http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27073
Hang Gliding Training Manual by Dennis Pagan
Fred Bickford - 2012/09/09 18:33:48 UTC
FYI, there are some better books on understanding soaring flight from the sailplane pilot communities.
Well yeah, but...
- Sailplanes:
-- are controlled with a yoke and rudder pedals; hang gliders are weight-shift controlled
-- roll up to airspeed for takeoff; hang gliders are foot launched (until you master foot launching, then you're allowed to roll up to airspeed for takeoff)
-- roll their landings in at airports and fields; hang gliders land only in narrow dry riverbeds with large rocks strewn all over the place and fields filled with seven foot high corn and therefore must do nothing but standup no-steppers
-- use releases to release from tow in normal and emergency situations; hang gliders occasionally use releases to release from tow under carefully controlled conditions but weak links when they're a bit out of whack or worse
-- use weak links to protect their aircraft from overloading; hang gliders use weak links to prevent tug control issues, rapid acceleration at launch, high angles of attack, lockouts, stalls, decisive control inputs, conducting operations in good thermal conditions, dragging following blown launch impacts, and match the comfort levels of glider and tug pilots, tow park operators, and competition directors
-- use certified, complex, built-in release systems which work; hang gliders use simple, slap-on release systems from reputable manufacturers with long track records which aren't warranted for towing anything
- Sailplane towlines transmit tension; hang glider towlines transmit pressure.
- When a tension is transmitted to a sailplane its pitch attitude increases; when pressure is transmitted to a hang glider its angle of attack increases.
So I'd think it would be pretty freakin' obvious that ya can't just use conventional aviation books to to really understand hang gliding. I shudder to think what would've happened to this sport had Dennis not been there to fill the void.
mrcc - 2012/09/09 23:37:07 UTC
There are some better books on understanding power flying, but this HG isn't it ?
Right. There are no books on sailplaning.
Fred Bickford - 2012/09/10 01:51 UTC
Where do you think he learned from?
Towing Aloft - 1998/01
A manual of this scope entails gathering information from many sources. No single individual can posses all the necessary experience covering all the facets of towing. Therefore we are greatly indebted to those developers, instructors, manufacturers and experimenters who have brought us modern towing and have shared their insights. We especially thank Gerard Thevenot for teaching us to aerotow, Wallaby Ranch for refining our skills and Raven Hang Gliding for their helpful input. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Wayne Sayer, the Wallaby Ranch, and Raven Hang Gliding for proofreading the manuscript.
Individuals such as Donnell Hewett, Dave Broyles, Lars Linde, Mike Robertson, Brad Kushner, Malcolm Jones, David Glover, Greg McNamee, Jan Alda, Alan Chuculate and Bill Moyes have also offered specific information either through their writing or by personal communication. Finally we wish to thank individuals and operations who have generously contributed photos to our project. John Heiney, Brad Kushner, Miami Hang Gliding, Kitty Hawk Kites, Moyes Delta Gliders and Wallaby Ranch especially provided a multitude of great images. Their work has enhanced this book tremendously.
The people who sell his books and want them to reflect the deadly rot...
http://www.wallaby.com/aerotow_primer.php
Aerotow Primer for Experienced Pilots
The Wallaby Ranch Aerotowing Primer for Experienced Pilots - 2012/09/10
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.
Towing Aloft - 1998/10
Speed controlled towing is when the speed of the device doing the towing is maintained at a reasonably constant value. Controls, such as throttle, are used to keep the speed of the tow vehicle or tow winch operating at a constant speed. Towline tension can vary dramatically in response to thermals, sink, pilot corrections, etc. Aerotowing is clearly in this category as the tug needs to maintain a minimum speed to prevent stalling. Many of the early towing efforts of the '70s where the vehicle drove at a fixed speed would also fall into this category. Weak links very clearly will provide protection from excessive angles of attack, high bank turns and the like for this form of towing.
...they're teaching their students and promote the deadly crap...
Towing Aloft - 1998/01
The towline release is a critically important piece of equipment. It is the device which frees you from the towline and it must be failure-proof. Numerous designs have evolved over the years--some very good and some not so good. Unfortunately, releases are items that many pilots feel they can make at home or adapt from something they have seen at the hardware store. Two fatalities have occurred in the past 5 years directly related to failures of very poorly constructed and maintained releases. For the sake of safety, only use releases that have been designed and extensively tested by reputable manufacturers. Listed below are various types of releases available with their attributes and applications.
Provided in Appendix III is a performance test specification for towline releases. This is not presented to give you guidelines for making your own, but rather to make you aware of the requirements of a good release in order to select and purchase good equipment (See Appendix IV).
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=11497
Aerotow release options?
Axel Banchero - 2009/06/20 04:57:01 UTC
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.
...they're passing off as equipment.
Granted we utilize smaller air masses than sailplanes...
http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3107
I have a tandem rating!!!
Lauren Tjaden - 2008/03/23 22:20:15 UTC
When Jim got me locked out to the right, I couldn't keep the pitch of the glider with one hand for more than a second (the pressure was a zillion pounds, more or less), but the F'ing release slid around when I tried to hit it. The barrel release wouldn't work because we had too much pressure on it.
Anyhow, the tandem can indeed perform big wingovers, as I demonstrated when I finally got separated from the tug.
http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3648
Oh no! more on weak links
Carlos Weill - 2008/11/30 19:24:09 UTC
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.
Sometimes.
...but for the most part books written decades ago apply thoroughly to the present day. I've read Performance Flying, Understanding the Sky, and as much of Secrets of Champions I could stomach, for reference.
Don't forget Towing Aloft for a really reliable induced vomit.
Fred Bickford - 2012/09/10 02:18 UTC
Overall, you need to be able to assess for yourself equipment and soaring conditions.
Yeah. Hang glider jockeys are really great at assessing equipment.
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=21033
barrels release without any tension except weight of rope..
Bart Weghorst - 2011/02/25 19:06:26 UTC
But 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.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
Davis Straub - 2011/08/26 14:04:52 UTC
We had six weaklink breaks in a row at Zapata this year.
http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3391
More on Zapata and weak link
Paul Tjaden - 2008/07/22 04:32:22 UTC
I have never had a lockout situation happen so quickly and dramatically and had no chance to release as I have always thought I could do.
But as long as you're high enough in soaring conditions...
Joe Gregor - 2004/09
There is no evidence that the pilot made an attempt to release from tow prior to the weak link break, the gate was found closed on the Wallaby-style tow release.
...equipment really isn't that much of an issue anyway.
For the amount of preventable deaths accrued and his obtuse popularization I have no admiration.
That's OK, Sparky's got enough admiration to make up for the deficit ten times over. Yours won't really be missed.
Approach reading his books and publications scientifically for your own sake and the rest of our community and don't take this sport for granted!
Nah, just go with what peanuts and Mitch Shipley are telling everybody.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?
Mitch Shipley - 2011/01/31 15:22:59 UTC
Enjoy your posts, as always, and find your comments solid, based on hundreds of hours / tows of experience and backed up by a keen intellect/knowledge of the issues when it comes to most things in general and hang gliding AT/Towing in particular. Wanted to go on record in case anyone reading wanted to know one persons comments they should give weight to.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 21:40:25 UTC
First, I sent Steve a bunch of info offline. Hopefully it clears things up a bit for him.
Unfortunately, he's stumbled onto some of Tad's old rantings and got suckered in. So most of this was just the same old story of debunking Tad's lunacy... again .
See, the thing is... "we", the people that work at and run aerotow parks, have a long track record.
This stuff isn't new, and has been slowly refined over decades.
We have done quite literally hundreds of thousands of tows.
We know what we're doing.
Sure "there's always room for improvement", but you have to realize the depth of experience you're dealing with here.
But if you don't want to listen to the folks who are always telling everyone they actually know what they're talking about...
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
Kinsley Sykes - 2011/08/31 11:35:36 UTC
Well actually he didn't. But if you don't want to listen to the folks that actually know what they are talking about, go ahead.
Feel free to go the the tow park that Tad runs...
...feel free to go the tow park that Tad runs.
P.S. These last two little gems of posts of Fred Bickford's - 2012/09/10 01:51 and 02:18 UTC - disappeared from the Jack Show record a very short time after posting. In a forum in which reality is determined by what Jack and his handpicked douchebags decide what's best for the interests of the industry and themselves that's not terribly surprising.
