"Bill Daniels" wrote in message

At the high density altitudes routinely encountered in the high deserts of
the western USA the very shallow climb angle that the typical tug can
achieve while towing a 2-seater at gross weight or a ballasted single seater
can place the glider pilot in a situation where, for the first 300 - 500
feet or so, a safe return to the runway is impossible. These high desert
runways are often surrounded by hostile terrain making the situation doubly
hazardous.

Agree!

Adding to this hazard is the practice of mandating the direction of the
first departure turn even if this is downwind. This is often done for noise
reduction or traffic pattern standardization but it places the glider pilot
at increased risk.

What site/sites do this? (mandate an unsafe operation for noise abatement)


Andy