Amen! I'm a firm believer that the release should be performed with
normal tension in the tow line. Way easier to see the rope spring away
from you so you can confirm the release and it's a lot harder to get
tangled up in the rope when it's going away from the nose of the glider.
The soft release is a great way to cause a serious accident that also
endangers the tow pilot unnecessarily. From the tow pilot end it's lots
easier to know someone has gotten off with a normal release and initiate
the proper turn immediately.

Gary

Gary Boggs wrote:
I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but here in the USA it's pretty
wide spread to release the tension on the tow rope before pulling the
release handle by getting a little high, and then doing a shallow dive. If
I remember right, this came about because the tow hooks on the Schweizers
were swinging forward, beating themselves to pieces when pulled with a lot
of tension on the line. I think this maneuver is no longer necessary
because the tow hooks on the Schweizers were modified with a friction device
in the slot in front of the arm that cushions the arm as it swings forward,
but the practice is now standard in many places. It may be a good idea in
theory, but the reality of the situation is that this is not an easy thing
to do for a lot of pilots. There are many pilots that pull up too far, and
then actually overtake the rope before pulling the release, so that now the
end of the line is dangling somewhere along side the ship. I sounds like an
easy maneuver, but in my opinion, it's more dangerous than it's worth. I
think the practice of attempting a soft release should be eliminated. In my
opinion, pulling the release with tension on it is much safer. I think
undoing the occasional knot in the rope is far safer than the possibility of
getting tangled in the end of the rope. Is this practice used anywhere else
in the world? Please give me some feedback.


Gary Boggs