http://paradisewings.net/

Scot Trueblood <<email>> writes:

It is comforting to hear that our Oz Report Correspondent, indeed the Rigid Wing World Record Open Distance holder, has resorted to the low and slow method of scooter towing to help strengthen his launch skills. In fact, most of the scooter towing we do here in south Florida is remedial training for flight-park students who have only aero-towed. Most need tutoring in their landings. Because they have been trained to stay prone and land on wheels. The transition to foot landing has proven to be fairly traumatic for some, and when they get scared enough they come to us at Paradise Wings, Inc.

Having learned the scooter tow system directly from the guru, aka Steve Wendt, my business partner Robert Hedden and I decided to set up a scooter tow system which was in lock-step with Steve's methods. At every opportunity, we sought to improve, but not re-invent his systems. The end result has been astonishing, and I cannot restrain myself from commenting on Davis' observations of Steve's system at work.

First, I must comment on the Wills Wing Condor 330. Early in our test flying of our system, we figured out that, with its large size, it could be your best friend, or simply kick your butt. With a straight-in wind of 0-4 mph, a child can hold it and fly it from the basetube while standing on the ground. However, in the same velocity crosswind, it becomes quite difficult to handle. The sheer size of the glider is quite apparent when doing anything adverse with it. In a tailwind, even in light conditions, the thing is nearly impossible to ground handle or launch, and all of these factors are good training stuff.

Another thing about the Condor 330 is that it is a giant ground effect machine. With the slightest provocation (airspeed) it will rise to about 20 feet with almost no propulsion. Another astonishing fact is the huge backwash effect it has. In a zero-wind landing, with a proper flare, upon stopping, you feel this giant whoosh of air coming from behind, propelled by the huge sail moving all that calm air. Add to this the fact that, at low airspeeds, the drag is negligible, but the lift is gigantic. This results in a much better than expected L/D, and the glider just seems to want to coast along forever, which is truly delightful.

The scooter system itself took a lot of work to set up, and I am surprised to hear that any one would use anything larger than a 50cc scooter for beginners.  A 150 or 250 are simply too large. Our Chinese-built 50cc four stroke scooter is awesome. In zero wind, it will easily pull the Condor 330 much higher than you would ever want anybody to fly it. We have towed each other, even with other gliders, to much higher altitudes. The biggest test of the instructor's throttle skill is to keep the altitude within the recommended limits. We have found that, for first-day beginners, the trick is to yank them off the ground quickly, but immediately reduce power and keep them in a near-ground (moonwalk) mode. This is near idle speed, the 50cc is barely doing anything. Even towing a 140 Falcon, we have had no difficulty.

The beauty of the scooter-tow system is that it hands almost total control of the student's altitude to the instructor. If everything is not going as planned, simply reduce power and set them down gently on the wheels or perhaps even their feet.

I found Davis' detailed and technical account of his scooter towing lessons at Blue Sky to be quite informative, and food for much thought. I have read and studied his reports and been absolutely fascinated by his breakdown of the details of launching a hang glider with the scooter system. Although certainly not for beginners, the idea of eliminating the tow point for the glider itself is brilliant.

Even Hang 4's who have flown on our system are quite impressed by the "WHEE" factor. Scooter towing is an awesome tool, anybody interested please contact us at 1-888-WINGS-FL.