US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

This specialized topic thread invites simple description of using towing to launch a hang glider (HG) into free flight gliding. During the towing, the HG is the wing of a kite system having some kind of remote anchor system; the anchor system might be fix, moving, or even be moving in the air. Have fun naming and giving short descriptions of tow types. This topic thread is not intended to be a textbook on each named-and-briefly-described tow types or tow methods. Note that serious injury or death may occur for tow-team members when a system is not well engineered and operated by skilled and attentive teams.

Starting with Bill Cummings' recent list texted into the Jean Lake topic: (Bill indicated that the following probably does not hold all he has done.)

Aero Tow
Static Tow
Platform Tow
Truck
Three wheel ATV
Four wheel ATV
People tow
Anchored static high wind launch and kiting
Car tow
====================================================== And we go on: All are welcome to this topic. Brainstorming is fine.

JoeF wrote:This specialized topic thread invites simple description of using towing to launch a hang glider (HG) into free flight gliding. During the towing, the HG is the wing of a kite system having some kind of remote anchor system; the anchor system might be fix, moving, or even be moving in the air. Have fun naming and giving short descriptions of tow types. This topic thread is not intended to be a textbook on each named-and-briefly-described tow types or tow methods. Note that serious injury or death may occur for tow-team members when a system is not well engineered and operated by skilled and attentive teams.

Starting with Bill Cummings' recent list texted into the Jean Lake topic: (Bill indicated that the following probably does not hold all he has done.)

Aero Tow
Static Tow
Platform Tow
Truck
Three wheel ATV
Four wheel ATV
People tow
Anchored static high wind launch and kiting
Car tow
====================================================== And we go on: All are welcome to this topic. Brainstorming is fine.

Boat Tow (Static and platform towing requires a unique knowledge base beyond that or separate of land platform towing.)
Forgot snow machine towing.

Boat-involved towing? Some cases:

== Boat is powered by a prime mover on board. The boat is a moving anchor for the HG wing.
== Platform on boat with pay out of tether. HG wing starts on the platform. Boat moves under power to form an apparent wind for the boat and the HG wing. Tether is let out per specifications accounting for core conditions.
== Long fixed-length tether; boat moves and tows the HG wing. No letting out of more tether; no shortening of tether.
== Boat is anchored by water-chute anchor or bottom anchor. Ambient wind is used while winching in long tow line. HG wing is pulled up through the wind gradient.
== Boat is anchored by a controllable paravane. Long line to HG wing. Boat-based powered winching occurs even while the boat and its paravane also move.
== "Boat" is a large cruise vacationers' ship, or large aircraft carrier, or large freighter ship, etc. Apparent winds and ship air wakes are to be understood and faced. The HG wing is let out by a pay out winch; winch may reel in the wing also. When HG wing is let to free flight, the HG may have flight plan that lands on land or lands on water or lands back on the cruise ship. Each scenario may be explore. Purposes of the tow method may be recreational, commercial, military, scientific, defensive (anti-pirate), fishing, rescue, or other reasons.
== "Boat" is a flat top large raft anchored to sea bottom or lake bottom or pond bottom. HG wing intends to be kited in various ways with such raft as a base. HG wing might intend on landing on the raft or in the water near the raft. Or the HG might have other destinations for landing or terminating its flight. Winching could be on the raft or in on board the HG wing. Tow lines could start long as HG with floats is set in tethered drift; then winching could occur to give kited launch to the HG wing.

== ? [ Open for more types or methods of boat-involved towing. ]

Disclaimer: Stating a type or method is not to be construed as any recommendation, unless such notes are appended to a description. Inexpert or careless operations may result in injury or death to HG pilot or to operations' team members or third parties. Comprehensive quality engineering is recommended for any tow type or tow method of an inhabited HG wing. Also, there are grave concerns for any kite system as runaway or breakaway wings with or without dragging tethers may cause tertiary damages that could be very great to the loss of even many lives and expensive properties; the swath of drag and damage path of a runaway kite system could be long in distance, great in time, and significant in damages. Engineer secondary, and redundant system-stop procedures and devices. Ask all the "What if ____?" and be prepared to resolve the challenges.