CG hook on aero tows??

At 09:18 07 January 2004, Marc Ramsey wrote:
Chris Rollings wrote:
In launching on a C og G
hook you are risking the tow-pilots life more than
your own, and this I will not defend.

Marc Ramsey wrote
I personally prefer to fly aerotow with nose hooks,
and
both of the gliders I now fly have them. But, I'm
not
convinced that anyone has provided actual evidence
of an
observed safety issue with CG hooks.

Some numbers like these for, say, the past 20 years
in the UK:

How many aerotow operations were there per year?
What percentage of aerotow operations used CG hooks?
How many aerotow upset accidents were there during
that period?
What percentage of the aerotow upset accidents involved
CG hooks?

If these figures aren't available, is the use of CG
hooks being
discouraged based simply on the assumed lack of positive
longitudinal
stability during aerotow?

Marc

I hate to agree with Chris Rollings but he sums it
up quite well.

The questions posed by Marc Ramsey, difficult to obtain
that no one will even try, so they will not get answered.

Whatever we write here, I cannot see the owners of
C of G only aircraft rushing out to retrofit a nose
hook. Having towed on both, the worst being an Olympia
2B with only a C of G hook and a powerful tug, I prefer
the nose hook every time.

Some years ago, mid 1908’s I believe, the Australian
Gliding Association, following a number of tug upsets
produced a very graphic illustration showing the various
stages of a tug being upset by a glider on tow, wherever
the hook. It clearly and simply illustrated the difficulties
this caused the pilots at each end of the combination.


C of G hooks merely increase the likely hood of this
happening with an inattentive pilot.

The short answer is educating the pilots on the particular
hook to be used and hammering home the consequences
of inattention to all.

The Australian poster should be displayed at all gliding
sites.

To try to answer the question that started this thread,
the B4 pilots problems could be solved by asking the
tug to accelerate a little faster from the start, having
due regard to the problems this may cause. IE Things
may go wrong even quicker!

Dave