AERO-TOWING

[RustyTumbles]

Got the big cessna all sorted today. Moved the CG further forward, got the motor running well, and played with the elevator to flap mix. It is no longer a handful to fly, so next week it will get it's maiden tow.

Some of the other guys at the field had a play towing small foam gliders and combat wings with a multiplex foam cessna looking thing. Seemed to work ok for them. Just goes to show you don't need to spend big bucks to aerotow.

[pitviper51]

heck yea,, we towed up a freeflight glider with a slow stick last year,, and tryed the glider stick to,, worked ok. i tryed to tow the alula with velcrow release,, mixed result, but new alula is out now! yippe!
mike

[RustyTumbles]

Snuck out to the field this morning (got to love night shift ) and had a go at towing a queenbee (large flying wing). We used the smaller electric tug and it worked really well. Used it as a practise session to get the hang of turning on the tow to gain maxium height at a distance where the tug and glider are still clearly visable.

It worked really well and we were able to almost double our previous release heights. Shame the wings don't thermal so well in light lift conditions. But good practice for the real glider on the weekend.

Will have some pics coming soon.

[pitviper51]

cool, we tested out the cradle today, the left wings flop down on the wing of the tug,, even a lil fling did.. so we are going to put foam struts on it. I didnt know the tug was going to be there so i flew my 2m, about 1pm the cumolos clouds were so thick i couldnt take it anymore and headed to the field. cuaght a few good lifts but no record set today. And since my gasser is down for parts replacments,, ill be hoping the tug is out next week to fly the ventus. as for flying wings, i have seen some sweet HP thermal wings that fly better then some traditional gliders..
mike

[RustyTumbles]

Cool video I found on you tube.

YouTube - Push The Limit - Soaring Above Swiss...

[pitviper51]

great find rusty, my club used a dr400 robin for tug also, never towed but got to fly it once, fun and fast. love that release breakaway too cool. this one is going in faves
mike

[RustyTumbles]

Some pics of the flying wing aero towing from the other day

[RustyTumbles]

Had a good day at the field today. The big cessna finally got a chance to haul up some gliders. The weather was great, clear skies and a light breeze. First up we put the 5m ASW22 on the line, and the cessna handled it just fine. Nice scale like tow to approx 1000ft.

Next up was big lazza's 7m salto. Tug seemed to handle it ok, but we got a little too steep on the tow and things started to get a little washy, so we released before it got ugly.

We then put the ASW22 back up and this time executed a few turns (cross wind then down wind) and seemed to almost double the release height of the first tow, while still having good visability. I would love to know what altitudes we are actually releasing at, but I would estimate it at somewhere between 1800-2000ft.

Here's some pics.

[pitviper51]

man you guy got some big gliders! 5-7m,, ohh so nice. you should check out the altitude logger from kennedycomposites, it is 90 us$ good features, i hope to get one soon. now you need some onboard video from the tug and sailplane. btw that flying wing looks fun!
mike

[RustyTumbles]

Another cool video I found,

YouTube - Fallen in love

[pitviper51]

great video. music was neat. i hope to swoop pass soon with my ventus.
mike

[RustyTumbles]

Who said you can't have some fun with a glider.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

[rcdart]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RustyTumbles
	Another cool video I found, YouTube - Fallen in love

Rusty, real niiiice!!

Last year on the way to Tucson from LA . decending past Pheonix (I think) into Tucson, I looked out the window of a Southwest 737 to see 2 sailplanes chasing each other through a thermal, awsome sight, I was jus a little suprised of the lack of flight seperation.

[3Disaster]

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Did this with a friend at the field the other day.

Not really a tow though...

[hobbyflyer520]

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Here's me and my brother's 3rd try at aero-towing. The glider was all over the place on this one,( we figured out the glider needed 2 clicks of down elevator, and then it was flying great!) We actually had a fourth try (that was not filmed, and the tow came out great). I know they are not "giants" but man, what fun it is to aero-tow!!

Cool vid by the way