Tows Pilot Antics...

this one was hashed out bigtime about a year ago on the rec.aviation.soaring newsgroup. the ultralight pilot made a big deal about it and it got a fair amount of press. he pulled the ballistic chute and was fine. the towplane was fine. i never did find out if there was a glider behind the towplane but if there was i never heard of any problems that it had, besides a premature release perhaps. fact is, the towplane/glider combo had the right of way. there were obviously see and avoid issues by all involved. i think the ultralight was in formation with another doing some air to air photography or something so that likely had him distracted.
 
Ok, so if I read the comments right:
Plane shooting video is an ultralight.
Plane crossing its path is a towplane.
Towplane had released glider by the time this happened.
Towline caught in ultralights prop. You can see how much torque was shot into the plane...
Ultralight lost control and pulled its chute.

Look about right?
 
That's a pretty cool video. Thank god for YouTube. We'd never get to see videos like these in abundance if it weren't for the internet.

Does a tow plane still have right-of-way after release? I'd think the opposite. I would think that everyone else would have right away for the main reason that you're now pulling a potentially dangerous towline and there's a good chance that you, the tow pilot, are the only one that knows it's there.
 
after release the standard right of way rules apply, so for convergence at the same altitude, the aircraft to the right has the right of way.

this collision really isnt about right of way though. obviously there was serious lack of see and avoid on both pilots accounts.

the rope behind the towplane is about 200 feet long, and a big part of towpilot training is keeping the towpiot aware that the rope is back there. this way cars and powerlines etc. dont get dinged on approach.
 
If the towplane had released the glider, wouldn't it be descending? It looks like it's climbing in the video. Perhaps he's banking to avoid the collision?
 
joe, i think the consesus on RAS back when this one was going around was that the towpilot probably saw the ultralight just before impact and pulled up to avoid, or that it was immediately after release. but yes the towplane would normally be going down after release.
 
Why would the tow plane descend other than to land? I'm guessing to keep his wake out of the path of the glider?
 
tony does the cable just hang from the tow plane after the release or does it wind up in some kind of spool. Dragging that long cable could have some serious consequences.
 
KennyFlys said:
Why would the tow plane descend other than to land? I'm guessing to keep his wake out of the path of the glider?
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the glider flies a postition behind the towplane to stay out of the wake. after release, the towplane will turn and start a descent. this not only maximizes distance from the glider (they turn the other direction) but also gets them down on the ground fast so they can pull the next one up. the thought on this midair is that the towplane either hadnt started the descent (right after release) or that the towpilot saw the ultralight at the last minute and pulled up to try to miss it.

if you look at the very beginning of the video you can see another ultralight ahead of the one taking the video. his attention was probably focused there and not on the rest of the sky.
 
Clearly there's see & avoid problems all around.

But it also seems clear that the towpilot *should* have dived to go under the other plane.

Looks like there's plenty of blame to go around, really.

So what happened to the towplane? If the tow line got caught in the UL's prop, is it designed to break-away from the towplane?
 
IME, a tow cable does just hang behind the tow plane after the glider releases. Therefore, the tow plane has to make more of a Shuttle Landing to avoid hitting things on the ground with the tow cable (especially if crossing a road on final). The tow pilot does have an emergency release lever inside the cockpit to drop the cable off the tail if he/she needs it. I'm assuming the tow pilot released the cable after the ultralight hit it.

Tony, I'm sure you'd know better than I... is this correct?
 
AdamZ said:
tony does the cable just hang from the tow plane after the release or does it wind up in some kind of spool. Dragging that long cable could have some serious consequences.
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depends on the installation adam. some have inertial reels that retract, others hang behind. different operations have different procedures. when i flew in Marfa we had big long runways with relatively light traffic. so we flew over at 200 feet, dropped the rope then landed straight ahead. meanwhile the glider hooked up and then the towplane hooked up after back taxiing and everyone blasted off again. at our club that setup just doesnt work. lack of ground crew, shorter runway, and higher traffic all contribute. so we land the supercub with rope attached. Its not that tricky you just dont go below 200 feet until obstacles are cleared. but there is the opportunity to whack cars, powerlines, etc. so care must be taken.
 
Greebo said:
Clearly there's see & avoid problems all around.

But it also seems clear that the towpilot *should* have dived to go under the other plane.

Looks like there's plenty of blame to go around, really.

So what happened to the towplane? If the tow line got caught in the UL's prop, is it designed to break-away from the towplane?
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towropes, cables etc. are designed to break away if to omuch tension is applied. according to FARs the rope or weak link must be between 80 and 200% of glider gross weight. the hope is that the rope will break before something bad happens. im sure that the prop going through the cable cut it. if it hadnt the ultralight wouldve gotten dragged behind the towplane and assuming the towpilot could maintain control he wouldve released the rope/cable.
 
I can't see where the tow plane operator has even one smidge of responsibility above what he's already done. He missed the UL by taking decisive action, and the UL was oblivious until he HIT the cable of the tow plane. Under 'see and avoid', the towplane did exactly that, the UL was clueless until hitting the cable.

Also, having towed a few gliders and banners in my day, I would say that any aircraft that has a tow line would have the ROW regardless if there was something attached to it or not. I know back in Sandy Eggo I was alway "glider tow 279er" or "Banner tow 279er" regardless of whether I had anything attached or not. As long as the cable is there, it's a hazard.
 
look at my towpilot's antics:
 

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tonycondon said:
after release the standard right of way rules apply, so for convergence at the same altitude, the aircraft to the right has the right of way.
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FAR 103.13 says that ultralights must get out of the way of all other aircraft at all times. Of course, IIRC this incident took place in Switzerland so U.S. FAR's don't exactly apply. I've no idea what the Swiss rules are for ultralights.

tonycondon said:
this collision really isnt about right of way though. obviously there was serious lack of see and avoid on both pilots accounts.
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Agreed!

Regards,
Joe
 
docmirror said:
I can't see where the tow plane operator has even one smidge of responsibility above what he's already done. He missed the UL by taking decisive action, and the UL was oblivious until he HIT the cable of the tow plane. Under 'see and avoid', the towplane did exactly that, the UL was clueless until hitting the cable.

Also, having towed a few gliders and banners in my day, I would say that any aircraft that has a tow line would have the ROW regardless if there was something attached to it or not. I know back in Sandy Eggo I was alway "glider tow 279er" or "Banner tow 279er" regardless of whether I had anything attached or not. As long as the cable is there, it's a hazard.
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While I can see what you're saying, I have a hard time understanding how that is supposed to work. Unless you're talking on the radio (where see and avoid becomes talk and avoid) I'm not sure how anybody but you is supposed to know that you've got a 200' piece of prop-stopper dragging behind you in order to give you the right of way.

Frankly, any plane that is bound for the same spot in the air as me is going to get right of way because I'm not willing to bet my life on how well they remember the rules.:yes:
 
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