Interference between a Tug and a Glider: Results of Flight Tests made in the Netherlands to Determine the Influence of the Wake of the Tug upon the Glider's Performance

WHEN considering the dynamics of a combination of a tug and a glider one is apt to neglect the interference effects between the two aircraft, especially when the towing cable has a length of several hundred feet. That the disturbances caused by the tug have an appreciable influence on the forces acting on the glider was demonstrated by the results of flight tests recently carried out by the Nationaal Luchtvaartlaboratorium (National Aeronautical Research Institute), Amsterdam, Holland.