Can of worms.


Tow from the tail. The towing area does not need to be terribly strong, since the forces are not great in normal use. The tow-line is not stretched out tight, but rather hangs in a catenary during the tow. A 10lb glider, with an L/D of 10, needs only 1lb of force to maintain flight ... ball-park ... add a bit for the climb and the take-off.

You can rig the release mechanism to a hard-point anywhere in the fuselage ... then lead a trace wire along a tube to the exit point at the tail. Alternatively, rig the release at the tail end. Just make sure that it's reliable.


On my bipe, the towline exits near to the tailwheel, having been fed along a snake' outer. The release mechanism is affixed to an internal bulkhead.

Here's an example.




[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k74EqrITs6E[/youtube]