When we fly the SE ridge at Blairstown...IF...you know the ridge is working nicely...you only have to be towed to "get there"...height is almost meaningless...1000' or 1200' above the airport, (and below crest) is certainly doable and reasonably safe...although it is 3 miles back into a head wind if you decide to bail...

At Wurtsboro, the ridge is basically also the downwind leg for landing...I've released at 800' above the airport....you either go up in ridge lift, or if you don't, you just go down in the pattern! One day with a student, I got him to (reluctantly) release at 800', at the ridge...we flew straight along the ridge, after 10 miles we were at 3000'...

The craziest ridge tow I ever saw was at Harris Hill....The release was at 5'..

Yes, five feet above the airport!! The glider pilot hung on tow until the speed got up to about 70 or so...then released...flew down the runway..(it starts going down hill) and then off the cliff! Into the ridge lift and gone!

Of course in the old days, just north of Wurtsboro, they bungee launched off the ridge..maybe 2/3 of the way up. Today, at Ellenville, the hang gliders jump off at about the 1/2 way point...there is a good landing field below...so what could possibly go wrong?


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On Friday, June 26, 2015 at 12:38:57 PM UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
What are the best practices for using ridge lift when towing?

What is different when the ridge altitude is increasing?

Should the tow plane approach the ridge perpendicular at the saddle (rather than at a 45)? What if circumstances force you to release at this point (pointed straight at the ridge, close and below)?


Is it okay to tow below the top of the ridge and utilize slope lift? (With the wind coming from the right or the left?)

Assuming that the wind is coming from the left, is it okay to release, uncrab and drift downwind to clear towplane rather than circling right and ending up low and on the leeward side of the ridge.

If you're above the ridge and the wind is coming from the right, is it okay to release and make the towplane go onto the leeward sink side of the ridge?

Other things to keep in mind?