At every aerotow, tow lines get lost. Either dumped to preserve the tug and or glider, or they break away. Seldom does anyone ever see the lines descend. We have had some issues with our tow lines being "found" by the farmers machinery in corn or bean fields. A tow line wrapped around a moving shaft, gathers strength every time it's wrapped and can cause damage in the thousands of dollars to the farmer. A bearing for a John Deere combine can come with a big price tag.
Our club has been working on some small devices used by falconers to help locate wayward birds that allows you to track the bird. The devices are very small and can easily be attached to a tow line. We could track the line using a locator. Since these devices are strapped to a birds leg, they are very lightweight and can handle being tossed around a bit.
In the mean time, we have taken small tough parachutes, like the ones used on the end of a winch, and have studied putting them inline with the tow line. Yesterday, we tested out the theory. We placed the parachute about 2 feet aft of the tow planes tail. The parachute is facing the same direction of the tugs so that it won't open while towing. I flew my tow plane yesterday to about 200 feet and released. My spotter could easily watch the tow line descend to the ground, and recover the line. The winds were light so I was able to drop the line right on the runway.
A second flight, I flew to about 400 feet and released. I was able to complete my landing pattern, land and shut the plane down and still watch the descent of the tow line. The line drifted a little more than the first attempt and landed in a tree but I would rather have a line in a tree than in a farmers combine.
This system is obviously not going to be fool proof. Lines will drift and could cause the lines to drop vertical and pile into a small area. But at least the brightly colored parachute would make visual recovery a little easier. The parachute might lay on top of corn or beans making spotting easier.There is also the case where the tow plane releases because the glider cannot release. But, I don't think the parachute would give enough resistance to the glider to make it un flyable.
Just some ideas of others are facing the same issues of not wanting to become an enemy of nearby farmers.
--Tim
Our club has been working on some small devices used by falconers to help locate wayward birds that allows you to track the bird. The devices are very small and can easily be attached to a tow line. We could track the line using a locator. Since these devices are strapped to a birds leg, they are very lightweight and can handle being tossed around a bit.
In the mean time, we have taken small tough parachutes, like the ones used on the end of a winch, and have studied putting them inline with the tow line. Yesterday, we tested out the theory. We placed the parachute about 2 feet aft of the tow planes tail. The parachute is facing the same direction of the tugs so that it won't open while towing. I flew my tow plane yesterday to about 200 feet and released. My spotter could easily watch the tow line descend to the ground, and recover the line. The winds were light so I was able to drop the line right on the runway.
A second flight, I flew to about 400 feet and released. I was able to complete my landing pattern, land and shut the plane down and still watch the descent of the tow line. The line drifted a little more than the first attempt and landed in a tree but I would rather have a line in a tree than in a farmers combine.
This system is obviously not going to be fool proof. Lines will drift and could cause the lines to drop vertical and pile into a small area. But at least the brightly colored parachute would make visual recovery a little easier. The parachute might lay on top of corn or beans making spotting easier.There is also the case where the tow plane releases because the glider cannot release. But, I don't think the parachute would give enough resistance to the glider to make it un flyable.
Just some ideas of others are facing the same issues of not wanting to become an enemy of nearby farmers.
--Tim
Comment