LMFP Release Dysfunction

[Tad Eareckson]

Tad, Stuart sells pre-cut weak links only.

No...

For small or large quantities of line please contact us with your request and a custom price quote.

Price seems fair...

$7.92 a foot fishing line. Not bad.

A lot going on there for this rookie.

You just need to be familiar with the plane and how it's put together - you don't need to build the plane from scratch.

I can assume my LMFP secondary is ok...

The guys who are running this show are serial killers - literally.

WHEN they kill somebody because of a defective piece of equipment or procedure their options are to:

- a) admit fault and fix the problem

- b) blame the dead guy, defend the problem tooth and nail as the pinnacle of human achievement, and destroy anyone who attempts to identify and fix the problem

Which way do you think they're gonna go and what tools, weapons, organizations, associations, coalitions do you think they're gonna utilize to achieve their goals?

...or should I keep my knife in my mouth?

Keep your Glock drawn and never stop checking your six.

Zack C - 2010/12/13 04:58:15 UTC

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).

Tell ya one little survival tip...

Treat what you're being told and taught with the deepest suspicion and watch what they're doing instead.

- Matt tries to get you to swallow his crap about what an awesome release that dangerous piece of junk he sold you is - but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg65528o5-U


...that's not what they have on their tandem gliders.

- The Wills Wing owner's manuals tell you to do a hang check and assume you're hooked in - but Rob Kells only does a hang check when he needs to check clearance and assumes he's NOT hooked in all the way up to his lift and tug hook-in check a couple of seconds prior to launch.

- Steve Pearson essentially says that a couple of the landing techniques the Wills Wing owner's manuals offer as options are good ways to get killed.

There are damn near always single best solutions to problems and situations in this sport and they're damn near always the polar opposites of what you're being fed.

[Steve Davy]

GE,

I suspect that it won't take you very long to be able to read garbage like this...

Tow Bridles and Releases

These tow point positions assume the use of two spliced Spectra ropes to attach to the tow line. One is attached to a shoulder tow point on the harness with a weak link, and then is routed through a spliced loop in a second longer Spectra rope, and attached to the other shoulder via a back-up release. The longer rope is then routed through the tow ring and attached to the upper release with a proper weak link. The assumed tow speed is 32 miles per hour. Some trikes tow at significantly higher speeds. The higher the tow speed, the further forward the top release must be positioned to trim away pitch pressure. Under no circumstances should you attempt to aerotow behind a tug which has a tow speed that is near the steady state maximum top speed of your glider! We do not recommend releasing from the bottom release point on your shoulders when using a V-bridle. If the bridle or weak link gets caught on the tow rope ring after releasing at the shoulders, and the glider is being pulled only from the top point, it may become unstable in pitch on tow. Use the bottom back up release only if you have a top release failure.

Towing from only the shoulder attachments without a top release is generally referred to as "Pro tow". The Sport 2, U2s and Talons may be "Pro towed" without a top release, however this method is not as easy as using a two point release as described above. Towing without a top release will cause the base tube to be positioned much further back during tow , the glider will have increased pitch pressure, and lockouts are much more difficult to correct.

We find that the easiest way to secure the top release to the keel is to use a piece of spectra or perlon line. Start by making a loop around the keel and secure it with an overhand knot and safety half hitch in the desired location. Tie the other end of the line around the king post base secured with a bowline knot and safety half hitch, making sure that the forward loop will position the top release in the desired location.
Use a rapid link to attach the top release webbing to the line. This will make it easy to remove the release.

Always use an appropriate weak link with a finished length of 1.5 inches or less. Longer weak links are more likely to get tangled on the tow ring upon release. Carry a hook knife when towing.

...and recognize all the lunatic bullshit in that load of trash.

[groundeffect]

Tad, Stuart sells pre-cut weak links only.

No...

For small or large quantities of line please contact us with your request and a custom price quote.

I'd emailed him and his reply was that he only sold the pre-cut ones. I saw what you have quoted above. Is this just dacron rope or fishing line? If so, I could buy a hundred feet for little or nothing.

[Tad Eareckson]

I'd emailed him and his reply was that he only sold the pre-cut ones.

Stuart's an asshole. I wonder how much extra trouble he thinks it would be for him to NOT cut the line into little pieces.

Is this just dacron rope or fishing line?
It's small diameter braided Dacron line.

If so, I could buy a hundred feet...

You don't need a hundred feet. You need 150 millimeters.

You want your weak link as short as you can possibly get it without compromising the effectiveness of the separation under light load. Under load it should look like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerotowrelease/8306296899/


The bridle I really like and recommend is spliced eighth inch Samson AmSteel (Dyneema).

Looks virtually EXACTLY this:

http://ozreport.com/pub/images/P1020740.jpg

http://ozreport.com/pub/images/P1020738.jpg


four millimeter Vectran bridle that Antoine (deltaman) produced. (Click on the links for larger images than what fit neatly on these pages.)

150 millimeters tied in a loop using a Fisherman's Knot without wasting any material on the ends and installed on the eighth inch bridle with a Double Lark's Head (and loaded and seated) works great.

With 250 pounds normal tow tension translates to a bit under thirty percent of breaking strength, versus 55 for 130 pound Greenspot, so you're probably not gonna stress and damage the weak link with routine use.

And you're not using a gate on your release which chews up the weak link on release like a spinnaker shackle gate does.

And with Joe Street's release you're never gonna lock out far enough to break your weak link.

One of Stuart's stupid twenty inch sections gives you three weak links with about fifty millimeters waste.

Maybe you should get a couple of sections so you can rescue a couple of friends from Zack Marzec's fate.

Meanwhile we'll keep looking for some good small diameter 250 pound fishing line so we don't hafta deal with and send people to Stuart.