for the first thirty or so feet, but after that the tow's the same as with any other launch method.
'Cept...
- That's an EXTREMELY critical first thirty feet.
- After that you can still climb out faster/steeper from a truck. (John Woiwode was only using seventy pounds - I don't think that factor was helping that situation any.)
- Again, I think there's a lot to be said for constant and adjustable tension and speed.
- In aero BOTH the glider and the thing that's towing it can get kicked in undesirable directions - at the same time on occasion.
In favor of aero... The tug can quickly maneuver in front of a glider getting off course to help it out.
Another aero plus...
If the glider's having a problem the driver can easily and instantly dump the towline.
Another aero minus...
If the glider's having a problem the driver can easily and instantly dump the towline.
I was real glad I wasn't using the 130 or I'd have been thinking 'please don't break...' the whole time...
REAL good feeling, isn't it? What a difference an extra 122 pounds of tow tension range can make. Bet you weren't real worried about your glider breaking up either.
Due to the rough conditions weak links were breaking just about every other tow and the two tugs worked hard to eventually get everyone off the ground successfully.
Note: Not "Due to the rough conditions people were unable to maintain control behind the tugs..."
I remember blasting through nasty turbulence shortly after lightbulbing and, for the first time in my aerotowing career, not having had to hold my breath and pray. No way I'd have survived one-size-fits-all. It was such a wonderful feeling. How I hate those stupid 130*2*2 bastards for putting me through all those years of pure unadulterated hell.
Virtually bulletproof protection on my end but still "at the first sign of trouble" idiots and their matching "whatever" links on the front. I never once in my AT career ever had the feeling of really being safe and in control.
Speaking of which... What's being used at the front end at Columbus? Seeing as how Gregg is one of the tug drivers and he has at least half a clue on this issue, you might be able to make some inroads on that operation. 300 pounds above the tow ring, 400 at the release, use an inner sleeve on the tow mast to disable the breakaway.
To be fair to Lookout...
1. Why? They certainly don't deserve it.
2. That was neither a Lookout specific instruction in the manual nor a Lookout specific retort in my post.
3. Experienced aerotow instructors are - as a rule - some of the most dangerous elements in all of hang gliding. (I don't have much of a problem with the way truck towing is being run in your neck of the woods. At least the reason you don't have hands-on releases is 'cause it's hard to do and less important - rather than 'cause nobody bothers. And at least the releases work.)
4. I asked a Lookout tug driver (think his name was Dave) if he had ever been in a situation in which he was endangered by a glider behind him ('cause I get tired of all these assholes telling everybody how vital 130 pound Greenspot is for the safety of the tug). He had nothing but added something like, "Anyway, there's a weak link - and its purpose is to blow before the glider gets too far out of position."
5. Lookout sells Towing Aloft.
About the Mason release...
The overall length is so short that it doesn't make much difference whether it's nylon or not - especially since the only place it's gonna be recoiling is into your belly - but nylon sure makes it a pain in the ass to crank up tension on the test rig.
It's easy enough to release with two hands in this case...
I'd guess that slack line is a virtual non issue in truck towing.
In aero...
It's easily avoidable if both pilots know what they're doing, rare, and EXTREMELY dangerous.
At the 2005 ECC at Ridgely Mason (no relation) Smawley - a real good guy but at that time new driver - was towing Ollie Gregory behind his trike. A strong thermal got the two planes out of vertical sync and reduced tension enough to give Mason the impression that Ollie was off tow. (Think he was gone from the bottom of the mirror). Mason rolled and dove and all the sudden Ollie was looking at big spirals of Spectra coming at him.
Dave Garrison was almost and James Simpson was fully killed in slack line situations.
You're already equipped to do hands-on-the-basetube slack line release for two point (assuming the new Lockout miracle release works).
And it's real easy to configure for one hand slack line for one point aero.
If I were gonna truck tow without developing a button release the Mason - or some other three-string - wouldn't be a deal breaker but I'd use a pair of barrels separated by an elongated Bridle Link. They're only feeling half the load and are easily operable - one hand - from 750 down to about 1 pounds.
I've changed my aerotow release and weak links and now use weak links on both shoulders. I'm hoping to get a barrel release or two from you as well to replace my current secondary, but I wanted to finalize my revised setup plans first.
With the aforementioned changes I'll still have the issue of a long secondary bridle. The odds of this being an issue in practice are so low that it doesn't bother me all that much, but it would be nice to resolve it if practical. However, I doubt you can buy a pre-made short bridle, and I don't trust myself to make my own given how critical it is. I was considering hitting you up for a Bridle Link, but I'm not crazy about the thimble thing. More specifically, I'm not crazy about stitching weak links around thimbles considering I'm going to want to replace them frequently to make sure they don't break before the top weak link. That said, if using a Bridle Link or weak links on the ends of the secondary bridle, I don't see the need for a weak link at the bottom end of the primary bridle, so perhaps I could just put the thimble in the existing bridle eye. You said a thimble "pops into an eye slice [splice?] REAL easy"...do you mean an existing eye, or do you have to make a new one around the thimble? Is any stitching required?
By the way, should Bridle Links be replaced periodically? If so, at what frequency?
Tad Eareckson wrote:That could be read several ways...
I just meant 'it's harder to stay in position.' The glider seems less stable in both roll and yaw to me when surface towing. I don't know what the consequences are, but it's possible this makes the glider more prone to lockouts in violent conditions. Having said that, I've spoken to other pilots about this and I seem to be alone in this opinion...everyone seems to think tuck towing is much easier than aerotowing.
Tad Eareckson wrote:It's a bit pointless to talk about two point with respect to platform towing.
Platform launching, yes, but not all payout winch towing. You can tow two-point when foot or dolly launching. The only two-point surface towing I've done is with a stationary winch, but the glider did seem more stable.
I just know I've never been as close to locking out as shown in the video when aerotowing. The fact that tug pilots can help correct alignment is probably a factor, though I don't think that would matter if a bad situation erupts quickly enough.
Tad Eareckson wrote:Can't tell how high you are...
According to my vario log I was at 120' at the 48 second mark in the video.
Tad Eareckson wrote:Looks like you've changed bridle/release assemblies between the first and second tows. How come?
After the Mason failed to release initially in a slack line end-of-tow scenario some day before (that was with the stationary winch, when I wasn't expecting the sudden complete drop of tension), another pilot suggested I use a conventional three-string release, so I decided to give it a try. That was the release I was using on the first tow. However, the release line, which was attached to the bridle near the hip, disconnected from the bridle before the second tow, so I switched back to the Mason until I had a chance to fix the other release. I've since fixed it and alternated between the releases for a while, but I think I like the Mason better. I've read the slack line issue is a common problem with all three string releases, and the conventional one is a bit too easy to release. It's released prematurely on me once, and I've seen it happen to someone else using an identical release. (In both cases the cause was unknown.)
When I made the "after that the tow's the same as with any other launch method" statement, I was talking about using the same tow method (payout winch) but different launch methods (dolly or foot). I know that aerotowing and surface towing are quite different. Between the two, I haven't decided which is safer, though I can say that for the leaving-the-ground part I feel safest platform launching.
Tad Eareckson wrote:What's being used at the front end at Columbus?
Firstly, the front end is a trike, not a Dragonfly, so we don't have to worry about breakaway tow masts (something I never knew about before) and the weak link sees 100% of the line tension. I'm not sure what we're using...from my memory, it's at least three strands, not sure of what...maybe 205 leech. I'll look next time I'm there, but we haven't been flying there lately. Most of the towing at Columbus is done by Mick, who unfortunately believes that weak link and line breaks are par for the course and no big deal. I've been thinking about proposing the club switch to Tost weak links for the tug end...not sure how that will go over, but I bet Gregg would be on board.
However, I doubt you can buy a pre-made short bridle, and I don't trust myself to make my own given how critical it is.
Considering the crap you've BEEN flying with? Considering all those disclaimers on your primary release?
Hang gliding is 3D sailing without the water. There needs to be some basic Boy Scout knots and line stuff in the Hang One requirements and on the test.
That was my secondary bridle prior to the Bridle Link. Triple fold a foot and a half of eighth inch Dacron leechline and run a needle and thread in and out enough times so that your weak link fails before it does (or do it right and use enough stitches so that the leechline fails before the stitching does).
I was considering hitting you up for a Bridle Link, but I'm not crazy about the thimble thing.
EVERYBODY should be crazy about the thimble thing. It's one of the easiest, cheapest, highest bang-for-buck items in the system.
More specifically, I'm not crazy about stitching weak links around thimbles considering I'm going to want to replace them frequently to make sure they don't break before the top weak link.
1. This is not critical stitching. This is a few passes to form a small enough eye so's there's enough resistance to keep the noose around the thimble in place.
2. The ONLY time you need to replace a bottom end weak link is after it blows following a wrap. And I've never had a wrap on a properly designed bridle. They don't wear or degrade.
3. If you do:
- not use a thimble you CAN'T use a bottom end weak link.
- use a bottom end weak link you've virtually guaranteed that you're never gonna hafta fire a secondary release. That's a biggie.
That said, if using a Bridle Link or weak links on the ends of the secondary bridle, I don't see the need for a weak link at the bottom end of the primary bridle, so perhaps I could just put the thimble in the existing bridle eye.
1. It only kicks in after a wrap and the only time you should experience a wrap is after a primary release. (You should never blow a primary weak link.)
2. Therefore you WANT something to automatically/instantly blow below the wrap.
3. If you're using a:
- secondary system weak link you're sending a jolt to something that needs one and a half Gs
- bottom end weak link you're sending a jolt to something that needs half a G less
4. Yeah, if you wanna accept that compromise you can just install the thimble in the eye. But you'd be throwing away a lot of margin for the sake of a simple one time two or three minute simple effort.
[splice?]
Yeah, that's one of those that if the brain doesn't work the spell check won't either.
...do you mean an existing eye, or do you have to make a new one around the thimble? Is any stitching required?
Yeah, the existing eye. The right way to do it is to sPlice the bridle for a tight fit but using a few passes with a needle and floss to tighten up an existing eye is acceptable.
By the way, should Bridle Links be replaced periodically?
No, they're good for forever. And twice forever if you're flying two point.
...everyone seems to think tuck towing is much easier than aerotowing.
1. We're even.
2. Freudian?
Yeah, I've always heard that truck towing is easier and logically it seems it should be. And I think there's GOTTA BE a lot more lockouts on aero. I'd guess that the problems you're having are because you weigh more on truck and the feel is different.
The fact that tug pilots can help correct alignment is probably a factor, though I don't think that would matter if a bad situation erupts quickly enough.
If you:
- get:
-- kicked out of position they can and do help
-- locked out, they don't even know where you went.
- have a problem at takeoff...
-- Justin Needham
-- Ray Pine
-- Mike Haas
-- Holly Korzilius
-- John Dullahan
-- Steve Elliot
-- Roy Messing
...you're on your own.
However, the release line, which was attached to the bridle near the hip...
I tried to get people to do something halfway sane like that for years. Dennis Pagen fought me on it.
...disconnected from the bridle before the second tow...
Count that as a kill. There's absolutely no excuse for that kinda crap equipment. That can be just as deadly as failing to hook in at Whitwell. (And you're worried that you could screw things up worse than the people who are supplying you?)
I've read the slack line issue is a common problem with all three string releases, and the conventional one is a bit too easy to release.
Put a pair of barrel releases at your hips. Both of those problems disappear.
It's released prematurely on me once, and I've seen it happen to someone else using an identical release.
1990/03/29 - Brad Anderson - McMinnville, Oregon
1990/07/05 - Eric Aasletten - Hobbs, New Mexico
What a difference a couple of decades can make in this sport.
(In both cases the cause was unknown.)
Try this...
- Once the release is loaded the pin can't come out unless it's pulled.
- Therefore the pin was pulled.
- Therefore the lanyard was tightened.
- No one was pulling on the lanyard.
- Someone WAS pulling on the bridle.
- The bridle was stretching and getting longer.
- The lanyard wasn't.
What material is being used for the bridle? Nylon?
And if the bridle's connected to the carabiner and the lanyard's anchored on the harness you've got that problem times two or three.
(In both cases the cause was unknown.)
YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT OPERATE THIS WAY. When NASA's doing its job right the shuttle sits on the pad while hundreds of engineers work themselves to frazzles 24/7 figuring out what the problem is and how to fix it. And when it isn't they usually get away with it - for a while.
I had a very different mindset too back then and trusted the people that made my equipment. Since then I've realized (largely due to this discussion) that while I can certainly consider the advice of others, I can't trust anyone in this sport but myself (and maybe the people at Wills Wing).
Stay with that. Otherwise you go into Lauren mode in which if something fails it's OK as long as that's what everyone else is using.
Firstly, the front end is a trike...
Reboot.
Is an extension of the towline routed through the propeller shaft?
Chris Smith had an interesting thing happen to him here at the Santa Cruz Flats Race. On the first day he was towing behind a trike. Somehow the tow rope at the trike end got caught (just how is unclear), couldn't be released and was twisting up. It started vibrating at Chris's end. He wasn't aware of what the problem was and he decided just to hang on.
But the rope was now twisting and shorting itself and twisting itself up at Chris' end without him realizing it. Chris looked down as the rope kept vibrating and saw that his pro tow was twisting up also and twisting the barrel releases together. He immediately released one of his barrel releases and then the other, but that didn't release him from the tow rope, but it did scare him.
Then the weaklink broke and released him (just how is unclear).
If so, is there a swivel near the front end?
Need to find out the capacity of the release. One of those vice grips affairs? Inelegant but I would imagine pretty damn good to a pretty high limit.
Do they do tandem?
Most of the towing at Columbus is done by Mick, who unfortunately believes that weak link and line breaks are par for the course and no big deal.
Yeah, Mick... I asked him a whole bunch of questions that he never got around to answering. Probably 'cause he wouldn't have come out looking very good if he had.
I've been thinking about proposing the club switch to Tost weak links for the tug end...
The front end of the towline would be a REAL GOOD place to put one of my Shear Links - maybe about six hundred pounds. That end stays off the ground.
...but I bet Gregg would be on board.
Bloody well should be. He's on the right track on a lot of stuff but sucks on following through. He let me twist in the wind over the issue of getting some sane SOPs on the books.
Also...
Make some loops of out of your 200 pound Greenspot and hand them out to everybody who flies at over 200 pounds and is fed up with pops. Yeah, it'll overload their stupid Bailey releases but according to hang gliding's stupid religion you're only supposed to fix one problem at a time anyway.
Actually, for the two pointers, 200 on the top and 130 on the Baileys wouldn't be a bad configuration.
Take your flying weight - 260 pounds. A loop of 200 at the top gives you about 350 pounds - 1.75 Gs for that weight (or 1.13 for the glider maxed out).
The bottom end of the bridle is good for 260 so it's not gonna blow first and if it wraps you're down to one G - and the jolt is almost certain to blow that.
And if you wanna tow one point just swap out the weak links.
Lightbulb.
Actually, MAJOR lightbulb.
The Ribbon Bridle is an absolute nightmare to produce.
Bridle Links are easy.
Good wrap resistant hollow braid Spectra bridles you can do in your sleep.
The 200 pound Greenspot isn't a bad one-size-fits-all primary weak link.
If we can find a few more increments of light line like that... Maybe just two - 250 and 300... I'll bet the deep sea fishing folk have plenty of that sort of thing.
Forget the weak link at the bottom end of the bridle.
I can do a Bridle Link just safely over the primary - about one G after a wrap - for use in two point towing.
You wanna tow one point... Just swap in a 1.5 G Bridle Link from a pocket in your harness.
was also reported in the Oz Report. You had a bullshit Quallaby release lever on your downtube, a bullshit bent pin Davis Release on your shoulder, weren't any better able to release than Mike Nooy, missed by inches breaking your fuckin' neck plowing into the keel.
Larry West - 2011/01/26 16:29:58 UTC
What can be learned.
I learned...
That training and process planning are much more important to safety (aka not getting hurt) than hardware choices and habits. We can have a discussion about releases, but every release will fail someday, so let's agree on a process that expects failure and deals with it.
Every towing fatality (actually most fatalities) illustrate how:
Thinking through:
the probability of a failure (release doesn't let go),
the consequences of that failure (hit end of line and die),
and
developing a response to that failure in advance (cutting line at winch end while pilot flies straight along line)
and then
develop a response to the failure of the response to the failure (cut line at glider end or fly along the line until you can free yourself)
are often the things hang and paraglider pilots want to do the least but they are usually the things that will save us when that failure occurs.
Because of the last three fatalities where the pilot hit the end of a stopped line and a near miss on one of our tows three years ago (where a new pilot turned 90 degrees off the line thinking he had released, it snagged on a bush, and hit the end just as he was landing (very lucky)), we made changes to our processes here. One rule is never turn away from a tow line that is still attached to you. Fly along the line until you can get off it (release, cut it, whatever).
We have a lot of checklists and procedures that repel a lot of pilots, but we have a good safety record so far. The surfers don't come out to tow with us much, but the chess players do.
I share the sorrow of all. Let's try to keep this from happening again (at least this particular sequence). Shane was a smart pilot and the tow operator had a response loaded (cut the line), but no one had talked about snagging the line, so the one thing no one prepared for was the one thing that happened.
All we can do to honor Shane is to never make, or let someone else make, that same mistake again.
Larry
(chess player)
Jim Rooney - 2011/01/26 17:26:47 UTC
I'm already sick to death of this "Chess Player" BS.
What a horrid self-serving article.
LARRY!!!
I've scribbled a short list of pilots who could participate on this forum without being permanently banned before touching more than two or three keys. You've been on it since the beginning. Welcome!
So how did you find this obscure little bastion or resistance?
Now that the mushy stuff is out of the way, lemme start beating up on you a little.
That training and process planning are much more important to safety (aka not getting hurt) than hardware choices and habits. We can have a discussion about releases, but every release will fail someday, so let's agree on a process that expects failure and deals with it.
There are some hardware items that CAN and MUST be 100.00000 percent infallible because during some or all phases of a flight a failure WILL be fatal and all of your training, skill, and reflexes will instantly become 100.00000 percent irrelevant and useless.
For example...
If your sidewire fails at five hundred feet MAYBE you can get lucky with a parachute. But below 150? There is no Plan B. You might as well relax and enjoy the tape of your life flashing through your mind. So you care for and meticulously preflight and load test your wires and replace them if damaged because you can NEVER afford a failure.
Low level tow emergencies - even with the best equipment, pilots, and drivers on the planet - are not necessarily survivable. You can't really afford to get into some of the extreme ones but if you do you MAY have one second to execute Plan A - and Plan B is gonna be CPR.
On 1990/07/05 for example, Eric Aasletten's release failed - in the sense that it didn't stay closed when it really needed to - and Plan B WAS CPR. He didn't have a prayer after the malfunction.
We can have a discussion about releases, but every release will fail someday...
Self fulfilling prophesy. Keeps the flight parks from having their useless asses sued out of existence.
"Everybody knows it's impossible to design an infallible release so were gonna keep selling the same deadly junk that we have been for the past twenty years no matter how many people it's killed. And for the love of Jesus stay away from Tad - real nutcase. Here's your hook knife - that'll be another twenty-five bucks please."
The release that killed Shane was dangerous shoddy junk. It didn't fail because "every release will fail someday". It failed for obvious and predictable reasons - EXACTLY as did Robin Strid's. Junk release, obvious defect, no secondary or backup. Too bad Shane wasn't also using a one and a half G weak link to give all the Greenspot Nazis something to celebrate again. (I'm pretty sure he wasn't 'cause otherwise we'd have undoubtedly heard all the Greenspot Nazis celebrating by now.)
Shane was a smart pilot and the tow operator had a response loaded (cut the line), but no one had talked about snagging the line, so the one thing no one prepared for was the one thing that happened.
Whatever's going on back there, I can fix it by giving you the rope.
And I got tired of flying behind those assholes at Ridgely knowing that their weak links were lighter than mine.
All that being said...
Yeah, you should have a best response wired in your head for a situation like this and, assuming the bridle was routed under the basetube, it might have made a difference.
