Auto Tow

tonycondon

tonycondon

Gastons CRO (Chief Dinner Reservation Officer)
Joined
Mar 9, 2005
Messages
15,459
Location
Wichita, KS
Display Name
Display name:
Tony
Got to do something new on Saturday. I spent most of the day working on the annual on my new to me glider but towards the end of the day a group had started auto towing our 2-33. They were using a Dodge Caravan of early 90's vintage with a big spool of rope attached to the receiver hitch. Even had a little go kart motor attached to the spool to allow for quick rope retraction.

Launch is quick. The car accelerates as fast as it can to about 45 mph. It doesn't take long for the glider to get airborne. Climb is normal-ish the first few hundred feet. You want to keep the rope tight but not climb so steeply that you would be too low and slow to recover and land if the rope broke. Once you get some altitude you pull back and sort of kite up behind the car. If you are getting to slow you have to pull more which is odd at first. pull less to slow down.

On our 7000' runway with 2000' of rope we were getting 900 ft launches with no wind and 2 people in the glider. I'd estimate the time to climb up was about a minute or so. This was on the nose hook as the pseudo CG hook on our 2-33 is currently INOP.

I'll have to corner the family with the setup to put together a clinic or something sometime so I can get the ground launch endorsement.
 
tonycondon said:
Got to do something new on Saturday. I spent most of the day working on the annual on my new to me glider but towards the end of the day a group had started auto towing our 2-33. They were using a Dodge Caravan of early 90's vintage with a big spool of rope attached to the receiver hitch. Even had a little go kart motor attached to the spool to allow for quick rope retraction.

Launch is quick. The car accelerates as fast as it can to about 45 mph. It doesn't take long for the glider to get airborne. Climb is normal-ish the first few hundred feet. You want to keep the rope tight but not climb so steeply that you would be too low and slow to recover and land if the rope broke. Once you get some altitude you pull back and sort of kite up behind the car. If you are getting to slow you have to pull more which is odd at first. pull less to slow down.

On our 7000' runway with 2000' of rope we were getting 900 ft launches with no wind and 2 people in the glider. I'd estimate the time to climb up was about a minute or so. This was on the nose hook as the pseudo CG hook on our 2-33 is currently INOP.

I'll have to corner the family with the setup to put together a clinic or something sometime so I can get the ground launch endorsement.
Click to expand...

Our club does two safaries a year to the local lake bed about 5 miles south.
We use 1800ft of 5/8" 3ply poly pro and can get at least 1000ft AGL with the 2-33 on the standard hook.

The launch is about as you describe.
Pattern tow.. and for the Navy Types.. CATS and TRAPS..

Our next auto tow weekend is Oct16th.. come on down.
On the lake bed, it gets a little dusty. We camp out overnight with a big shrimp boil and bon fire. Plus all the RC toys come out.
 
Last edited:
I think I'm going to try to arrange a ground launch endorsement weekend sometime in the "off season" here. Could be a lot of fun I think.
 
Need something with about 500hp to get ya up higher and quicker. ;)
 
i just need to put a big block in Ol' Blue and a couple thousand pounds of sand bags in the bed.

actually i think the coolest ultimate ground launch setup for us would be a reverse pulley about 9,000 ft of rope. Glider attach rings on both end. Car drives towards the glider and it is basically is a winch launch. Car releases the rope at the end of the runway where gliders are waiting then drives back to the other end and hooks up to the end that the glider just released and does it all over again.
 
ha i was really interested in that winch, until i saw the picture!
 
tonycondon said:
i just need to put a big block in Ol' Blue and a couple thousand pounds of sand bags in the bed.

actually i think the coolest ultimate ground launch setup for us would be a reverse pulley about 9,000 ft of rope. Glider attach rings on both end. Car drives towards the glider and it is basically is a winch launch. Car releases the rope at the end of the runway where gliders are waiting then drives back to the other end and hooks up to the end that the glider just released and does it all over again.
Click to expand...

If you are going to do that, you might as well gear it 1:2 and make it so the car uses less space.
 
Doesn't the current issue of Soaring have a story about auto-tows? I haven't had a chance to read it through, I've just glanced at it. But this group was using an old beater. I think they'd launch, then unhook the cable from the back of the car, drive to the glider end, hook up, and drive it back to the next glider. Then unhook and drive back to the tow end, hook up again, launch and repeat.
 
usually 'old beaters' are the auto tow vehicle of choice. the club in Ames used to use an early 80's vintage chevy pickup with 454 engine. It was called "old white" I think but in later years it was mostly a rust or see through color.
 
That sounds interesting... but you'd need a really good day to make 900 ft. worth your while in a 2-33. :D
Does the trainer in question have 2 towhooks? Our (mid-70s model) 2-33 has what is alleged to be a "combo" type, suitable for ground or aero tow.
 
This will work like a charm!! Owned by the Philadelphia Glider Club. Can't tell you the acceleration or the rate of climb that results, but it's the best ride I've ever had.
 

Attachments

  • Eagle Winch.jpg
    Eagle Winch.jpg
    332.4 KB · Views: 28
rottydaddy said:
That sounds interesting... but you'd need a really good day to make 900 ft. worth your while in a 2-33. :D
Does the trainer in question have 2 towhooks? Our (mid-70s model) 2-33 has what is alleged to be a "combo" type, suitable for ground or aero tow.
Click to expand...

with a better car and some wind we can usually get over 1000 feet. occasionally you can get lucky and hook a thermal and climb away. otherwise land and launch again.

yea ours has a nose hook and then another hook that is more underneath the front seat. not a true CG hook but in a better position and allows a higher launch. however on ours that release is currently inop.
 
tonycondon said:
i just need to put a big block in Ol' Blue and a couple thousand pounds of sand bags in the bed.

actually i think the coolest ultimate ground launch setup for us would be a reverse pulley about 9,000 ft of rope. Glider attach rings on both end. Car drives towards the glider and it is basically is a winch launch. Car releases the rope at the end of the runway where gliders are waiting then drives back to the other end and hooks up to the end that the glider just released and does it all over again.
Click to expand...

We've done that... you need a good anchor for the reverse pully. Using a pully in the tow hitch of a RAM 2500 with the wheels chocked.. it still slid on the lake bed.

You also need a BIG pully to keep the ball bearing heat down. One individual did not plan correctly and the pully got hot. When he stopped, the rope melted where it was on the pully.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top