The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.
Standard Operating Procedure
12. Rating System
02. Pilot Proficiency System
10. Hang Gliding Aerotow Ratings
-B. Aero Vehicle Requirements
05. A weak link must be placed at both ends of the tow line. The weak link at the glider end must have a breaking strength that will break before the towline tension exceeds twice the weight of the hang glider pilot and glider combination. The weak link at the tow plane end of the towline should break with a towline tension approximately 100 lbs. greater than the glider end.
06. A release must be placed at the hang glider end of the tow line within easy reach of the pilot. This release shall be operational with zero tow line force up to twice the rated breaking strength of the weak link.
Lauren Tjaden - 2008/03/23
When Jim got me locked out to the right, I couldn't keep the pitch of the glider with one hand for more than a second (the pressure was a zillion pounds, more or less), but the F'ing release slid around when I tried to hit it. The barrel release wouldn't work because we had too much pressure on it.
Anyhow, the tandem can indeed perform big wingovers, as I demonstrated when I finally got separated from the tug.
Lauren - and Dustin Martin and Jim Prahl - were violating the crap out just about every important safety standard they could get (or not get) their hands on for that flight.
1. There were no weak links at EITHER end of the towline - and the weak links they DID have on the bridles on the two planes were configured such that they had ZERO positive weak link protection at either end.
2. The weak link at the front end was lighter than the one at the back.
3. The primary release actuator was NOT "within easy reach of the pilot" 'cause:
a) there's no such thing as an "easy reach" when it matters; and
b) even if there were you can't velcro a mission critical piece of control equipment to a shiny aluminum tube to stay put after the shitt's through the fan.
4. The secondary release - which Lauren and the Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland... shitrigger crowd think of and use as a "BACKUP" was a bent pin piece of crap which jams before a tiny fraction of the required load is released.
And this this is just a few weeks after I've been screaming myself hoarse to Lauren and all the Capitol forum a**holes that a bent pin release WILL NOT WORK UNDER LOAD.
And if she HAD managed to pry it open and the bottom end of that bridle had wrapped - like her dear friend Jim Rooney tells us it will over half the time under circumstances a helluva lot more benign than those - she coulda broken that glider negative in a heartbeat.
In REAL aviation everybody associated with that massive clusterfuck would and should have had his ticket suspended. But after one more tow on the same "equipment" Lauren gets her Tandem rating - so she can take my nephew up at Quest and teach him everything she knows.
I believe Sam is using commonly accepted towing methods which are used at many other sites as well.
And that's EXACTLY what Lauren said to me when she heard that I had said that that kinda crap deserved ticket suspensions. It doesn't matter that the stuff is lethal bulls*** - it's OK 'cause that's what everybody uses. It's "standard" equipment, not because it meets any actual standards, but because it's commonly accepted by Jim Rooney and Bo and all of her other flight park douchebag friends.
And this is EXACTLY how Hitler got regular decent sorts of folk to pack piles of screaming kids into gas chambers and our army got them to go into Vietnamese villages and mow down everything that moved. Just condition people to new norms.
I don't know what Sam himself is using in the way of towing methods and equipment. I don't have real huge problems with what the Houston platform crowd is doing and I might even hand my nephew to them for that department of hang gliding. If Sam is operating the same way I might hand him to him.
But Sam's endorsing Steve Wendt and there's no way in hell I'd let him go to Blue Sky.
I don't mind if you are trying to improve the state of towing for everyone, but I don't see why you need to pick on Sam specifically.
1. If you read my posts here and at Kite Strings you'll notice that I'm pretty much picking on everybody.
2. Did you READ that Oz thread at the top of my last post? I categorized seven participants as douchebags, not just Sam. Do you think Sam's conduct was becoming of an officer?
3. Sam is currently on the record as saying my stuff is no better than the bent pin shitrigged crap that Davis is killing people with. (Note the title of this thread (which I didn't write).)
Maybe you do that because he happens to be here on this forum and that makes him a target of opportunity that you can reach while the people on hanggliding.org and the Oz Report are people you can't reach.
Douchebags In Good Standing (Hmm... DIGS. Cool. May use that one.) on the Jack and Davis Shows are perfectly able to read or ignore what I'm saying about them here and/or on Kite Strings and respond or not respond to it SOMEWHERE.
That means you're effectively punishing Sam and anyone else who shows you the courtesy of sharing a forum with you - when they have other options.
Beyond spreading falsehoods about anyone - which I have not done and will not do - I can't punish anyone who hasn't done anything wrong.
Sam doesn't show me courtesy simply by sharing a little chunk of cyberspace with me and ignoring what I'm saying. Sam shows me courtesy by reading my replies to him...
Sam Kellner - 2010/03/28
Yeah, I don't even read all of those long winded "explanations".
...and answering my questions.
Sam Kellner - 2010/04/03
When you pull your release and nothing happens , and you shitt your pants, then you will know how!
So let's use a wee bit of discretion before throwing around terms like "courtesy" with such abandon.
Is that helping or hurting your ability to effect change and save lives?
Time will tell. But I've seen NOTHING in over thirty years which has made any difference at any significant sustainable scale so I'm willing to give going with my gut instincts a shot. And I'm actually more optimistic about the direction of the curve now than I've ever been. (And just for the record (again)... there are plenty of lives in this sport in which I have absolutely no interest in saving.)
Furthermore, why would anyone want to share a forum with you if that just makes them a more likely target for your blistering criticism?
1. I got no freakin' idea. Zack would probably be the best one to ask about that 'cause he went to the trouble of creating a forum he could share with me.
2. I ADORE blistering criticism. If it's honest and dealt with somebody's gonna learn something. I may win, my detractor may win. Both of those outcomes have happened. And as long as a resolution is reached (before Jack or Davis can click the ban button), EVERYBODY wins - me, my detractor, and everybody listening. That's one of the most important paths to advancement.
I would like you to focus on describing better and safer ways of towing without attacking or belittling anyone. Every time that you resort to personal attacks, then that's proof that you can't make an argument on the facts alone.
Look at the history, Bob. It doesn't work that way. The "Linknives" thread is textbook.
I'm issuing it because I believe Sam would sincerely like to use the best practices in his club...
1. You don't do that by sabotaging discussions, aiding and abetting the enemy (see title of this thread), walking out of conversations, and ignoring what's being said.
2. As above... It's entirely possible (though I really doubt it) that Sam's already using the best practices in his club. I'm not concerned with those because I've heard no description of them. I'm only concerned with what he's advising and what he's advising is deadly crap.
Do you accept that challenge?
The way things are gonna flow - or not - is gonna be up to Sam.
Tad, are you arguing against the Linknife mechanism itself or are you arguing against the way that it is commonly rigged to be actuated?
1. In that situation the Pilot In Command DESPERATELY NEEDED to effect a release so he could abort the tow 'cause his COPILOT - the guy in charge and in full and sole control of the throttle - wasn't doing his fu**ing job.
2. There was no possible way he could do what he wanted and needed to do without killing himself during the effort.
3. That was a FULL ONE HUNDRED PERCENT FAILURE OF THE RELEASE SYSTEM and we need to recognize it as such.
Your Lamborghini may have the most sophisticated hydraulic braking system money can buy but if some fu**ing moron installed the pedal at the outboard passenger side you're totally SOL when a truck runs the red at the intersection.
ANY IDIOT can design a pretty effective core release mechanism. And - with respect to the Linknife - one did. The challenge has NEVER been the core mechanism. The challenge has ALWAYS been the actuation system. And thus, since this sport is controlled by total idiots, all of the commercially available actuation systems totally suck...
Steve Kinsley - 1996/05/09
Personal opinion. While I don't know the circumstances of Frank's death and I am not an awesome tow type dude, I think tow releases, all of them, stink on ice. Reason: You need two hands to drive a hang glider. You 'specially need two hands if it starts to turn on tow. If you let go to release, the glider can almost instantly assume a radical attitude. We need a release that is held in the mouth. A clothespin. Open your mouth and you're off.
...including, but not limited to, every single one of everything described and/or illustrated in Towing Aloft.
So to answer your question...
The Linknife mechanism itself is pretty effective but it's not as bulletproof...
Phil Wainwright - 2005/02/27
We've been using Linknives here in Western Australia for many years now for both car and aero-towing. From thousands of tows there have been only a couple of release failures. These have been due to either the release line twisting around the Linknife, or wheat stubble becoming jammed in the "v" of the blades.
...or even cheap as a barrel release (and you've gotta cut and replace a string every time) so - AT BEST - it's second best. And anything second best in aviation SUCKS.
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