Releases

[miguel]

Here is a second ...

Miguel, where ?..

From wiki: n deliberative bodies a second to a proposed motion is an indication that there is at least one person besides the mover that is interested in seeing the motion come before the meeting. It does not necessarily indicate that the seconder favors the motion.

Sorry for the confusion.

Your idea is a good one and you should post it on the other forums.

[deltaman]

Your idea

not mine, alas..

Bite controlled multiple string releases have been developed for surface towing by Rob McKenzie in southern California and for aerotowing in eastern Europe circa 1990. The basis for concept described herein was reinvented at the beginning of the 2005 season by Steve Kinsley of Washington, DC.

and then Tad..

[Steve Davy]

What all this confusing crap boils down to that there's not as much relative movement of stuff at the tow ring as you'd think by looking at it and - even though it looks scary - you see a surprisingly good margin when you're pulling it apart on the table and watching things move.

Great explanation, I understand that part now. What I don't get is.

The Body of the Four-String Release is an elongated spiral ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8305333309/


The photos posted by deltaman and the first two images don't look like elongated spirals however the middle image does. Is that middle image a top view of the first two images?

[Tad Eareckson]

Great explanation...

Thanks, but that explanation sucked - I realized shortly after posting it.

For the purpose of answering your question it doesn't matter what happens before the final loop of the mechanism is released. All you need to understand is that the end of the Bridle Link will move forward half the length of the portion of the final loop which is flipped back and locked by the middle loop.

Oh well, if anyone in the future wants to wade through an entire explanation...

Is that middle image a top view of the first two images?

Yes, but - obviously - prior to installation of the Clamcleat, mounting to the aerotow loop on the harness, and engagement with the Bridle Link and rest of the one point assembly.

It's just a fairly precisely proportioned squished coil - spiraling clockwise out from the Trigger Line in the middle.

And the downwind (left end is stacked perpendicularly to the horizontal plane of the rest of the construction so that the strands will all be evenly loaded when the release is mounted.

[Steve Davy]

Ok, I'm getting my head around this now. I somehow got it STUCK in my head that a four string consisted only of ONE long line looping only upon itself, the bridle link and attached near the cleat.

[Steve Davy]

Finally the light bulb goes on. What I thought I was seeing was line engaging loops of line. I didn't get that it was loops engaging other loops!

[Tad Eareckson]

Finally the light bulb goes on.

Oh good. I staggered to bed last night confused by your previous post.

Just to be sure, and in case anyone else is having trouble...

This is just an adaptation of a garden variety three-string truck tow release.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8320997523/


There's an extra loop to further step down the tow tension.

Instead of it being locked by pin (on a lanyard) running through the end of the smallest / inside loop protruding through a grommet it's locked by a Clamcleat engaging the smallest / inside loop which is a strand instead of a loop 'cause it doesn't need to be a loop.

The mechanism engages a Bridle (Link) end transmitting half the towline tension instead of the tow ring which is under all of it.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewforum.php?f=11
Q&A, Learning to hang glide

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=25630
releases

Geoffery Chaney (Qi) - 2012/03/25 19:26:52 UTC
New Port Richey, Florida

Looking for a tread on release systems?...

Why?

You've trained at:

- Wallaby. They're the aerotowing (or "AT") professionals; no-one knows AT like they do; it's all they do, and they do it every day, year-round.

- Quest. They've been perfecting aerotowing for nearly twenty years.

- Lockout Mountain Flight Park. That's where Matt is happily pumping out the new GT aerotow release which works better than all the cable releases that they have experience with - except, of course, for any other cable release - like the Wallaby Release they use on their tandems.

Have you talked to Wills Wing? They're great engineers and Quest, Wallaby, and Lookout are all authorized Wills Wing dealers and schools.

So why are you looking for a discussion on release systems? 'Cause you - like everybody else - know that every single mainstream system available totally sucks?

Casey Cox - 2012/03/25 21:53:46 UTC

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=25435

That's a start.

Zack...

Maybe this guy's worth a shot? (He also likes birds a little and doesn't like seeing people running off ramps without their gliders.)

[Zack C]

He's got to be more specific than that. As it is, I don't know what else I can say beyond what I already posted on the linked thread.

Zack

[Tad Eareckson]

He's got to be more specific than that.

There's A LOT there in those seven words (one of them wrong) and the smiley - even without doing any research on him.

- There are only two types of tow systems that matter on any significant scale in the US - platform and aero. You know it's not platform 'cause:
-- the technology is reasonably good; and
-- it's not really a "system" - just a release mechanism at the apex of short bridle.

- He understands that with aero he's dealing with a SYSTEM - not a MECHANISM. That's a biggie. That means he's not an idiot who's gonna be knocked out of the conversation by some other idiot who tells him to get a Linknife from Peter Birren, put it on a string, and tie the other end to his shoulder strap.

- He doesn't ask any questions about release systems. He just wants a lead to somewhere he can start researching the issue on his own.

- He knows it's a hot button issue - and thus that there's something rotten at the core of things.

As it is, I don't know what else I can say beyond what I already posted on the linked thread.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13132
Unhooked Death Again - Change our Methods Now?

JBBenson - 2009/01/25 16:27:19 UTC

I get what Tad is saying, but it took some translation:
HANG CHECK is part of the preflight, to verify that all the harness lines etc. are straight.
HOOK-IN CHECK is to verify connection to the glider five seconds before takeoff.
They are separate actions, neither interchangeable nor meant to replace one another. They are not two ways to do the same thing.

Sometimes ya gotta say the same thing over and over a few hundred times a few hundred various ways before a lightbulb comes on for ONE person.

There are, of course, a lot of major costs involved in doing that - especially if one is worried about getting kicked of forums and out of flying sites - but that's what it takes to accomplish things in a Davis/Jack/Rooney kind of environment.

But if you could just get him over here where I and maybe you and four other people could work on him...

And I think he'd be putty on the hook-in check issue as well.