Cross Country Aerotow

Normally we all brag about how far we soared. Little brag about how far they have gone while still attached to the towplane. I am sure we do not have the record aerotow, but we have done Warner Springs CA to Red Deer Canada (1,315 miles, 12 hours on tow, one-way), round-trip...twice. Sky Sailing in 1964 bought a new Schweizer 2-32 and a new Super Cub, then flew them across the country to Fremont CA. In 1989 Sky Sailing had to move to Warner Springs in Southern California, 7 towplane, 12 gliders made the trip. Five of the towplanes were double tow.

On long flights, we use a 400 ft rope and stay in low tow. It is much easier.

Many times it is faster to fly than drive, for airshows we needed the towplane there anyway. Many times the towplane can get you back home faster than waiting for a buddy to land and come and get you by car.

So you have landed out and decide to have the towplane come and get you. Some logistics that you might not have thought about:

Towered or not you might think about where you want to land so the departure will go smoothly, quickly, and not involve a mile long push.

We always think about how we are going to contact the tower as we get low and how we are going to clear the runway, etc. However, the departure is going to take some planning also. How are going to stage and work with the tower? Sometimes a walk up to the tower, talking to them on ground frequency, or asking for their number and calling on the phone are all possibilities to coordinate a smooth departure.

Basically, you do not want to hold up operations for the airport. Pulling the glider out quickly, hooking up (turns out this is an important step), jumping in, or have the towplane pull you out onto the runway. You do not have to start centerline, you could easily start your takeoff from an angle. At home, we start the glider roll at about a 20-degree angle and routinely start closer to 45 degrees when it is windy.

Launching without a wingrunner. Does your wingtip skid actually keep the aileron off the ground? Use your landout water bottle (or have the towpilot bring one) and cut a small slice in it, then use some of the wing tape to tape it over your skid. It will slide easier on the asphalt and raise the wing higher so the aileron doesn’t drag. A CG hook and no wing runner will result in some turning.

What frequency and when will you switch? Plan on how high you are going to go and at what speed. I have heard of retrieves where the towplane continues to climb at 70knts and went to 12,000ft. Others leveled off, throttled back and cruised at 70 knots (let's just say we cruise at the max aerotow speed). Our normal profile is to start the climb at our typical speed. After about 1000 ft we go to a cruise-climb, then level off at a predetermined altitude. Mainly to have a safe altitude in-case the rope brakes. Our goal is to get home, so our profile would look identical to a power cross country flight. Minus the descent…normally. We will descend on tow, especially if we were high. Hopefully, the towpilot warns you, but if not you get to brush up on your slack-line skills. Spoilers make it possible and actually comfortable to descend on tow if needed. Then release when you have a comfortable MC final glide.

We had a towpilot trying to land short and broke a towrope on a runway light. The good news is we did not have to buy the runway light and the rope only had to be a little shorter. However, there was some searching looking for the rings.

If we are heading to an airport from takeoff then we take a coiled rope with us in the airplane which makes it easier to taxi around. If we are headed out after a local tow we still try and carry an extra rope in the plane just-in-case.

Sky Sailing charges from take-off to landing at home. This is to make sure the glider is ready when the towplane gets there. If the glider wants to pay the towpilot to walk the wing (glider pilots are cheap) then great. But now all of our private owners are quick to get back in the air. I had one day in Hobbs I did not get aero-retrieve because the glider ahead of me wasn’t ready when the towplane arrived. I tried helping him get ready when we knew the eta of the towplane, but he wanted to wait until he landed. The towplane was on the ground for 40min and that put the towplane after sunset to get me. Which resulted in a disassembly with the car headlights because my crew didn’t leave until we figured out it was going to be too late.

In one of my early cross countries (age 14) I landed out 100 miles away from home. I was so exhausted that one of the instructors came with the towplane to fly the glider home.

I have heard of towplanes shooting approaches and others going IMC. Towpilots using cell phones for navigation and killing their batteries. There should be no added pressure to get somewhere just because you have someone on a rope behind you. The added pressure should be to stay safe. You get a lot less maneuverable and lose a lot on performance with that glider back there.

The hardest thing is after release, slowing down to pattern speed... imagine 4 hours in a 2-33 at 98 mph...

Banner Photo:  Horvath Balazs

 Garret Willat holds a flight instructor rating with over 8000 hours in sailplanes. His parents have owned Sky Sailing Inc. since 1979. He started instructing the day after his 18th birthday. Since then, Garret has represented the US Junior team in 2003 and 2005. He graduated from Embry-Riddle with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics. Garret represented the US Open Class team in 2008 and 2010 and the Club Class team in 2014. Garret has won 3 US National Championships.