I've been waiting for years to propose this: I think it's finally
time that the hang gliding community can start to ponder being towed by a
multicopter. While it might be possible to get a "tow" from a multicopter just
like a dragonfly, prop wash may be an issue. Even if prop wash isn't an issue
it's more technically challenging to tow a hang glider up, rather than
vertically lift it into the air like a hot air balloon then doing a balloon
drop.
So I envision the multicopter doing a "multicopter drop". The standard functions
that are already available to quadcopters like "fly a predetermined path" and
"return to home" would eliminate the need for a tow pilot to be involved in the
tow. Just before the multicopter releases the hang glider from tow it could
engage in a mild descent to help the hang glider transition to flying and reduce
the tendency for the tow line to spring back into the rotors of the multicopter.
A half pound weight at the hang glider end of the line might fix this "spring
back" if it turned out to be a problem or maybe a tow line needs to evolve into
a flexible tow tube?
Several years ago I knew I'd be dismissed as a crack pot for an idea like this.
But if you watch the video below it no longer takes much imagination to see what
I believe is the future of hang gliding...
The benefits are big and could compound into making hang gliding more accessible
in a time of lost flying sites and reduced membership.
1. Small groups of pilots could probably afford a multicopter tug for their
local club
2. Only the pilot being towed needs to show up at the field that day.
3. No tug pilot means that only one person risks life and limb instead of two.
Imagine getting even just one tow pilot back that we've lost over the years.
4. The electricity for tows would be very cheap.
5. Maintenance would be dirt simple, fast and less costly than a dragonfly.
6. Safer. No lock out. Increased reliability through many electric motors.
7. Because a small group of pilots could operate out of an unmanicured field on
the cheap then it would be reasonable to postulate that small clubs would crop
up all over the place and make hang gliding more accessible than it ever has
been. This along with less dependency on wind direction and speed for launching
just might be what hang gliding has needed all of these years to actually
increase membership.
8. It's also hard to deny how the "cool factor" of a multicoptor tow would
impress onlookers and boost membership.
My goal is to stimulate conversation within the hang gliding community so that
maybe a person (or group of people) with the right talent and money can bring
hang gliding into the future that it's inevitably already heading for, and do
this sooner rather than later.
