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

wrote:

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.

Burt, I agree with everything else you said, but this part confuses me.
I've always tilted my head away from the turn (to nearer vertical) so I
can see where I'm going; in particular, to be able to see other gliders
at or above my altitude. It doesn't affect my horizon reference because
I can see where the inside wing is, and a glance towards the nose (or
peripheral vision) gives me the bank and pitch angle.

I circle at a 40-45 degree bank angle. Perhaps you talking about
students that might be flying at a much smaller angle and could see
where they are going in the turn without tilting their head?
--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Burt,

I agree with your sentiments and the logic of giving students only what
they can take. One of my airline pilot buddies was able to fly the
tow easily before we reached release altitude. He flies Airbuses
(Airbii?) so I wrongly thought soaring would prove difficult for him.
Certainly my instruction was not the only factor in his success.

For the first several flights, I will give one control at a time:
first the rudder with direction to maintain lateral position while I am
flying our bank and pitch. Since this is the easiest control to
utilize on tow, the chances of success are highest. It also allows the
teaching of moving laterally and holding a relative position. Take me
to the tow plane's right wing tip and hold us there is a good lesson
on the amount of rudder required to do this. Then I add bank and
immediately the student will see that any departure from the tow
plane's relative bank results in an immediate displacement. Now they
should realize the small correction versus big correction requirements.
Since I do most of my initial training in the 2-33, I will last add in
pitch as it is the most difficult to maintain even with an operable
trim system.

Some students get it immediately; some like me take a very long time.
I could not maintain tow position behind the cub (I was talking about
my early training-you could ask Kellett about it since he probably
remembers me scaring him) until something around 20 flights. Other
kids my age were flying 1-26's at the point I was just keeping
position. As a part of any CFI exam, I will test the applicant's
ability to teach and evaluate this important procedure.

Terry Claussen
Master CFI and FAA Designated Pilot Examiner
Estrella

I introduce elements of tow in the same manner and have for 25 years. A
good way to feed the basics in small bits.
UH

Burt Compton: "They left embarassed and feeling stupid. We lost 5
customers, 5
potential SSA members, 5 future soaring pilots."
================================================== ==============

I think there is more to this story. Zero for five is not good.

Terry

wrote in message
ps.com...
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


I'm totally with Burt on this one. Air tow IS difficult and it does drive
away prospective glider pilots - if it's not taught correctly. First teach
them to fly the glider and THEN teach them air tow. Otherwise it's just not
fair. After the student can fly the glider reasonably well, then hand over
the tow for the last few hundred feet. If that goes well, then let the
student take more the next time.

I tell my students during the pre-flight whiteboard session on air tow that
it will be frustrating at first just like the first time on ice skates or
skis. I tell then that after a while, it will 'click' and they can do it.
I ask them to stick with it and not get frustrated

Giving the glider to a newbie who will then get out of position so the
instructor has to take over just makes it worse. To see a wildly gyrating
glider instantly calm down as the instructor takes the controls is
humiliating - especially to a high time power pilot. It's even worse if the
instructor can't verbalize exactly how he does it.

I need to add a bit to this even though it departs from the thread title.
It is VERY helpful to have a tug pilot who can fly attitude reference with
the ball centered. If the tuggie flies uncoordinated, chases the airspeed
needle or allows the tug to wallow in turbulence, a student glider pilot
will have a very hard time of it.

I was once asked by a student flying tow why the glider was so wing heavy.
I took the controls and, sure enough, it took a third of the aileron
authority just to keep the wings level. When I looked at the yaw string, it
was 30 degrees to the left even though we appeared to be directly behind the
tug. I soon realized that the tug pilot wasn't correcting for torque. A
yell on the radio to "center the ball" removed the glider's wing heaviness
instantly. It's just not fair to ask a student to follow a tug that 's
flying sideways.

There's another way a tuggie can trip up a student - and maybe get killed.
I had a student that had been doing well with air tow but suddenly began to
let the 2-33 get high after liftoff. (Realize now that a 2-33 is very
sensitive to towing speed. It will pitch up strongly with a small
overspeed.) We had a new tuggie that was going for "extra speed" over the
departure end of the runway before starting the climb. The student wasn't
accustomed to the strong push this required so the 2-33 climbed above normal
tow position. The advice to a tuggie is to start the climb as soon as the
correct tow speed is on the ASI.

Bill Daniels

Bill Daniels wrote:

Giving the glider to a newbie who will then get out of position so the
instructor has to take over just makes it worse. To see a wildly gyrating
glider instantly calm down as the instructor takes the controls is
humiliating - especially to a high time power pilot.

I agree with most what you've said. But when a high time power pilot
abandons to learn flying gliders just because he can't fly the tow the
first time he takes the controls of a glider, then something is *very*
bogus with his attitude to aviation and possibly with his whole ego.

Stefan

Stefan wrote:
I agree with most what you've said. But when a high time power pilot
abandons to learn flying gliders just because he can't fly the tow the
first time he takes the controls of a glider, then something is *very*
bogus with his attitude to aviation and possibly with his whole ego.

When I was buying a chart at an airplane flight school a while back, I
overheard a conversation between a newly licensed private pilot and the
chief pilot. The new pilot said he wanted to keep challenging himself
and had been thinking about trying gliders, and he asked the chief pilot
what he thought. The *chief pilot* replied: "The thing about gliders is
that you have to learn to deal with the towing -- you might want to try
seaplanes instead." It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut, but I
did.

unicate wrote:
Stefan wrote:

I agree with most what you've said. But when a high time power pilot
abandons to learn flying gliders just because he can't fly the tow the
first time he takes the controls of a glider, then something is *very*
bogus with his attitude to aviation and possibly with his whole ego.


When I was buying a chart at an airplane flight school a while back, I
overheard a conversation between a newly licensed private pilot and the
chief pilot. The new pilot said he wanted to keep challenging himself
and had been thinking about trying gliders, and he asked the chief pilot
what he thought. The *chief pilot* replied: "The thing about gliders is
that you have to learn to deal with the towing -- you might want to try
seaplanes instead." It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut, but I
did.

Why? Great teachable moment.

Shawn

unicate wrote:
When I was buying a chart at an airplane flight school a while back, I
overheard a conversation between a newly licensed private pilot and the
chief pilot. The new pilot said he wanted to keep challenging himself
and had been thinking about trying gliders, and he asked the chief pilot
what he thought. The *chief pilot* replied: "The thing about gliders is
that you have to learn to deal with the towing -- you might want to try
seaplanes instead." It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut, but I
did.

Shawn sdotcurry@bresnananotherdotnet wrote:
Why? Great teachable moment.

Because this chief pilot's ego is legendary, as is his attitude toward
women. But you're right, it *was* a great teachable moment -- I wished
my CFIG or glider examiner had been there.