Re:Gliding behind existing aircraft, Aerocart cargo gliders
by garrettgrimsley on Thursday October 09, 2025 @12:44AM
(#45523602)
They didn't misread, what they're saying is that the lead plane would detect conditions/forces that would result in a tow upset and then cut the tow tether. There's a video in this thread that shows that currently, in manned gliders, the glider pilot can and has a responsibility to release if a tow upset is happening.
As for a system that measures forces, that’s not likely to work either. Transient forces are OK, but the same force over a little bit of time is enough to force a nose down attitude that is unrecoverable. Attempting to draw the line unequivocally between the two is difficult because it depends on conditions, weights, centers of gravity, and many other things.