On Sep 24, 5:12*am, "Vaughn Simon"
wrote:

* *I never use the spoilers/airbrakes to take up slack, (though really slippery
sailplanes will sometimes start a tow while holding just a tad of spoiler).
That much control authority is simply not necessary. *A glider tow is a very
delicate dance, it takes timing and (usually) tiny control inputs. *Usually a
little climb will do the job to take up the slack. *If you screwed up and got a
really bad slack rope, you push rudder a bit to yaw, which increases drag a bit
but perhaps more importantly puts your tow hook off center from the CG. *Then,
when the inevitable 'snatch" happens, some of the excess energy goes into
pulling the nose around rather than suddenly accelerating the glider and causing
the rope to go slack yet again.

The bit where you see the towplane 'yoing' into the atmosphere and you
know that you're going to hit that same lift in a second or two with
the towplane now almost above you :-)
Makes life interesting