The Soft Release?

Vaughn wrote:
"Gary Boggs" wrote in message
...
I think undoing the occasional knot in the rope is far safer than the
possibility of getting tangled in the end of the rope. Is this practice used
anywhere else in the world? Please give me some feedback.

It would have to be a pretty wild "soft" release to result in a glider
tangled in the tow rope. That said, I know of one nasty accident that resulted
from the apparent failure of a glider pilot to confirm release. Our site always
stressed that the glider must not move out of position until the glider pilot
has visually confirmed rope release. But it is far harder to visually confirm
release after a soft release because the ring tends to dangle out of sight below
the glider's nose and there is no rope "snap" to observe.

If that's the case, you're putting *a lot* of slack in the rope. You
can always fly a bit off center just before release so the rope is more
visible. The same technique works in slack line recovery too. ;-)

Jeremy

That sort of technique may well work if you have a pre-planned release
altitude as on training flights in no lift. The time it takes to
recognize a thermal, and release in it, is far too short to reposition
the glider, pull up, push over, release, confirm release and turn. By
the time you have done all that the thermal is far behind you and your
chances of finding it are poor.

The only value for reduced tension release is to protect poorly
designed glider tow hooks. Like many things you learn in 2-33's it
should be discarded when you fly a sailplane.

Andy

I think Gary is right on on this.
Normal tension on the rope during tow for a 2-33 is about 50 pounds.
This will not damage anything.
The problem is that instructors commonly fail to teach releasing in a
steady state situation and many students begin to learn to anticipate
the release and start to pull up before releasing. This is where the
big bangs come from.
Tow pilots HATE soft releases because they only then know release has
occurred by subtle trim change(if in high tow) or mirror. With normal
release tuggie feels slight shake at release, visually confirms, and
gets out of Dodge.
UH

Actully Andy has it right. The soft release genisis
is from a poorly designed
tow hook....and a service bulletin from Scheweizer.
The 2-33 is not a good
example of the gliders most of us fly today. So I
would not use this
method unless I was flying the glider that has the
service bulletin to comply
with.
Now I have seen the soft release go to a 'winch pull'
then push over. It
makes me a bit nervous when a glider pitchs up like
that.


The only value for reduced tension release is to protect
poorly
designed glider tow hooks. Like many things you learn
in 2-33's it
should be discarded when you fly a sailplane.

Andy



Jeff Banks

Gary Boggs wrote:
I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but here in the USA it's pretty
wide spread to release the tension on the tow rope before pulling the
release handle by getting a little high, and then doing a shallow dive. If
I remember right, this came about because the tow hooks on the Schweizers
were swinging forward, beating themselves to pieces when pulled with a lot
of tension on the line. I think this maneuver is no longer necessary
because the tow hooks on the Schweizers were modified with a friction device
in the slot in front of the arm that cushions the arm as it swings forward,
but the practice is now standard in many places. It may be a good idea in
theory, but the reality of the situation is that this is not an easy thing
to do for a lot of pilots. There are many pilots that pull up too far, and
then actually overtake the rope before pulling the release, so that now the
end of the line is dangling somewhere along side the ship. I sounds like an
easy maneuver, but in my opinion, it's more dangerous than it's worth. I
think the practice of attempting a soft release should be eliminated. In my
opinion, pulling the release with tension on it is much safer. I think
undoing the occasional knot in the rope is far safer than the possibility of
getting tangled in the end of the rope. Is this practice used anywhere else
in the world? Please give me some feedback.

Ask a thousand people, and you'll get a thousand answers.

Here's my view. Any certificated pilots should have the skills to execute
either a normal or a soft release. If someone damages an aircraft because
of an improper soft release, they really need to spend some more time
getting instruction.

That said, I've flown with several instructors. Most claim you should
always do soft releases on Schweitzers, and do soft or normal releases on
Tost hooks. I believe Schweitzer says you should always do soft releases
on their tow hooks.

However, I have flown with one instructor who adamantly insists that
normal releases put unneccessary excessive stress on the aircraft
structure and should be avoided on all aircraft, regardless of tow hook.

I've also flown with another instructor (who is also an IA) who insists
that you should always perform normal releases on all aircraft (regardless
of tow hook). He claims that he is unconvinced that a normal release will
do damage to even a Schweitzer release, and I think he is uncomfortable
with the concept of a soft release because it lacks the positive
confirmation that release has actually occurred.

I rarely ever fly Schweitzers, and I typically will practice both release
styles. If I am flying a Schweitzer, I do soft releases. If I'm flying
with an instructor I will always ask them which they want me to perform.

dan

notme wrote:

Any certificated pilots should have the skills to execute
either a normal or a soft release.

(an) instructor...insists that you...perform normal releases
on all aircraft...and I think he is uncomfortable with the
concept of a soft release because it lacks the positive
confirmation that release has actually occurred.

_Positive_ confirmation is seeing the rope fall away from the glider,
and it works for any release, soft or hard.

As a tow pilot I prefer a normal release, and a glider pilot who gains
separation after release with an obvious, but not a dramatic, maneuver.
No rush, no mistakes, no confusion, no frightening the tug driver.


Jack

"Jack" wrote in message
news
_Positive_ confirmation is seeing the rope fall away from the glider, and it
works for any release, soft or hard.

Unfortunately, not true; at least not in all gliders. Especially not true
if you are a back seater. When I do a soft release, gravity pulls the ring down
out of sight and I either have to gently maneuver away from the ring or sit
there and wait for it to finally come into view.

Vaughn

Vaughn wrote:

_Positive_ confirmation is seeing the rope fall away from the glider, and it
works for any release, soft or hard.

Unfortunately, not true; at least not in all gliders.

Especially not true if you are a back seater.

Ah, the vision thing.... I've found that one can use use elevator and
rudder, gently, as you suggest, to make all things clear from either
seat. I am increasingly reluctant, as the years progress, to beat up the
tow hooks on the Schweizers I fly by using a hard release. I prefer a
modified-soft, if you will; tension reduced (no slack line) and visual
confirmation of separation.

Something more straight forward might be better when working with students.

As a tow pilot I want no doubt at either end that there is a confirmed
release. Neither of us would enjoy the Nantucket Sleigh Ride that can
result from a miscue.


Jack

Forgive my ignorance, I am speaking from the UK and we don't generally
see Schweizers in this country, but can you change the hooks to
something similar to everything else, say a Tost hook? Then you would
get the same release characteristics as all other gliders.

Robin

In message , Jack
writes
Vaughn wrote:

_Positive_ confirmation is seeing the rope fall away from the
glider, and it works for any release, soft or hard.

Unfortunately, not true; at least not in all gliders.

Especially not true if you are a back seater.

Ah, the vision thing.... I've found that one can use use elevator and
rudder, gently, as you suggest, to make all things clear from either
seat. I am increasingly reluctant, as the years progress, to beat up
the tow hooks on the Schweizers I fly by using a hard release. I prefer
a modified-soft, if you will; tension reduced (no slack line) and
visual confirmation of separation.

Something more straight forward might be better when working with students.

As a tow pilot I want no doubt at either end that there is a confirmed
release. Neither of us would enjoy the Nantucket Sleigh Ride that can
result from a miscue.


Jack

--
Robin Birch

As far as I know it isn't used in the UK as just about everybody has
Tost, or in a small number of cases Otfur type hooks. As a result we
are taught to NOT overtake the rings.

Essentially you fly normally and release, as soon as you can see the
rings go clear then gently pull back to burn off some speed and increase
the separation distance as rapidly as possible.

Robin

In message , Gary Boggs
writes
I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but here in the USA it's pretty
wide spread to release the tension on the tow rope before pulling the
release handle by getting a little high, and then doing a shallow dive. If
I remember right, this came about because the tow hooks on the Schweizers
were swinging forward, beating themselves to pieces when pulled with a lot
of tension on the line. I think this maneuver is no longer necessary
because the tow hooks on the Schweizers were modified with a friction device
in the slot in front of the arm that cushions the arm as it swings forward,
but the practice is now standard in many places. It may be a good idea in
theory, but the reality of the situation is that this is not an easy thing
to do for a lot of pilots. There are many pilots that pull up too far, and
then actually overtake the rope before pulling the release, so that now the
end of the line is dangling somewhere along side the ship. I sounds like an
easy maneuver, but in my opinion, it's more dangerous than it's worth. I
think the practice of attempting a soft release should be eliminated. In my
opinion, pulling the release with tension on it is much safer. I think
undoing the occasional knot in the rope is far safer than the possibility of
getting tangled in the end of the rope. Is this practice used anywhere else
in the world? Please give me some feedback.


Gary Boggs



--
Robin Birch