Weak link in truck towing WILL (read: should) still break in a lockout situation... but as everyone has already pointed out, it takes a lot longer because the glider can continue to pull line off the winch.
There is a limit to how fast line can come off the winch though... so the forces still build up, and the weaklink still fails.
The pilot releasing is a much quicker and more concrete solution. Also, experienced tow operators usually monitor the pilot on tow, or at the very least the amount of rope being pulled off the winch. If things get out of whack, the tow operator can dump line tension and allow the pilot to fly away from the lockout (with the rope, until they release it).
Another practice I've heard of, but I'm not a fan of, is the tow operator can jack the pressure way up which will cause the weaklink to break much sooner. In theory it works, but like I said, I think it sounds sketchy...
Towing, like hang gliding, is as safe as we make it. Let's be safe out there.
So Ryan, watcha think?
- Stronglink?
- Sam didn't:
-- monitor the amount of rope being pulled off the winch?
-- dump tension soon enough?
-- jack the pressure up enough?
- Theory needs a little work?
It works best in a lockout situation... if you're banked away from the tug and have the bar back by your belly button... let it out. Glider will pitch up, break weaklink, and you fly away. Instant hands free release
Maybe Terry should've tried nosing up abruptly. I'll bet that woulda maxed out the line speed and allowed him to fly away safely.
Oh well... You know what they say about hindsight.
Interesting--running a cord over a 45 degree edge will result in a reduction in strength.
- And that would put it somewhat below the ideal strength for an aerotow weak link - as determined by numerous aerotow operators across the county based on several decades of experience and hundreds of thousands of tows.
- Oh well... A little weaker, a little safer.
- So what angle does the cord make in the Thumb Knot which Steve is using to form the loop and how does that weaken things?
- Oh yeah. When the weak link is attached to the bridle the knot is positioned so that it's hidden from the main tension in the link and excluded altogether from the equation. Forget I mentioned it.
- So it's pretty obvious that it's gonna blow where the cord runs over the edge at an angle of 45 degrees - or, if you look at the photo showing it under tension, 90 - and we don't actually hafta bench test anything.
- Is anyone else bothered by the fact that the release mechanism is based upon a side loaded pin and there are no performance figures cited anywhere on the web page? Just kidding.
Marc Fink - 2012/06/19 12:40:36 UTC
Oh mother of God--just noticed Tad was involved in this thread.
Never has been or will be any fooling you, Marc.
Kinsley Sykes - 2012/06/19 12:43:36 UTC
It's worse than that.
WORSE than that?!?!?! How could it POSSIBLY be any worse than that?
The whole forum is all Tad...
Oh yeah. That would do it. Definitely.
He finally found one that won't kick him out.
And I've also found one where anybody who has his lips grafted to Rooney's ass WILL be kicked out - IMMEDIATELY. So Marc and you are welcome to read all you like. But don't even think about wasting the thirty seconds or so that it takes to register.
The SteevRelease was designed to be an integral part of a three point Aero tow bridle and was not designed to be used in a two point (Pro Tow) or as a single point tow release.
The above quote is from the designer.
I realize that the idea is to keep ones hands from leaving the control bar to activate the release.
I do not know if a SteevRelease was being used or not.
However once the wing is in a lockout it would only be a fight against ones own will to let go as control of the wing is nil.
In my opinion, your harness attachment points are critical to PLing as the AoA and pressures on the wing and pilot are unique as is the wings attitude in relation to the pulling forces. The attachment points for the standard PL bridle are two lines that attach to the carabiner, feed down through tow loops at the pilots hips then under the control bar and come together at the release mechanism.
I have never used any other bridle configuration (since 1998). If the Steevrelease was used in the above configuration it certainly had the potential to be effective. But a lockout is just that. A weak link is no guarantee either.
Bottom line: The PIC has no one to rely on but themselves to release. The operator can't save them and if the operator cuts the line or dumps pressure the wing is now in a high speed, high G force whip turn, going downwind. Altitude would be the only safety margin left, and it better be a lot to keep the wing from hitting the ground.
I understand that The operator did receive training from two well qualified people and the PL rig used was one that I sold to him last summer.
Nice rig for AT...
Based on WHAT, Jim? You looked at a few pictures and pronounced it to be a nice rig? Therefore it's a nice rig?
I sent 3 times this email to fly@hanglide.com without any answer !!! :
Hello
I recently purchased one of your Aerotow Primary Releases for use in aerotowing tandem gliders. We conduct a tandem aerotowing operation just south of Paris, France.
We have been having considerable trouble releasing when the line is under high tension. It takes considerable effort to pull the Rope-Loop release, often requiring two or three violent tugs on the loop. Obviously, this is a considerable safety concern.
...and pronounced it to be a nice rig?
The SteevRelease was designed to be an integral part of a three point Aero tow bridle and was not designed to be used in a two point (Pro Tow) or as a single point tow release.
The above quote is from the designer.
- There's no such thing as a three point aero system.
- The SteevRelease was not DESIGNED - it was BUILT.
- It was built as a two point release.
- There's no such thing as "Pro Tow".
- You'd be moderately insane to use it with the towline tension split by a bridle and totally insane to use it to connect to the towline.
- It would be slightly less insane to use it on an end of a one point bridle 'cause it would see lower tension than it would at the top end of a two point.
I realize that the idea is to keep ones hands from leaving the control bar to activate the release.
Why? According to Donnell Hewett's Skyting Theory, the excellent book, Towing Aloft, by Dennis Pagen and Bill Bryden, and all of the major tow operations there's no advantage to being able to release with both hands on the basetube.
I do not know if a SteevRelease was being used or not.
Yeah.
- And we really shouldn't speculate 'cause Terry didn't approve of speculation.
- And we shouldn't get accurate first hand information 'cause Sam doesn't approve of releasing accurate first hand information.
However once the wing is in a lockout it would only be a fight against ones own will to let go as control of the wing is nil.
BULLSHIT.
- Control isn't NIL - asshole. It isn't - by definition - enough to bring it back but it IS enough to retard the acceleration.
- People who are in critical low level lockouts and belatedly realize what a load of crap you assholes have fed them aren't working at odds with their WILLS. They can do the math:
-- Let go to release now, the lockout accelerates, and they die quicker.
-- Continue to fight the lockout and they die a couple of seconds later.
In my opinion...
Fuck your idiot opinion.
...your harness attachment points are critical to PLing as the AoA and pressures on the wing and pilot are unique as is the wings attitude in relation to the pulling forces.
Yeah. Harness attachment points for platform - a critical issue and one perpetually immersed in much controversy.
The attachment points for the standard PL bridle are two lines that attach to the carabiner, feed down through tow loops at the pilots hips then under the control bar and come together at the release mechanism.
Yeah. I guess if you just anchored at the tow loops themselves the glider would be a lot more lockout prone. Plus it would put twice as much squeeze on you.
I have never used any other bridle configuration (since 1998).
Well then, you should be a real expert on it. Just like Rooney's a real expert on prying open bent pin releases and blowing 130 pound Greenspot when he can't get to them.
If the Steevrelease was used in the above configuration it certainly had the potential to be effective.
As opposed to what?
But a lockout is just that. A weak link is no guarantee either.
Get real, dude.
Towing Aloft - 1998/01
A weak link is the focal point of a safe towing system.
A weak link is the focal point of a safe towing system.
...The PIC...
I got some bad news for ya, Rodie... The Pilot In Command concept as it pertains to hang gliding in general to some extent and hang glider towing in particular to a much greater extent is wishful thinking. Sometimes we're in command, others we're along for the ride.
...has no one to rely on but themselves to release.
Meaning that in critical situations with damn near all the releases in circulation...
Steve Kinsley - 1996/05/09 15:50
Personal opinion. While I don't know the circumstances of Frank's death and I am not an awesome tow type dude, I think tow releases, all of them, stink on ice. Reason: You need two hands to drive a hang glider. You 'specially need two hands if it starts to turn on tow. If you let go to release, the glider can almost instantly assume a radical attitude. We need a release that is held in the mouth. A clothespin. Open your mouth and you're off.
...the "Pilot In Command" should have no reasonable expectation of being able to release and live.
The operator can't save them and if the operator cuts the line or dumps pressure the wing is now in a high speed, high G force whip turn, going downwind. Altitude would be the only safety margin left, and it better be a lot to keep the wing from hitting the ground.
But...
Towing Aloft - 1998/01
Pro Tip: Always thank the tug pilot for intentionally releasing you, even if you feel you could have ridden it out. He should be given a vote of confidence that he made a good decision in the interest of your safety.
- We should always thank the tug pilot for intentionally releasing us, even if we feel we could have ridden it out. He should be given a vote of confidence that he made a good decision in the interest of our safety.
I've heard it a million times before from comp pilots insisting on towing with even doubled up weaklinks (some want no weaklink). I tell them the same thing I'm telling you... suck it up.
- This is NEVER an issue when your Standard Aerotow Weak Link blows because...
I hail the new release. I see improvements over the competition. It's good to see progress in a sport rumored to be in it's golden years.
...the New Lookout Release or SteevRelease we'll come out smelling like roses.
I understand that The operator did receive training from two well qualified people and the PL rig used was one that I sold to him last summer.
Oh yeah. Sam. One of the best. Always striving for excellence in every aspect of hang gliding. Hard to imagine any problems associated from that end of the string. Sometimes shit just happens.
Mike Bomstad
Everyone who lives dies, yet not everyone who dies, has lived. We take these risks not to escape life, but to prevent life escaping us.
Anybody have a feel for how things are shaping up for the weekend?
Generic bozo who's not happy with just one way to get blown off tow while he's standing on his tail.
Marc... Parasitic worm. Way too many times I've given that asshole the benefit of the doubt after he's started making a few halfway intelligent sounding noises. And EVERY TIME he finds himself painted into a corner at the end of an exchange he declares victory and walks out. And EVERY TIME he's done that I've kicked myself for being stupid enough to treat his as something better than the brainless parasitic worm he is.
Jim Gaar... Scum.
Sam... Thank you God. Using 2012/06/16 21:40:00 as the end of Terry's last tow flight I banned him out of here twenty-seven days, seven hours, fifty minutes, and fifty seconds prior to the moment of impact. Not that he ever had the slightest business being on here in the first place. (Fuck you, Bob.)
Rooney... Lying, cowardly, stupid, piece o' shit. The fact that he enjoys a position of prominence in this sport tells you one helluva lot about about the general caliber of the people who participate in it.
Kinsley... Herd animal. Incapable of independent critical thinking.
Davis... Cult leader. Dedicates his career to making sure that no advancements ever see the light of day on any significant scale because if they did everyone would realize what a stinking heap of incompetent frauds he and his cult members are.
One source from Texas has posted Terry's glider size to be 145 sq.'
Another source from Texas has stated to me Terry's glider size to be 135 sq.'
It would be nice for everyone to be on the same page when the time comes that we attempt to learn from this accident.
- It would be nice to be on the same page with respect to the data.
- We're not gonna learn anything more from this "accident" than we are from the kind of "accident" which occurs when a drunk teenager sans seatbelt slides off the wet curve at eighty.
Joel Froehlich - 2012/06/19 23:21:56 UTC
Schertz, Texas
A tragic event for the whole community. My thoughts and prayers to the Leakey crew.
Glider was a WW Sport 2 135.
Godspeed Terry.
So exactly what was the freakin' whole "community" doing to prevent this from happening?
Steve Davy - 2012/06/20 04:23:46 UTC
Re: Heart breaking news.
---
Davis Straub
Content deleted due to lack of civility, see rule #4.
Fuck you, Davis. The only time you ever give a rat's ass about civility is when you and/or your cult members start losing.
Anybody got a rough idea of what it was Ridgerodent said?
Jim Gaar - 2012/06/20 04:39:36 UTC
I've been waiting for this...
Yeah Jim. Sometimes you have to wait a while for one of these - but when you've got a total asshole like Sam stacking the deck in your favor every flight they tend to occur at much less boring frequencies.
Thanks to the moderator for keeping my blood from boiling.
Douchebag.
Jim Rooney - 2012/06/20 04:53:51 UTC
No Ridgerodent, you're way off base here.
How do we know? Davis deleted the content because he just can't tolerate incivility.
We have accident reports to try and avoid the mistakes of the past.
- Who's "we"?
- "We" - after over a week - don't have anything remotely resembling an "accident" report.
- You're a mistake of the past.
If they are not public, then we learn nothing.
- I one hundred percent guarantee you that I'm not gonna learn anything even if/when there's something on the record.
- Assholes like you never do a goddam thing any differently in any of these aftermaths.
There is a long history and reasoning behind it if you care to look it up rather than just taking pot shots at people.
Fuck you.
This stuff sucks ass.
It is a horrible thing.
Bullshit. When stupid people play with dangerous toys and ignore warnings from people who know what the fuck they're talking about they get read about in newspapers.
have a lot better record than Sam, Terry, and you do.
But no, it is not entirely a private matter.
That's how it's been treated to date.
Accident reports are explicitly public... it's a necessary evil.
It sucks, but it's the way it needs to be.
Yeah. Killing someone isn't that big a deal. It's the public report that's a problem.
I'm sorry if you have a problem with that.
Fuck you.
Bill Cummings - 2012/06/20 18:54:54 UTC
Later we will have a clearer understanding of how we should avoid another accident of this type.
No we won't.
Some posts have shown a desire to understand what went wrong. This is natural since many of us reading also fly and don't want the same thing to go wrong with us or our flying friends.
And others of us would love to see the same thing happen to higher value targets.
I would like to expand on the earlier post from "Blindrodie". A post in which I find no discrepancy.
We should all try not to jump to any conclusions yet.
What's the harm?
Where I can see that happening is speculation on the type of release used, its possible configurations, and the use of a PL (Platform Launch) rig.
So why haven't we been told anything about type of release used, its configuration, and how the rig was being used?
Don't let yourself get started down the wrong path. Keep in mind that a PL rig can be used with foot launch, dolly launch, skis and by other means as well as launching from off of the rig itself.
Yeah, it could have been. But it wasn't.
This would mean using different releases and bridles.
They'd use any piece of crap they'd have available.
Jim Gaar - 2012/06/20 19:11:36 UTC
I agree Bill!!
Not a good sign, Bill.
I'm certainly not jumpin to conclusions.
You're completely intellectually incapable of reaching any useful conclusions about anything.
The tow rig in question was mine once, built by a local...
...anonymous...
...pilot friend of mine...
If he's a friend of yours then fuck him.
...with many, many hundreds of successful tows (accident free)...
Any safe ones?
...and I've bee in contact with Sam as well as being privy to other information.
Cool. So you know stuff that you and probably Sam don't want being made public. Big surprise.
I tried to be careful in my discussion of this tragic event. Sam is under enough pressure from the incident itself.
- Fuck Sam.
- I'm gonna do everything I can to make Sam as miserable as he deserves to be as a consequence of this one.
Tow me up. I'll find my way down.
And, hopefully some day soon, you'll get back down just a quickly and efficiently as Terry did.
What is that saying?..."He does the same thing over and over but expects different results."
He got a different result. He didn't luck out on this one.
He was doing the math the same way Jim Gaar, Jim Rooney, Bob Kuczewski, and all the other assholes in this game do. If nobody slams in on a particular run it's a successful tow.
Poor guy was misguided and didn't have a chance.
He had plenty of chances. But he chose to throw his lot in with Sam and Bob and one of those dice rolls came up a bit short of what he had hoped for.
This is going to sound cold, but I believe people have a right to make their own choices. I don't want a "nanny state" where anyone is telling me what I can and can't do ... for my own good. The sport of hang gliding would surely not exist if that thinking were carried to its logical extreme. There's something bred into all living things that urges them toward taking some degree of risk in their lives. Those who want to forbid that risk are essentially snuffing out the human spirit itself. I can't support that. I do support information. I support good information. I support exposing bad information. But I don't support dictating what anyone can or can't do. The fundamental principle of economics (and evolution) is two words: "people choose".
Hey Bob.
- Why don't you spend some time towing with your good buddy Sam? Maybe we can get a good video of a duplicate of what went wrong.
- Yeah. Hang gliding wouldn't be hang gliding without assholes taking stupid unnecessary risks.
- The very last thing I wanna do is snuff out the component of the human spirit of you and your buddies which compels you to take stupid unnecessary risks. I thrive on this sort of thing and it does marvels for the gene pool.
- Who gives a rat's ass what you can and can't support?
- Really admire the way you're supporting the good information that's coming out of this one.
- And keep skipping hook-in checks and keep those cameras rolling. Evolution needs all the help it can get.
David W. Johnson - 2009/04/11 05:46:23 UTC
Trussville, Alabama
The Wallaby crew and the LMFP crew use the bicycle lever release on the tandems. Obviously, the pilot in charge and the student can reach it. It also allows the PIC to take his hands off the bar and let the student drive. The loops style doesn't do that for you.
I have the loop style that LMFP makes. Matt is particular about the quality of the product that goes out and you will get something reliable. I was there one time when they had a new person make a batch of them. Matt was unhappy with the quality and cut them all in half to ensure they could not be sent out. I hope that tells you about their quality.
As to accidentally releasing - I have never taken my hands off the bar under tow. If I were to, I suspect something would be wrong enough that I needed to release anyhow.
Also, be sure to tie the end of the line with the loop in it back to your glider. The velcro that loops around the base tube is good for holding it in position, but you can pull the loop and have it fail to release if that is all you have securing the line. They have a hold in the aluminum at the end of the cable just so you can tie it back to a down tube. I learned that the hard way. Luckily, I practice hitting my secondary immediately after my primary right before every launch.
On June of 2008 during a fast tow, I noticed I was getting out of alignment, but I was able to come back to it. The second time it happen I saw the tug line 45 deg off to the left and was not able to align the glider again I tried to release but my body was off centered and could not reach the release. I kept trying and was close to 90 deg. All these happen very quickly, as anyone that has experienced a lock out would tell you. I heard a snap, and then just like the sound of a WWII plane just shut down hurdling to the ground, only the ball of fire was missing. The tug weak link broke off at 1000ft, in less than a second the glider was at 500ft.
Obviously.
And, of course, being able to REACH the lever...
British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Technical Manual - 2003/04
On tow the Pilot in Command must have his hand actually on the release at all times. 'Near' the release is not close enough! When you have two hands completely full of locked-out glider, taking one off to go looking for the release guarantees that your situation is going to get worse before it gets better.
...is plenty good enough for the kind of thing we're doing in the US.
I always check my spinnaker shackle hook and the cable. Mine is still pretty much new and has worked perfectly.
But I have seen others fail twice and one of them was during one of my training tandems. I just kept hitting the brake lever for a few seconds in WTF mode, and the instructor used the barrel release. The other one I saw failing was another tandem. The release just opened when they took off, around fifty feet up.
...is really hard to beat.
I have the loop style that LMFP makes.
You mean...
Ralph Sickinger - 2000/08/26 22:18:20 UTC
Under sled conditions, I decided to borrow Brian Vant-Hull's glider instead of setting up my own, since we both fly the same type of glider. Brian's release is a different style, but I tested it twice during preflight to make sure I was familiar with it. After towing to altitude, Sunny waved me off; I pulled on the release (hard), but nothing happened! After the second failed attempt to release, I thought about releasing from the secondary, but before I could move my hand the tug stalled and started to fall; Sunny had no choice but to gun the engine in attempt to regain flying speed, but this resulted in a sudden and severe pull on the harness and glider; I was only able to pull on the release again, while simultaneously praying for the weak link to break. The release finally opened, and I was free of the tug.
Brian Vant-Hull - 2000/08/28 22:49:13 UTC
I purchased my release (the one Ralph used) at Lookout Mountain over a year ago, but never had any problems until the Ridgely Fly-In, where the same thing happened. I pulled three or four times on the release, then finally went to the secondary, by which time I was high above the tug and Sunny (is there a connection here?) was frantically waving me off.
I've found it to fail this way once more since then, then on Ralph's flight, for about one time in ten.
...this one?
Matt is particular about the quality of the product that goes out and you will get something reliable.
Yeah.
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.
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.
I sent 3 times this email to fly@hanglide.com without any answer !!! :
Hello
I recently purchased one of your Aerotow Primary Releases for use in aerotowing tandem gliders. We conduct a tandem aerotowing operation just south of Paris, France.
We have been having considerable trouble releasing when the line is under high tension. It takes considerable effort to pull the Rope-Loop release, often requiring two or three violent tugs on the loop. Obviously, this is a considerable safety concern.
Matt's a real saint. Nothing but the very best for his customers.
I've had it once where the pin had bent inside the barrel from excessive tow force. My weaklink was still intact. The tug pilot's weaklink broke so I had the rope. I had to use two hands to get the pin out of the barrel.
No stress because I was high.
And the quality of his bent pin secondaries is legend in the hang gliding community.
I was there one time when they had a new person make a batch of them. Matt was unhappy with the quality and cut them all in half to ensure they could not be sent out. I hope that tells you about their quality.
Definitely. When Saint Matthew says BLACK cable housing he means BLACK cable housing. None of that dark gray crap.
I remember reading a few posts previously about LMFP type release being extremely difficult to pull under loads. Makes me nervous about flying with one, although I had a few of lockouts myself and didn't experience these problems.
Outback - 2012/03/09 02:43:51 UTC
Norfolk, Virginia
This happened to me. 2nd flight on sport2 and did not release on first go after lockout. Was going for a mile but locked out around 2600. I could feel it going and by then the pressure started to build. You see me clearly in the video at 4:20 pull the LMFP release and nothing. The second time i really yanked it and it released. Not good though... i cant help think if I was close to the ground when lockout started, the 3 seconds that passed before it released the second time could be 3 seconds to late! I used the brake lever style release on the downtube and never had a problem but when I got my glider I also bought this new release.
...what more could you POSSIBLY want to know about the quality of a two point aerotow release?
As to accidentally releasing - I have never taken my hands off the bar under tow.
Neither have I - nor, in fact, ever had any inclination to move them from normal grip position.
If I were to, I suspect something would be wrong enough that I needed to release anyhow.
Right Dave. Whenever something goes wrong on tow there's just no freakin' way you can possibly lose by blowing off.
Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974
"The greatest dangers are a rope break or a premature release." - Richard Johnson
What total fucking moron signed you off on your AT rating?
Also, be sure to tie the end of the line with the loop in it back to your glider. The velcro that loops around the base tube is good for holding it in position, but you can pull the loop and have it fail to release if that is all you have securing the line. They have a hold in the aluminum at the end of the cable just so you can tie it back to a down tube. I learned that the hard way.
Why? What total fucking moron sold you that piece of shit and allowed you to go up with yet another way of killing yourself on it?
Luckily, I practice hitting my secondary immediately after my primary right before every launch.
Lessee...
- You fly with that piece of shit primary 'cause you understand that taking a hand off the basetube in a lockout emergency can get you killed.
- But you practice taking your hand off the basetube to hit the secondary right before every launch for WHEN the primary fails 'cause in that situation you'll be OK taking your hand off.
Once again history has shown us that this thread-through system can hook up and the hang glider remains being towed by the keel only, with the bridle well out of reach of even a hook knife. I know of just one pilot to survive this type of hook-up, took him some twelve months to walk again though.
...it's called a SECONDARY? Nah, just kidding. Lookout bridles are incapable of wrapping.
- Ever practice hitting your secondary...
The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc. - 2011/11
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
12. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-C. Aerotow Equipment Guidelines
05. 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.
...under load? Eh, why bother? They're just guidelines.
