On Mon, 6 Oct 2008 23:28:48 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

Hi all,
Has anyone out there ever suspended a glider in the air without
resorting to the conventional method of airflow over the wings? I have
an opportunity to hang both of my Grob 103's in two malls over the
holiday season. I am pushing for having a Santa in the back and a
Rudolf leaning forward in the front, scarf trailing. Both canopies
will be off. I will have a Glider Ride Gift Certificate booth [not
quite directly] underneath. Some of you may have seen my Mall
Experiment article in the June 2008 issue of Soaring. Well, I'm
experimenting some more!
My first thought, unencumbered by either engineering training or good
advice, is to fabricate a heavy duty, white canvas sling, maybe 2 feet
wide, that would go where the fuselage dolly goes, in front of the
wings and as far aft as possible. The CG hook mechanism could be used
to attach to it also to protect against slippage. The sling would be
sewn proffessionally, providing a pair of rip-free, foolproof,
attachment points on each side. The remaining 50 lbs on the tail could
be handled with a wire running from this central sling support cable
45 degrees down to the horizontal stab attachment bolt at the top of
the verticle stab. The wings could have wires running from the wing
tip skid/tie downs to this central sling support cable at about 45
degrees also.
Thoughts?

I would look into the nylon straps that are sold for towing cars.
They're fairly soft, have sturdy hooks professionally attached at the
ends, and have specific load ratings.

rj