A few comments on Julia's accident.

First. Because of her previous extensive international experience with
aerotowing in a cart she thought it was normal and natural to at least half the
time feel pinned to the cart when towing. She hadn't asked any experienced
aerotow pilots whether this was in fact normal. (Of course, it isn't).

Second. The small Aeros glider that she flies has a small control frame with
down tubes (uprights) that are five centimeters (two inches) shorter than the
Wills Wing down tubes used on the T2 144. This means that even at the lowest
setting for the carts she has a lower angle of attack than other pilots in
"normal" sized gliders. This means she is likely to experience being pinned to
the cart. She, and others like her need carts that allow for lower keel
supports.

Third. Witnesses noticed that back of Julia's cart bouncing in the semi rough
grass field. They noticed it pushing up her keel. Black marks and dents on the
keel indicated that the keel was being hit by the keel support. One way that
others have solved the problem of a bouncing keel support is to deflate the rear
tire. The issue of a bouncing keel support pushing up the keel is much more
problematic on rough fields like at outlying airfields rather than flight parks.
Carts used at rough fields need different design criteria than those used at
smooth flight parks.

Fourth. The tug got off the ground before the pilot came up off the cart. This
is a very bad sign. I have never seen it happen. It means that you are seriously
pinned to the cart.