Ultralight sailplane aerotow liability

We recently had a pilot show up and ask if we would aerotow him in his
Sparrow Hawk. Our first question was to ask if the glider was
licensed. His reply was that it was not required to be licensed. Our
second question was if he had insurance on the glider. He replied by
asking if insurance was a requirement for being towed. Our reply was
that if the glider is not insured, that we would be accepting
liability. We also said that we would need to check with our
insurance carrier, to see if our policy would even cover us while
towing an ultralight sailplane. We directed the pilot to resources to
pursue an airworthiness certificate for the glider.

This pilot has, in the meantime, found another FBO who was willing to
tow him.

We have now received the following reply from our insurance carrier,
SSA's group plan with Costello. This plan does not cover towplanes
while towing ultralights. If the light sailplane has FAA
airworthiness (Experimental), towing it would be covered by Costello.
If the light sailplane has FAA airworthiness (Experimental), it can be
insured by Costello for hull and liability.
If the light sailplane has no FAA airworthiness certificate, Costello
offers no hull/liability coverage. There may be other insurance
sources.


Operators should check their individual coverage, if they are with a
different insurance carrier, and are concerned about their liability.
Towpilots should understand they may be towing without coverage.

M Eiler