When I got my Sport 2, I wanted to try a shoulder tow (or pro-tow). This is a simplified towing setup where tow rope is only attached to a pilot, and not to a glider.
A three point towing requires a release mechanism that is attached to the glider as well. This makes for more things to worry about, more things to put/remove to/from the glider.
However, a three point towing is easier than a two point one. An additional attachment point to the glider's keel, forward of the center of mass, helps to reduce basebar pressure and keeps pilot in more natural flying position, relative to the control frame.
But hey, many pilots tow double surface gliders with just a shoulder setup, so why not me? By this point, I've got 100+ tows, and I was pretty confident I could do it. I was worrying just a tiny bit about my arms getting tired too fast due to an awkward position. I needed a test flight in nice smooth air.
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I got to Tanner-Hiller (Hang Glide New England) on Friday night, after work. It was a very nice day, and a beautiful evening. Exactly what I needed. The tow went super smooth. No problems whatsoever. I stayed with the tug for 10 minutes and wasn't particularly tires. Great!
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| Shoulder Tow - coming out of the cart |
After that I enjoyed a nice evening in the sky. Views were magnificent!
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| Relaxing flight |
- Sun setting over Quabbin reservoir
Flight photo sequence -> Hang Glide New England - 2015-07-10
The next day I wanted to try a pro-tow in midday conditions.... and get some thermaling practice while I was at it. The forecast was pretty good for that, except 90 degrees cross wind... but it was less than 5mph - not a big deal.
On my first attempt, around 2pm, I snapped a weak link right out of the cart. Everything was going great, and then I started to climb too fast... weak link just snapped. I think, I wasn't aggressive enough with the controls, holding the basebar out for a second too long.
But no harm was done. I was happy I had wheels on my glider. They worked great. My poor harness got more scuffs, but at least I missed asphalt part of the runway, and fabric didn't get ripped...
On the second attempt I got much quicker on the controls while lifting off the cart and all was well. The tow wasn't particularly hard, but a few times I had to be more aggressive with my turns - I had more VGs pulled than I was used to, and the glider needed a bit more roll input.
Rhett waived me off in a weak thermal around 4500' MSL, NW of the airport. I lost this thermal pretty quick, but soon found another one, and went to 6000' MSL. While slowly climbing, I drifted for 5 miles SE, then set on a 3 miles glide crosswind in NNE direction, making a triangle around the airport.
An hour and a half of soaring. Great day!
Sunday was supposed to be a pretty good day as well, but I needed to get to Morningside to drop off my old Falcon for an annual inspection. I initially wanted to sell that glider, but maybe I keep it for some light day beach flying.
Another thing I wanted to try was to get a pro-tow with another plane/pilot, just to make sure I got this.
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The day at Morningside started pleasantly lazy. Late breakfast with friends at a local restaurant, then setting up a glider, taking a nap under my glider. It makes a nice sun umbrella...
Around 2pm I went for a tow. All went great this time as well. No problems. The flight was a pleasant one, but shorter than on Saturday. I waited a bit too long, and when I launched nice clouds, I was observing consistently drifting right above the airstip, all disappeared. I still found a little thermal to get me to 3600' MSL, and then I just boated around in zero-sink for a while. I hit a couple of stationary thermals when I got lower, but couldn't stay in them - patience is still a very difficult thing for me.
A few other pilots launched after me. All had good flights. Lift was definitely there, but weak, small and broken.
I watched Dave Baxter playing with a thermal above Morningside's parking lot, maybe 300' up. He was staying in it, and climbing. That is something I really want to get good at...
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Total airtime on Sunday - 41 minute. Not a bad day, not a bad day at all.
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