This first flight was the result of hours removing fences and installing gates, building a tow gauge, slashing the strips and teaching mum how to tow. It's a handy setup!
Outstanding to have access to your own tow paddock and some beautiful scenery to boot ! Plenty of flatland in Southwestern Australia where I live just too many fences :)
It is very handy :D I went towing today! But limited success unfortunately :P I had to add three gates in (two in one direction, one in the other) and pull out a mostly broken fence to get the strips. It was a bit of an investment, but it was worth it.
That tow was particularly high because I had a decent headwind up high. From memory, I remember it being about 1700ft AGL using a 660m rope. This strip is 1.8km long. That flight was only probably 5-8 minutes long but now that I'm much better at flying, the flights last hours :)
Hey Harrison, Great video mate! Do you still fly? I live just down the road in Mount Gambier. I have a Malibu, Sting 3, and Powered Harness, but also love ground towing... My wife and I could easily pop up and say hello if your keen to get some airtime. Cheers, Will
Hey Will! I do fly still. Not as much as I'd like to though but that seems to be the story for everyone Hahah. My place isn't fantastic for ground towing but I have gotten away most times I've tried. My tow strips run between a fence and an olive orchard and the rope usually lands in the trees or on the fence. I'm part way through making a tow system that winds itself back in automatically after the rope releases which should help out. No one but me has towed at home yet. Nice to know that there are pilots down south. I've often dreamed about a flight to Mt Gambier in pre frontal trough sort of day.
@@HarrisonRowntree Hey Harrison, thanks for the reply. I've been away from flying for about 10 yrs, but will get endorsed again in the next month or so. The powered harness needs a little bit of work which might take a couple of months to get serviced and airworthy. I reckon with you towing up and me in the powered harness, we should be able to get some great go-pro footage of you from a different perspective at your farm. I'll let you know when I'm up in the air again and we might be able to look at that southerly cross-country flight.
How does that cable attachment system works? One cable on the hangloop and another on harness..? Why? Can just one on harness work too? Any special mod on the car or just tie the cable to the bumper? And how do you control speed, radio always on? Please explain! Thanks
The cable goes from my waist connected to my harness, under the basebar, through a loop and then connects to the keel. The idea is to split the force between the pilot and the glider so the car pulls both along when you take off. The car has a tension gauge connected to the rope and the driver varies the car speed to keep the right amount of tension for the pilot. There is a lot of information on it on the SAFA website in the tow manual documents. safa.asn.au/images/pdfs/Tow_Manual_v5.4.1.pdf I'd recommend talking to other pilots or instructors about the process first. All towing is more dangerous than regular take off but with proper training it can be done easily.
@@HarrisonRowntree thanks! I've done only boat tow so far, but the whole thing costs much more and flying with floaters sucks. Foot launched car tow looks great! I'll talk to the two boat tow instructors about it and see what they think.
@@HarrisonRowntree I also saw a few other videos of winch tow where only harness cable is used. A shorter cable goes over the bar and a longer under. After a certain height the pilot releases the top cable before it hits the bar, and later releases the second cable too. Would that work with car tow?
@@ericoschmitt Nice work! Just some specifications - I use 660m of a 5mm diameter polypropeleyne rope. I buy 2x330m lengths from a fishing and boating store which costs around about 90 Australian Dollars in total. The tow strips I have are 2km long but you can easily tow off less. You'll just get less height. With light winds on tow, I'll get to about 1200ft AGL and with a headwind, I'll get to around 1450ft AGL. Good luck!
