Aerotow - learning and teaching

This is a spin-off from the post from the frustrated newbie who was
challenged with flying the aerotow on his first lesson.

I no longer ask first-timers (including airplane pilots) to fly the
glider on aerotow - not until they get some stick-time in free flight,
and a sense of where "level" is. Otherwise, they may give up on
learning to fly gliders, as I discovered at my soaring school.

One of my instructors was an airline pilot and recruited 5 other
airline pilots to come take an introductory lesson. He gave each of
them the tow at 500 feet on a calm day. They were all over the sky,
and egos being airline-inflated, all decided that soaring was not for
them. They left embarassed and feeling stupid. We lost 5 customers, 5
potential SSA members, 5 future soaring pilots.

As a CFIG, consider the following. After a good preflight briefing,
including a chalkboard session, an important aspect of teaching aerotow
is that the instructor should demonstrate - as many times as needed -
the aerotow position, sight-picture and "trends", rather than trying to
talk a student through this challenging part of the joy of soaring.
"Trends" is the key, like teaching instrument flying in airplanes. You
gotta help them detect the subtle movement. You cant wait for it to go
to heck, and most instructors cannot talk fast enough to help without
taking back the flight controls.

Students should consider the following: Sit back in the seat, relax,
and use some peripheral vision - don't stare with narrow focus at the
towplane. Don't turn your head, but widen out your vision so you fly
the glider - not just move the stick. Be part of the glider - lean
with it - like a bicycle. In turns (on or off aerotow), don't tilt
your head away from the turn as this screws up your horizon perspective
and you detach from being one with the glider.

If learning to fly gets frustrating, ASK your instructor to demonstrate
the maneuver again. A good instructor will realize that she/he should
try to explain / draw / demonstrate the manuever "better". A good
instructor may seek a different teaching prospective from their library
of books (Piggott / Knauff / Wander). A student should never feel shy
or stupid about asking an instructor to explain or demonstrate anything
again!

Note that CFI's in airplanes teach the takeoff by allowing the student
to fast-taxi down the runway, then add more power and off they go into
the air. Simple - but they don't have to fly precisely, in formation,
connected to another aircraft once they are airborne. Takeoff is
usually taught first in airplanes - before landings as it is the
logical sequence. Not necessarily so in gliders. Just because it is
the first thing we do, doesn't mean it is the first thing to teach.

Like the inflexible square pattern, teaching aerotow first is a
probably a holdover from airplane instructors.

So glider instructors might consider teaching aerotow later, after the
student has a good feel for the glider. It may be the second or third
flght, or perhaps the sixth. As a CFIG, you'll know when they are
ready. As an ambassador of soaring, you'll keep them interested.

For more insight on flying the aerotow, read Murray Shain's "End of the
Line" - one of Bob Wander's "Mentor" books. For towpilots, there is a
book on flying the towplane called "Towpilot Manual" - available from
www.bobwander.com

Burt Compton, Master CFIG, FAA DPE
Marfa Gliders, west Texas
www.flygliders.com