The Bob Show
Theories? Plural? Name two of them.Bob Kuczewski - 2011/12/13 05:55:39 UTC
I've had to deal with your ... strong weak link theories...
How 'bout telling us one or two of YOUR weak link THEORIES, motherfucker? 'Cause if you don't have at least one - and you DON'T, 'cause you have very little experience towing - then what the hell qualifies you to "deal with" ANYTHING in that department?
Here's my weak link "theory":
and I'm fine with as high as I can go without overloading anything. And the anything is gonna be a properly engineered release so the 1.5 to 2.0 range which is in line with what sailplanes have been doing since the beginning of time and what the FAA mandates for hang glider aerotowing.Tost Flugzeuggerätebau
Weak links protect your aircraft against overloading.
A few other weak link theories:
http://www.wallaby.com/aerotow_primer.phpDonnell Hewett - 1980/12
A properly designed weak link must be strong enough to permit a good rate of climb without breaking, and it must be weak enough to break before the glider gets out of control, stalls, or collapses. Since our glider flies level with a 50 pound pull, climbs at about 500 fpm with a 130 pound pull, and retains sufficient control to prevent stalling if a weak link breaks at 200 pounds pull, we selected that value. Of course, a pilot could deliberately produce a stalled break at 200 lbs, just as he can stall a glider in free flight. But if he is trying to limit his climb rate and the forces exceed the break limit, the glider simply drops its nose to the free flight attitude and continues flying. If the weak link breaks (or should the towline break) at less than the 200 pound value, the effect is even less dramatic and controlled flight is still present.
Aerotow Primer for Experienced Pilots
That's where you've had your one and only tow experience - tandem AT - and you didn't feel you had to deal with that theory so you're obviously OK with it.The Wallaby Ranch Aerotowing Primer for Experienced Pilots - 2018/11/07
A weak link connects the V-pull to the release, providing a safe limit on the tow force. If you fail to maintain the correct tow position (centered, with the wheels of the tug on the horizon), the weak link will break before you can get into too much trouble.
http://www.questairforce.com/aero.html
Quest Air Aerotow FAQ
http://ozreport.com/12.081The strength of the weak link is crucial to a safe tow. It should be weak enough so that it will break before the pressure of the towline reaches a level that compromises the handling of the glider but strong enough so that it doesn't break every time you fly into a bit of rough air. A good rule of thumb for the optimum strength is one G, or in other words, equal to the total wing load of the glider. Most flight parks use 130 lb. braided Dacron line, so that one loop (which is the equivalent to two strands) is about 260 lb. strong - about the average wing load of a single pilot on a typical glider. For tandems, either two loops (four strands) of the same line or one loop of a stronger line is usually used to compensate for nearly twice the wing loading. When attaching the weak link to the bridle, position the knot so that it's hidden from the main tension in the link and excluded altogether from the equation.
IMPORTANT - It should never be assumed that the weak link will break in a lockout.
ALWAYS RELEASE THE TOWLINE before there is a problem.
Weaklinks - the HGFA rules
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846Davis Straub - 2008/04/22 14:47:00 UTC
Here is the requirement from the 2007 Worlds local rules (which I wrote) for weaklinks:Pilots must use weaklinks provided by the meet organizers and in a manner approved by the meet organizers. All weaklinks will be checked and use of inappropriate weaklinks will require the pilot to go to the end of the launch line to change the weaklink.
Weaklinks will consist of a single loop of Cortland 130 lb Greenspot braided Dacron Tolling line and should be placed at one end of a shoulder bridle.
Is this a joke ?
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052Bart Weghorst - 2011/08/28 20:29:27 UTC
Now I don't give a shit about breaking strength anymore. I really don't care what the numbers are. I just want my weaklink to break every once in a while.
Poll on weaklinks
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971Jim Rooney - 2013/03/04 19:31:36 UTC
We all play by the same rules, or we don't play.
Zach Marzec
Jim Rooney - 2013/02/13 19:09:33 UTC
It was already worked out by the time I arrived.
The reason it sticks?
Trail and error.
Every now and then someone comes along with the "new" idea of a stronger weaklink. Eventually, they scare themselves with it and wind up back with one that has a very proven track record. I mean really... no exaggeration... hundreds of thousands of tows.
Say what you will, but if you want to argue with *that* much history, well, you better have one hell of an argument... which you don't.
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31747Jim Gaar - 2013/02/13 19:59:19 UTC
Why yes!
After 5 years as Safety and Launch Marshall for Adventure AirSports and towing (with a Dragonfly 582 BH) every type of wing class available on 3 different styles of carts and using Pro-tow and COM bridles and over 400 incident and accident free tows I feel it's pretty much the standard.
I would not/did not hesitate to assess each and every tow along with the conditions, experience of the towing pilot and wing type in confirming it's use.
Lockout
Perfectly OK with all those 'cause 99.9 percent of the total douchebags you wanna recruit for your dictatorship are too. But Tad you gotta deal with 'cause he's a fringe element all the douchebags wanna get permanently silenced.Davis Straub - 2014/09/01 15:22:41 UTC
I can tell you that I fly with a 200lb weaklink on one side of my 750lb pro tow bridle. I am happy with it.
The nanosecond you take a stand on sane aeronautical theory...
And that'll never change so neither you nor your alternative hang gliding association will never change.Professor Henry Higgins - 1956/02/15
An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him,
The moment he talks he makes some other Englishman despise him.
Team Kite Strings. We're the only folk on the fuckin' planet who can breathe a word anywhere about hang and para gliding weak links without getting immediately dismembered 'cause we're the only ones on the fuckin' planet who've been making sense and consistent starting over a dozen years ago.