On Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 12:06:45 PM UTC-7, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
On Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 9:47:50 AM UTC-7, jfitch wrote:
On Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 8:23:35 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
The glider was a 1-26.

Ramy

Too bad. A 1-26 flies fine without a canopy. I have purposefully opened the canopy of a 2-33, unbuckled and stood up to untangle the yaw string, and though flying slower than on tow it wasn't terribly dramatic. Perhaps if training in 2-33s opening the canopy to experience it should be part of the course. It is the surprise and fear of the unknown which certainly contributes to the loss of concentration.

An artificial horizon and electric guillotine is a complex solution. Is the tow rope at a sufficient angle in these situations to simply position a sharp knife above the rope such that it cuts itself if the angle is too high? Surely that has been thought of and rejected for good reasons?

" I have purposefully opened the canopy of a 2-33, unbuckled and stood up to untangle the yaw string, " Until this moment, I had considered you the smartest guy on this news group. And for a yaw string??? I haven't actually looked at one in years, my butt and damaged lower back give me much feed back. But seriously, other than unbuckling, airplanes, gliders, helicopters can all fly without windows or doors (check POH for which doors). I witnessed a piper arrow crash due to a door coming ajar on take off. I too have opened canopies on 2-33's (pumpkin drops) and even on a Grob 103, front canopy to clear the hot air. In risk v rewards annuals, a yaw string is just not worth unbuckling for, i.e., dying.

When I did that in a 2-33, I was 14 years old and the instructor in the back seat told be to do it. It seemed like a sporty suggestion, but really was not all that dramatic.

I think a very sharp knife would cut the rope instantly if it was under significant tension, and it would be if there were an attitude problem. If you put a small rope under a few hundred lbs tension you only have to touch it with a really sharp blade and it will cut. But there may be another mechanical solution, like a Tost hook mounted upside down. I just don't know if the angle is sufficiently different than a glider slightly high on tow to be able to differentiate the two. I've only taken a very few tows in the last 20 years of self launch ownership (mainly bi-annuals), and I don't miss them much.

While towing from the CG or AC of the towplane makes sense abstractly (boat towboats do precisely this to maintain directional control), it seems like there are practical problems involving the empennage.