On Mar 12, 6:07*am, "
wrote:
As far as vertical tows, I seem to remember they did a glider acro
routine at the NZ WGC that involved hanging a glider from it's nose
hook under a Hughes 500 in hover, then releasing for a tailslide to
start the routine. *I recall the transition from normal tow to the
hover described as "interesting" in the glider (!!).

Yes, except it was a belly hook, with the glider hanging largely
upside down under the helicopter once it stalled (and stopped
oscillating).

You probably didn't see the practice run a day or two earlier. The
helicopter wasn't able to maintain height with the glider dangling
underneath it and called the glider to ask if it was planning to
release while there was still altitude. Bruce Drake in the glider
replied that he was going to have to do his seatbelts up tighter next
time because he was having trouble reaching the release! He did
eventually manage it.