"Gary Emerson" wrote in message
...
How many more of those we need till we conclude that the rudder
waggle does NOT work?

I think this is a reasonably valid point. There HAVE been a number of
people who have misunderstood this signal.

Perhaps something else would be better. The question is what signal would
be a good replacement. You could have flashing lights on the towplane,
perhaps mounted just above the towhitch. The only thing is you'd probably
have to install two lights. Say one yellow and one red.

Yellow means you've got a problem, but if you can get it fixed pretty
quick we'll keep going. Red means get off now or I'm gonna dump you.

If you don't have two signals, I'd bet that we'd still have people
releasing when they didn't have to.

As I think about it, it might be best if there was a single array of high
output LEDs. When both "colors" of the array are "on" then you have a
single visible color that means "ok" (red and blue make green in concept,
but in emitted light that combination doesn't work). That way the glider
pilot can verify at the start that both signals "work" and they stay "on"
for the duration of the tow. If either the "warning" or "get off"
switches are selected in the cockpit then only the corresponding "color"
is then visible to the glider pilot. Perhaps with the "warning" being a
steady signal and "get off" being a rapid flash to help with fast
recognition and a sense of urgency.

Other thoughts?

The tuggie should condiser if a signal is needed. If they are climbing in
spite of open spoilers the best option is to wait until the glider could
release and land safely before wagging the rudder. A premature rudder wag
may have caused some of these incidents.

I wouldn't neccessarilly say radio is the simplest option. If a pilot can't
remember to close the spoilers, or notice that they are open, could he
operate a radio and fly a glider at the same time?

High brightness LED's are a really simple idea. Some tuggies could use them
as turn signals.

Bill D