Wave Off on Early Tow Question

Folks,

Is there a prefered policy on how to handle a wave off from the tug in the first several hundred feet on tow. General policy dictates a turn back to the field should be into the wind, but if the tug is truly having difficulties his normal tendancy would be to do the same thing, causing a possible conflict. Above 300 feet the glider would have moe time to see what the tug did and react accordingly; but at 200' there wouldnt be much time causing a possible conflict. I imagine even if both aircraft turn the same direction the glider would be much tighter/higher, but it is worth considering all possible senarios.

thanks,

I've done this - twice. The signal to the glider is the end of the rope being dropped by the towplane. At low altitudes, if I have a problem requiring a wave off, I don't have time to wait for the sailplane pilot to recognize any signal, let alone the problem of sufficient motion on my part to be recognizable by the sailplane. The same goes with radio communication. I don't have time to request permission and get a 'huh' response. Anything less than pattern altitude or anything requiring sudden change of direction for my best survival and the glider will be suddenly on his own. That glider has far more chance of surviving unattached than it does attached. My survival absolutely depends on the glider being unattached.

Likewise, I am not going to worry about which way the glider turns. It is highly unlikely that the glider is going to descend faster than the towplane.

First of all, Scott correctly observed that the tow plane will not be executing a 180 and returning to the runway from a complete power loss at 200 feet. That said, a waveoff should always be considered to be the TOWPLANE'S emergency. We must realize that a glider without power is in far better shape than a towplane without power. When releasing from a waveoff we should expect that the towplane will probably want to turn directly towards the runway, whatever direction that is. Your normal release turn may not be appropriate if it could possibly interfere with the towplane's return. Assuming you are significantly above 200 feet, It may be best to continue straight ahead for a few seconds and slow down while manuvering just enough to keep the tow plane in view. Unless the purpose of the waveoff was a true complete power failure, the towplane may not lose altitude as fast as you think. Keep your options open as long as possible, because you may well be presented with a blocked runway.

The policy is, you both do what you gotta do, and try not to hit each other in the process.

its always nice to have two runways.. parallel.. or an open infield ... just land the glider where the tug is not..

most likely if the tug gets turned around.. he'll land at the near end and the glider can over fly and land long..

could be.. with the drag of the glider gone.. the tug may have enough power to sustain altitude to get back..

BT

I figure a thousand ft minimum for a pawnee if you hold your mouth just right.(5000msl+density where I fly) Of course Im already overhead by then. I only simulated it once at altitude a long time ago just out of curiosity, so your results may vary. They glide OK straght ahead, but not when you're turning. Even flown right, it still comes down like a beveled refridgerator. I'll do 200' in gliders all day long, but with power, I hope the Blessed Lady of Internal Combustion gets me within gliding range of a soft spot.

anyone know how short a pawnee can land? Might be in consideration when landing on the same runway.