Just spoke to John Templeton a few minutes ago. He has committed to having a 210 hp 172 at Parowan starting this weekend through the 3rd week of July. If you have any questions, give him a call at 435-669-4544. John says, "If you come, bring real beer!" I plan to fly Saturday, so come on...

I realize our operational environments are varied, but what’s the trend for equipping tow planes with ADS-B out? The broad requirement distilled down is that it’s “required in airspace where transponders are required,� which for us is pretty rare. There are relatively easy/cheap (by...

Worldwide, what exemptions from transponder equipage apply to glider tow planes (assuming built and certified with an electrical system)?. How typical is it that tow planes are not equipped with a mode C or mode S transponder? Andy

Mark Boyd from first post: So for my flight review in Avenal yesterday, we did a bunch of slack line corrections. We did them during one tow, but broke the rope. 150' of rope ($12), two schweizer rings ($20), one tost ring ($35), a carabiner (sp?), two half-wiffle...

Anyone in the US using an internal Tost reel in an Aviat Husky?

If you have the tow -hook, from where may these be obtained either individually or as a kit? TNX Karen

The Tost tow release system talks about 10,000 operations (Tost terminology) or actuations (FAA) vs 2,000 starts (Tost) or launches (FAA). What constitutes an operation or actuation? Why are there five times as many (typically) as...

Thanks for reading. The pulley located below and aft of the seat in my DG 100 is worn and I would like to replace it. It looks like the same is used in the DG 200 The manual has the part described (hand written) which states: M6 x 24 ln 3037 4 x 6.4 din 125 M6 din 985 1 zeieng (?) B37

Some operations attach both a Tost ring and a Schweizer ring onto the end of the rope where as others have a Schweizer ring on the end and a weak link to the Tost ring or visa versa. Has anyone had any issues when both rings were on the end of the rope? Boggs

I'm looking for sources of tow rope in the USA. Can you help? Thanks, Doug

On July 7, 2011 at Nowy Targ in southern Poland, glider Puchacz crashed during training flight 2/3 mile from the airport. The instructor (~64-67) and the student pilot (~18-19) are dead. It was a tow rope brake practice flight with down wind turn for down wind landing from about 130-150 m of...

May 09, 2004 Latest news in brief from northern Nevada ASSOCIATED PRESS RENO, Nev. (AP) - A Berkeley, Calif., man was killed when his glider crashed in Palomino Valley about 25 miles north of Reno, authorities said.

I recently heard, from a usually reliable source, that after a recent launch incident, the FAA investigators wanted to see the operation's "certification" for their tow rope. Is this certification a legal requirement? If so, how do you go about getting one? Thanks, Bob McKellar

Tow rope friendly fences We have a fence at the end of our runway that keeps our neighbors (Riding School) horses out of the airfield. Occasionally the tow plane pilot snags the fence with the rope, which winds round at least one, and sometimes more strands of barbed wire- resulting in a broken...

What's a good way to wind up a tow rope quickly and easily, store it, and unwind it again without it getting into tangle? I remember that the Scottish Gliding Union had a good method back in the 70s, can any member explain that?

It seems that most operations here in the USA use a 200' tow rope, and I've heard that some places in Europe even use a rope as short as 120'. Ropes at our operation are more like 275' because it seems safer and easier when it's longer. What is the rational behind using shorter ropes? I see no...

What is the initial new length of the tow ropes that you use? Assuming that you cut off the worn portion near the ring and gradually shorten the rope, when does the rope get too short to use? How often do you measure the rope? Do you usually discard used ropes because of visible wear, reduced...

Does your club/operation use anything on the tow rope to make it fly higher after release and on landing? i.e. wiffle ball, plastic funnel, etc? (if you use a funnel, what size, which way does it point and where positioned on the rope?) We currently use a wiffle ball but maybe some have a good /...

Our club here in the States is considering purchasing a tow rope reel for our Pawnee. We have roads at both ends of our runway, requiring us to land very long to prevent dragging rope/rings over the road. We read old posts on this subject but nothing was very conclusive. Am most concerned...

Does anyone have knowledge of approved reels for retracting tow ropes to the towplane after glider release? I have only heard of this and never actually encountered their use. They would be useful for avoiding trees, wires, fences, ILS approach antennae, etc.