"Up, Centered, Stable, Tips, GO!" This is the mantra we use when towing. Tow tech should never proceed with the tow unless they look back and see the wing "Up, Centered, Stable, and Tips open", otherwise the tow is a No Go before the pilot leaves the ground!! Especially important for the tow tech to monitor this when forward launching in no wind like in the video, because the pilot will not see until the tow has started and the wing is coming up. Tow tech needs to monitor the wing, and not proceed towing the pilot off the ground unless those four are good. I have that mantra laminated and attached to the remote in the tow tech's hand when towing. "Up, Centered, Stable, Tips, GO!"
Yes exactly this. Give enough pressure to keep the line off the ground when the pilot is running, but only add pressure when everything is perfect. In this case the cravat is super obvious and the tow tech should therefore not launch the pilot. Line tension is up to the tech, not the pilot, and giving enough to fly with a cravat is a mistake, IMO.
Many things could have been done better: 1. Pilot did not check wing sufficiently on the ground (check lines and then quick ground handle recheck lines and lay it down neatly). 2. Pilot did not lay wing out symmetrically. Also hard to tell but was that the best tow strip for the wind direction? 3. Driver was clearly not paying attention at the most critical time of the tow (The first 100m of height). 4. Radio comms didn't appear to be present or pilot was unable to make a "Stop Stop Stop" call. 5. Driver put too much energy (gas) given wing position and direction. 6. Pilot decided to bail at a dangerous height which a reserve throw or induced spiral recovery would have been very unlikely. I either would have bailed right at the start "Stop Stop Stop" or once airborne kept going to a height where I would have had time to see how the wing reacts and either recovery or throw the hanky. Easy to say from an armchair, but in short; height = time = options. Many things done well: 1. Pilot realized wing was not straight, adjusted brake input to correct 2. Pilot didn't panic, tried to pump out the cravat / stablio line input 3. Pilot made a committed decision and stuck with that decision. 4. Landed relatively safely into wind with little more than half a wing flying. Towing is dangerous, the driver must be trained appropriately. I've had close calls from trying to train up non pilots to tow and expecting miracles. Driving in a straight line whilst keep appropriate speed for wind / conditions, whilst also watching the pilot and processing information quick enough to make split second decisions is not easy, then add to that someone who doesn't fly and doesn't recognize poor wing configurations... recipe for disaster. If you find a good tow driver, pay them well, look after them and they will look after you. If you are training a new driver, make sure they get plenty of time in the passenger seat, learning the art of safe towing gradually. Great work landing it safely, thanks for sharing. Safe towing.
4 місяці тому+5
I wouldn’t be so sure about the tow operator responsibility. Here in Czechia, it is the pilot who decides to proceed by explicitly saying “start start start” after they perform wing check.
If you were on top and you are climbing keep going don't worry about anything if you are not towing yet check your wing closely. I think this guy was perfect.
Well done handling that situation. Have you tried a foot released bridle? Means you can keep piloting the wing with both hands, no need to let go of brakes to release :)
God that was scary, glad your made it safe. Im dying to fly but not die. Maybe one day I'll get to fly PpG never thought that in FL there was tow paragliding it looks cheaper is it? Im also curious the moment you notice the tips could you have released? Some say it's the tow operators fault this happened to begin with who was the tow operator and do you still use them?
Hey, thank you for your comment. It wasn’t that scary. I have about 13 years of flying experience, and most of that time (about 95%) has been taking off by tow. I’ve had my share of incidents, and the key to everything is: Are you flying? If you are, you have plenty of options. Regarding PPG vs. PG with tow, the equipment is cheaper because of the cost of the PPG engine. Some people decide to buy a tow rig, which costs about the same. Unlike a PPG, we can share a single tow rig among several pilots. I find flying PG more rewarding because it requires getting in tune with the air, the thermals, and the way birds fly. Could I have aborted the moment I noticed it? Yes. But should I have? No. I would have been about 10 to 20 feet in the air when I realized what happened. Most of the time, these small cravats clear up with just a bump of the brake. If I chose to release at that point, I would have had a surge to catch, and it is very likely that with an unknown cravat, my braking to stop the surge might stall that side of the wing, sending me into a spin that I might or might not control at just 10 feet from the ground. Not really a good option. I’ve explained before that it wasn’t an issue the tow operator should have solved for me. I’m a tow operator myself, and we keep looking at how to improve the safety of towing overall. The conclusion in our circles is that as long as the wing is flying straight up, the operator should continue towing at a constant pressure until the pilot decides to release. I can attest from other experiences, and this one, that this is the absolute best behavior the operator can exhibit. In another incident, which I cannot find the video of, I had a very similar situation: a cravat on the right side, and the wing was difficult to control. In that situation, I was trying to clear up the cravat without success. But unlike this time, the operator thought he should stop the tow and just released the pressure. Well, that almost stalled my wing. I was pulling hard on the brake of the good side to keep the wing flying straight, and the cravat, along with my attempts to clear it, was pulling hard on the bad side. What kept me flying was the tension the towline was giving me. It’s like the engine on a powered aircraft; the power of the engine was making the flying equation positive. But the moment the operator cut the power without my consent, my wing bent backward, doing the stall announcement. I had to bring my hands up and let the wing recover flying because of that, and when I was able to start inputting commands again, I had turned 180 degrees and was still tied to the tow without an opportunity to release because I was only 30 feet above the ground. In that incident, I had some trees to the left, and I purposely aimed for the trees. It worked perfectly. The towline quickly tensioned, pulling me back and letting the wing surge forward to slam me against the ground. But because I was heading for the trees, the wing just fell on the canopy, and I was gently stopped one foot above the ground, having touched nothing else. You can see how different the outcome was in this situation where the operator did the right thing and trusted that I, the pilot, could make the right decision when I felt I had it. I could have continued gaining altitude to deploy my reserve chute, but I chose to release and fly with the cravat because my assessment until that point was that the wing would continue flying with just a tendency to go right, which could be handled. In any case, you would notice that I also kept on top of the canal… just in case everything else failed, I had a good chance to drop in the water. Finally, many people blame me for not checking the wing before taking off. I did check it, but apparently, the lines snagged a little branch, and the branch wouldn’t let the lines release. I hope this satisfies your curiosity.
Well handled! How was the climb? What are your thoughts about try for more altitude, then trying to pull the cravat when no longer under tow? That looked like a tough cravat though
I thought of finishing the tow and then try to clear it, but from the looks of the knot, I thought the chances of clearing it would be low and I would put too much stress on the lines doing it. So, that's why I decided to release and manage coming down.
@@huepix From my perspective, it seemed a tension not around a twig. The twig cannot be seen in the video due to the resolution, but I remember seeing it why trying to clear the knot.
I was stressed because I had another similar incident and at that time the operator released tension due to the problem he saw I had. But releasing tension when I'm putting a lot of break to the flying side to keep flying straight and jerking and pulling lines on the collapsed side to try to clear the knot had the effect of sending the wing into a stall. Fortunately I sensed it and reacted on time, but in the time I gave the glider to recover it turned 180º and put me downwind at low altitude and with a glider I could not turn quickly and still connected to the tow line. I aimed to a tree and that caught me on time and delivered me to the ground without any injury. So, I was remembering all the lessons learned then and hoping I would not make mistakes.
Seemed like a good choice to release when you did. I've never done towing - hopefully you never get a cravat again on tow - seems more complicated than a cravat whilst normally flying. With a cravat when not on tow, what is your order (set of steps to carry out) to deal with it? I've got a list I run through in my head before I launch on strong or turbulent days. Doesn't need to be the same list for everyone, but it's good to have one up front because cravats can be a bit disturbing on rough days.
On tow, the first thing is controlling the wing and its direction. When launching forward like I did, you must be able to sense if the wing is coming right or slanted. And you should be able to correct any slant without having to see it. That's what I did. Then you check the tips and make your decision to stop or continue. I misjudged the cravat and thought I could clear it with a tap, so I continued running. Once you are airborne, you need to make sure you have enough control on the wing. I checked and between the weight shift and right brake, I could make the wing fly straight and even turn to the right. So, I positioned the wing more to the right of the car before attempting to clear it tapping on the break. If you see too much turning towards the collapsed side, you need to gain enough altitude to do a 360 close to the ground and release then, and prepare for that 360 that will take you to the ground. Some would say that if you have enough control, ride the tow until you have sufficient altitude to release, try to clear once, and if unsuccessful, throw reserve. I didn't even think about throwing reserve. After I was unsuccessful clearing with taps, I tried to search for the Stabilo, but it was limp, and pulling too much on the Stabilo would send me hard to the left wich is not good on tow and much less close to the ground. So, at that point, the options were to communicate with the operator so he would soften the pressure, and I will release doing minimal control until reaching the ground.
@@paraglidingflorida Yeah - I'm not sure I want to try towing. But I imagine in Florida you don't have many hill launches. I would have released when you did too. The thing that wouldn't be on my list on tow launch cravats would be any attempt to use the brake on the cravatted side to clear the cravat. Shallow or fast pumping never works and on tow a deep pump and hold would risk a spin. In clear air - which is a completely different situation - my list is this: 1) stop any rotation 2) get a good heading 3) check what kind of cravat (usually they are cloth in front of the lines but occasionally they are cloth through lines or a knot 4) for cloth in front of lines, if it's less than half the wing gone, spin to cravatted side, if it's a monster cravat, stall if I have enough height 5) for cloth through lines, stabilo 6) with knots I've tried big big ears but usually I just have to land and sort it out on the ground. In your case, too low when releasing for most of those cleaning techniques so I'd land carefully with the cravat
@@7up-weee I had a friend in Deerfield Beach that used to use 100 foot rope. Catch people on the beach and ask them to pull him up. Would use the high-rise buildings once he got up there release and he could fly around all day with onshore winds….
Not really. I'm also a certified tow operator. This was a forward launch without wind. That means that the pilot has to run to raise the wing. The abort decision in this case must be entirely on the pilot. The pilot can stop and the winch will keep exerting pressure, but not so much that it will drag the pilot. I saw the cravat and decided to continue launching because I misjudged how bad it was. I thought it would clear with a simple tap. After being airborne, I appreciate that the operator keeps the pressure constant. In a similar incident, that happened to me some time ago, the operator released the pressure, and that almost stalled my wing because between the drag of the collapsed side and the break on the good side necessary to keep the wing flying straight, the only thing keeping the wing flying was the pressure of the winch.
@@paraglidingflorida thanks for the reply. I feel that the tow operator should have noticed that there was a cravat and then not added enough pressure to launch. I think it’s important to not add enough pressure to launch until the pilot is running, with a totally open wing overhead. It makes it so that something like this is a total non issue instead of a UA-cam video. AB
@@johnalexbaker He noticed the cravat, and he didn't add pressure. This was a pay-out towing (The winch is on a moving car). Even without added pressure, I was going up unless I stopped my run. Again, in this case, the operator did exactly what works best for these cases. The idea that he should make the decision to abort the launch is flawed. He doesn't have enough information to make that decision correctly. It might seem that aborting at the right time saves the pilot, but aborting without coordinating with the pilot the sudden cessation of pressure is actually worse given the conditions of the wing. Only timing it to be done while still on the ground can be good, and it is almost impossible to time it right just from the car alone. What it is important in these cases is for the pilot to have a radio with a PTT button easily accessible. Mine is on the tip of my finger under my glove. I can talk to the operator without releasing the breaks. The operator knew that I could tell him "abort, abort, abort" if I really needed him to abort. Lacking that, he would do exactly what I expected him to do and what is best in this condition: Keep applying constant pressure. When I tell him that I was going to release, he slowed down releasing the tension slowly and that prevented a surge. You can see that in my way of handling the breaks and the fact that I almost forgot to grab the right brake and correct it when I felt the release of pressure.
@@paraglidingflorida thanks for responding. Personally I like to pay out tow so that we give enough tension to keep the line off the ground when running, but we don’t add enough tension to launch until after the pilot is running with a clear open wing. I feel it’s way safer, and makes it so that if the wing comes up with a cravat and the pilot does everything they can to launch, they still can’t. In fact they could continue running down the road trying to fix it for as long as they want. If it gets fixed, and they are still running and ready to launch, the operator could dial it up and get the pilot airborne. For anyone else watching that is getting into towing: you don’t have it do it the way shown in the video. Launching with a giant cravat is easily avoidable with the right techniques. I’m also fine moving to a personal conversation if you have any interest. AB
Launching on a winch doesn't involve two but three people!!! Where is the launch controller?? It would have been his task to stop the launch right at the beginning!
That's not even a cravat. Look at your lines wrapped around each other, that's a line-over and/or complete line fuckup. Pulling stabilo isn't gonna fix that.
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
"Up, Centered, Stable, Tips, GO!"
This is the mantra we use when towing. Tow tech should never proceed with the tow unless they look back and see the wing "Up, Centered, Stable, and Tips open", otherwise the tow is a No Go before the pilot leaves the ground!! Especially important for the tow tech to monitor this when forward launching in no wind like in the video, because the pilot will not see until the tow has started and the wing is coming up. Tow tech needs to monitor the wing, and not proceed towing the pilot off the ground unless those four are good.
I have that mantra laminated and attached to the remote in the tow tech's hand when towing. "Up, Centered, Stable, Tips, GO!"
Yes exactly this. Give enough pressure to keep the line off the ground when the pilot is running, but only add pressure when everything is perfect.
In this case the cravat is super obvious and the tow tech should therefore not launch the pilot. Line tension is up to the tech, not the pilot, and giving enough to fly with a cravat is a mistake, IMO.
"Up, Centered, Stable, Tips? NO!!"
My toe crew that I worked with said good wing. And the pilot had to nod
Awesome job flying it and keeping it under control. That’s was a nasty one. Glad your safe
Many things could have been done better:
1. Pilot did not check wing sufficiently on the ground (check lines and then quick ground handle recheck lines and lay it down neatly).
2. Pilot did not lay wing out symmetrically. Also hard to tell but was that the best tow strip for the wind direction?
3. Driver was clearly not paying attention at the most critical time of the tow (The first 100m of height).
4. Radio comms didn't appear to be present or pilot was unable to make a "Stop Stop Stop" call.
5. Driver put too much energy (gas) given wing position and direction.
6. Pilot decided to bail at a dangerous height which a reserve throw or induced spiral recovery would have been very unlikely. I either would have bailed right at the start "Stop Stop Stop" or once airborne kept going to a height where I would have had time to see how the wing reacts and either recovery or throw the hanky. Easy to say from an armchair, but in short; height = time = options.
Many things done well:
1. Pilot realized wing was not straight, adjusted brake input to correct
2. Pilot didn't panic, tried to pump out the cravat / stablio line input
3. Pilot made a committed decision and stuck with that decision.
4. Landed relatively safely into wind with little more than half a wing flying.
Towing is dangerous, the driver must be trained appropriately. I've had close calls from trying to train up non pilots to tow and expecting miracles. Driving in a straight line whilst keep appropriate speed for wind / conditions, whilst also watching the pilot and processing information quick enough to make split second decisions is not easy, then add to that someone who doesn't fly and doesn't recognize poor wing configurations... recipe for disaster.
If you find a good tow driver, pay them well, look after them and they will look after you. If you are training a new driver, make sure they get plenty of time in the passenger seat, learning the art of safe towing gradually.
Great work landing it safely, thanks for sharing. Safe towing.
I wouldn’t be so sure about the tow operator responsibility. Here in Czechia, it is the pilot who decides to proceed by explicitly saying “start start start” after they perform wing check.
That is correct. A tow operator making the decision to stop can cause more harm than good. I've been there.
If you were on top and you are climbing keep going don't worry about anything if you are not towing yet check your wing closely. I think this guy was perfect.
It's a wonder there wasn't an accident. This is a serious winch operator error! He didn't look at the pilot, he just drove!
Well done handling that situation. Have you tried a foot released bridle? Means you can keep piloting the wing with both hands, no need to let go of brakes to release :)
Very nice save to a dangerous situation
God that was scary, glad your made it safe.
Im dying to fly but not die.
Maybe one day I'll get to fly PpG never thought that in FL there was tow paragliding it looks cheaper is it?
Im also curious the moment you notice the tips could you have released?
Some say it's the tow operators fault this happened to begin with who was the tow operator and do you still use them?
Hey, thank you for your comment.
It wasn’t that scary. I have about 13 years of flying experience, and most of that time (about 95%) has been taking off by tow. I’ve had my share of incidents, and the key to everything is: Are you flying? If you are, you have plenty of options.
Regarding PPG vs. PG with tow, the equipment is cheaper because of the cost of the PPG engine. Some people decide to buy a tow rig, which costs about the same. Unlike a PPG, we can share a single tow rig among several pilots. I find flying PG more rewarding because it requires getting in tune with the air, the thermals, and the way birds fly.
Could I have aborted the moment I noticed it? Yes. But should I have? No. I would have been about 10 to 20 feet in the air when I realized what happened. Most of the time, these small cravats clear up with just a bump of the brake. If I chose to release at that point, I would have had a surge to catch, and it is very likely that with an unknown cravat, my braking to stop the surge might stall that side of the wing, sending me into a spin that I might or might not control at just 10 feet from the ground. Not really a good option.
I’ve explained before that it wasn’t an issue the tow operator should have solved for me. I’m a tow operator myself, and we keep looking at how to improve the safety of towing overall. The conclusion in our circles is that as long as the wing is flying straight up, the operator should continue towing at a constant pressure until the pilot decides to release.
I can attest from other experiences, and this one, that this is the absolute best behavior the operator can exhibit. In another incident, which I cannot find the video of, I had a very similar situation: a cravat on the right side, and the wing was difficult to control. In that situation, I was trying to clear up the cravat without success. But unlike this time, the operator thought he should stop the tow and just released the pressure.
Well, that almost stalled my wing. I was pulling hard on the brake of the good side to keep the wing flying straight, and the cravat, along with my attempts to clear it, was pulling hard on the bad side. What kept me flying was the tension the towline was giving me. It’s like the engine on a powered aircraft; the power of the engine was making the flying equation positive. But the moment the operator cut the power without my consent, my wing bent backward, doing the stall announcement. I had to bring my hands up and let the wing recover flying because of that, and when I was able to start inputting commands again, I had turned 180 degrees and was still tied to the tow without an opportunity to release because I was only 30 feet above the ground.
In that incident, I had some trees to the left, and I purposely aimed for the trees. It worked perfectly. The towline quickly tensioned, pulling me back and letting the wing surge forward to slam me against the ground. But because I was heading for the trees, the wing just fell on the canopy, and I was gently stopped one foot above the ground, having touched nothing else.
You can see how different the outcome was in this situation where the operator did the right thing and trusted that I, the pilot, could make the right decision when I felt I had it. I could have continued gaining altitude to deploy my reserve chute, but I chose to release and fly with the cravat because my assessment until that point was that the wing would continue flying with just a tendency to go right, which could be handled. In any case, you would notice that I also kept on top of the canal… just in case everything else failed, I had a good chance to drop in the water.
Finally, many people blame me for not checking the wing before taking off. I did check it, but apparently, the lines snagged a little branch, and the branch wouldn’t let the lines release.
I hope this satisfies your curiosity.
Did you have a knot in the upper cascades? Sort of looks like that in the zoom shot near the end.
@@rolan yes. It was a Knot held by a stick.
Well handled! How was the climb? What are your thoughts about try for more altitude, then trying to pull the cravat when no longer under tow? That looked like a tough cravat though
0:58
@@MrEvpatoria ah, line-over not cravat
I thought of finishing the tow and then try to clear it, but from the looks of the knot, I thought the chances of clearing it would be low and I would put too much stress on the lines doing it. So, that's why I decided to release and manage coming down.
Looked like a tension knot to me.
Hard to say tho.
Pilot did well in an incredibly stressful situation
@@huepix From my perspective, it seemed a tension not around a twig. The twig cannot be seen in the video due to the resolution, but I remember seeing it why trying to clear the knot.
Le treuilleur est aveugle ?
I could feel your anxiety @0:20 !
I was stressed because I had another similar incident and at that time the operator released tension due to the problem he saw I had. But releasing tension when I'm putting a lot of break to the flying side to keep flying straight and jerking and pulling lines on the collapsed side to try to clear the knot had the effect of sending the wing into a stall. Fortunately I sensed it and reacted on time, but in the time I gave the glider to recover it turned 180º and put me downwind at low altitude and with a glider I could not turn quickly and still connected to the tow line. I aimed to a tree and that caught me on time and delivered me to the ground without any injury.
So, I was remembering all the lessons learned then and hoping I would not make mistakes.
Seemed like a good choice to release when you did. I've never done towing - hopefully you never get a cravat again on tow - seems more complicated than a cravat whilst normally flying. With a cravat when not on tow, what is your order (set of steps to carry out) to deal with it? I've got a list I run through in my head before I launch on strong or turbulent days. Doesn't need to be the same list for everyone, but it's good to have one up front because cravats can be a bit disturbing on rough days.
On tow, the first thing is controlling the wing and its direction. When launching forward like I did, you must be able to sense if the wing is coming right or slanted. And you should be able to correct any slant without having to see it. That's what I did. Then you check the tips and make your decision to stop or continue. I misjudged the cravat and thought I could clear it with a tap, so I continued running.
Once you are airborne, you need to make sure you have enough control on the wing. I checked and between the weight shift and right brake, I could make the wing fly straight and even turn to the right. So, I positioned the wing more to the right of the car before attempting to clear it tapping on the break. If you see too much turning towards the collapsed side, you need to gain enough altitude to do a 360 close to the ground and release then, and prepare for that 360 that will take you to the ground.
Some would say that if you have enough control, ride the tow until you have sufficient altitude to release, try to clear once, and if unsuccessful, throw reserve.
I didn't even think about throwing reserve.
After I was unsuccessful clearing with taps, I tried to search for the Stabilo, but it was limp, and pulling too much on the Stabilo would send me hard to the left wich is not good on tow and much less close to the ground. So, at that point, the options were to communicate with the operator so he would soften the pressure, and I will release doing minimal control until reaching the ground.
@@paraglidingflorida Yeah - I'm not sure I want to try towing. But I imagine in Florida you don't have many hill launches.
I would have released when you did too.
The thing that wouldn't be on my list on tow launch cravats would be any attempt to use the brake on the cravatted side to clear the cravat. Shallow or fast pumping never works and on tow a deep pump and hold would risk a spin.
In clear air - which is a completely different situation - my list is this:
1) stop any rotation
2) get a good heading
3) check what kind of cravat (usually they are cloth in front of the lines but occasionally they are cloth through lines or a knot
4) for cloth in front of lines, if it's less than half the wing gone, spin to cravatted side, if it's a monster cravat, stall if I have enough height
5) for cloth through lines, stabilo
6) with knots I've tried big big ears but usually I just have to land and sort it out on the ground.
In your case, too low when releasing for most of those cleaning techniques so I'd land carefully with the cravat
@@7up-weee I had a friend in Deerfield Beach that used to use 100 foot rope. Catch people on the beach and ask them to pull him up. Would use the high-rise buildings once he got up there release and he could fly around all day with onshore winds….
@@DavidRitchie-tr2rnsounds fun 😂
tow operator error for sure
Never give go before the glider is actually ok.. pilot and winch operator fail. Glad noone was injured.
Good decision to release. Dealing repeatedly with cravat rather than paying attention to the flight would be a mistake.
CHECK THE WıNG JEEZ !
Tow operator definitely screwed that up. I hope they learned the lesson!
Not really. I'm also a certified tow operator. This was a forward launch without wind. That means that the pilot has to run to raise the wing. The abort decision in this case must be entirely on the pilot. The pilot can stop and the winch will keep exerting pressure, but not so much that it will drag the pilot.
I saw the cravat and decided to continue launching because I misjudged how bad it was. I thought it would clear with a simple tap.
After being airborne, I appreciate that the operator keeps the pressure constant. In a similar incident, that happened to me some time ago, the operator released the pressure, and that almost stalled my wing because between the drag of the collapsed side and the break on the good side necessary to keep the wing flying straight, the only thing keeping the wing flying was the pressure of the winch.
@@paraglidingflorida thanks for the reply.
I feel that the tow operator should have noticed that there was a cravat and then not added enough pressure to launch.
I think it’s important to not add enough pressure to launch until the pilot is running, with a totally open wing overhead. It makes it so that something like this is a total non issue instead of a UA-cam video.
AB
@@paraglidingflorida
Si le treuilleur ouvre les yeux il ne tire pas une voile mal gonflée et tu ne décolles pas. Point final
@@johnalexbaker He noticed the cravat, and he didn't add pressure. This was a pay-out towing (The winch is on a moving car). Even without added pressure, I was going up unless I stopped my run. Again, in this case, the operator did exactly what works best for these cases. The idea that he should make the decision to abort the launch is flawed. He doesn't have enough information to make that decision correctly. It might seem that aborting at the right time saves the pilot, but aborting without coordinating with the pilot the sudden cessation of pressure is actually worse given the conditions of the wing. Only timing it to be done while still on the ground can be good, and it is almost impossible to time it right just from the car alone.
What it is important in these cases is for the pilot to have a radio with a PTT button easily accessible. Mine is on the tip of my finger under my glove. I can talk to the operator without releasing the breaks. The operator knew that I could tell him "abort, abort, abort" if I really needed him to abort. Lacking that, he would do exactly what I expected him to do and what is best in this condition: Keep applying constant pressure. When I tell him that I was going to release, he slowed down releasing the tension slowly and that prevented a surge. You can see that in my way of handling the breaks and the fact that I almost forgot to grab the right brake and correct it when I felt the release of pressure.
@@paraglidingflorida thanks for responding.
Personally I like to pay out tow so that we give enough tension to keep the line off the ground when running, but we don’t add enough tension to launch until after the pilot is running with a clear open wing. I feel it’s way safer, and makes it so that if the wing comes up with a cravat and the pilot does everything they can to launch, they still can’t. In fact they could continue running down the road trying to fix it for as long as they want. If it gets fixed, and they are still running and ready to launch, the operator could dial it up and get the pilot airborne.
For anyone else watching that is getting into towing: you don’t have it do it the way shown in the video. Launching with a giant cravat is easily avoidable with the right techniques.
I’m also fine moving to a personal conversation if you have any interest.
AB
Lucky day!!
Launching on a winch doesn't involve two but three people!!! Where is the launch controller?? It would have been his task to stop the launch right at the beginning!
I would not have breaked because of the risk of spinning the wing, Instead I would have waited to reach 30 m height and realeased
That's not even a cravat. Look at your lines wrapped around each other, that's a line-over and/or complete line fuckup. Pulling stabilo isn't gonna fix that.
Stop stop stop!!! before takeoff
💥💥🪂🪂🪂🪂