Hang Glider Tow Bridles - No Longer for Sale

TowMeUp.com has been providing a dual trigger release tow bridal specifically designed for foot launched hang glider pilots for almost 5 years. We have sold over 300 of these bridals worldwide, but we have decided to discontinue production and hence sales of this device for a couple reasons. There is a big push in the US to promote scooter tow training as a method of improving the starts of hang glider students and provide the availability of training to more potential pilots. This idea is promoted at National levels by several well meaning individuals. Unfortunately I see a trend beginning to occur that we already went through several years back with scooter towing as it relates to training paraglider pilots.

Scooter tows are a fantastic tool for training novice Paraglider pilots. It's very easy to launch a pilot, fly them smoothly across a field at a very low altitude, and if the pilot gets out of sorts, a good tow operator can reduce the line tension, or appropriately time a small increase in tension to flare the glider and allow the pilot to land safely. While scooters have been used for hang glider training for several years, and clearly they work well given the proper instruction; hang gliders lack the pendular stability of a paraglider. If the pilot allows the glider to diverge from the towline, there is nothing the winch operator can do to prevent a crash in several situations. Our paraglider bridles incorporate a Tow Assist device to give the winch operator some measure of control over the glider. Hang glider bridles don't incorporate this safety feature, simply because there is no convenient way to make it work.

There were, and still are several very good schools and instructors who choose scooter tow training as a way to turn out better and safer pilots, and initially it was a good idea. We built scooter tows for our own use and for sale to several schools and individuals. Sadly, a few individuals tried to use the scooter tow as a tool to do what it could not safely do. They tried to gain increasingly higher altitudes by step towing, or they tried to limit the need for an assistant through the use of a turn around pulley. Under the right conditions, neither of these activities are particularilly hazardous, but they can, and have had fatal results if used without the necessary foresight. Eventually we tired of trying to explain the hazards of the activity to those who insisted in conducting such high risk operations. We simply discontinued providing equipment to make a growing problem any worse. We still support all the existing equipment we manufactured and sold, and with a couple exceptions, most of the sketchy operators have already ceased operations.

As far as scooter tow training of hang glider pilots goes, there are a hand full of very good schools who have developed a successful training program and they have years of experience to prove they can do it safely. They take all the appropriate safety precautions and the pilots and instructors are well trained.

Unfortunately there are also a few to many operations who lack the training and expertise, and frankly I'm not convinced that low altitude towing operations of a hang glider are safe at any rate. Here's a training video that clearly illustrates the point.

At TowMeUp.com we are very concerned for the safety of the pilots involved in towing operations. There are operators using our equipment in a fashion that it was never intended to be utilized for. STEP TOWING OPERATIONS WITH A TOWMEUP.COM DUAL TRIGGER HANG GLIDER BRIDLE ARE SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITED AND ARE AN UNSAFE OPERATION. If the pilot were to fly away from the winch, peeling line off, and the line were to jam or come tight, it's possible that the bridle will be pulled to a location where the pilot will be unable to activate the release mechanism. This is a potentially very unsafe flight regime. Of course, the reason the step towing is occurring in the first place is because operators are using what was designed as a training tool, in an attempt to gain the maximum altitude from a tow field that is too short for this activity in the first place. We have also seen a few pilots who either refuse to, or simply can't properly connect the curved release pins to the final closure loops of our bridles. The head of the pins MUST be placed in the pin pocket to preclude the possibility of the head of the release pin being passed through the closure loop. Failing to do so may result in either a release malfunction, or the release may separate when the upper tow line is released early during the tow, creating a forced landing for the pilot. Since the bridle incorporates 2 releases, it's also important that the appropriate release pin is routed to the proper closure loop. There's no way to "idiot proof" the setup other than requiring the pilots to actually hook up the bridle correctly. This is apparently too much to expect in all cases. We know of no actual in flight release malfunctions using this bridle, but simulations demonstrate that it is possible to cause the bridal to malfunction if it is incorrectly utilized. The consequences of a step towing incident and a bridle malfunction at the same time could potentially be serious, requiring a reserve toss as the only practical solution.

Since we can't control how this product will be used, we are forced to take the same position we did with scooter tows and discontinue the product from the market before a potentially serious incident occurs. As such, TowMeUp.com will no longer manufacture or supply a dual trigger release style hang glider specific tow bridal, effective immediately. If you have been using your existing bridal in a safe manner and ever need any repairs, you can contact us, and we'll take care of you.

If you have an existing bridle, we are providing the original information as shown below to allow you to continue to safely use this product.

If you already have an exisitng TowMeUp.com hang glider tow bridle, here are the instructions to safely use it.

Towing is one of the easiest ways to get high with a hang glider. At TowMeUp.com we all tow paragliders actively from both land based vehicles and boats over the water. Our friends often join us with their hang gliders, and are proof that foot launching a hang glider on tow is no big deal. Just like in the paragliding side of towing, our friends tell us that it has always been somewhat frustrating for them to find a reliable source of well made, quality tow bridles. After testing many different models, and seeking advice from very active tow pilots in the industry, we developed a bridle specifically for the needs of foot launched hang glider pilots. Constructed using the finest structural materials available, and sewn automatically on a computerized pattern tacking machine, each bridle is hand crafted to extremely high standards to give the discriminating buyer the best value for their had earned dollars.