By Steve Belknap
About 20 years ago I put a cradle on my Sig Kadet Sr. to carry gliders aloft and release them. Recently I pulled out the cradle and dusted it off. Frank G. had a freshly made Goldberg Wanderer he had not yet flown. So I rubber banded everything onto the Kadet once more. Everything worked perfectly. So far I have launched his glider 5 times. On the last flight Frank measured the radius of one of the light standards using the leading edge of the glider. All fixed now and ready to fly again.
Some of the members who were around then might remember my initial attempts to use this launch cradle. They might remember when I launched a glider and the rubber bands released on only one glider wing. The other wing stayed attached to the cradle. It got ugly real quick. Finally, the glider separated from the cradle. The rubber bands did not let go but the glider snapped off the upper part of one side of the cradle. Everything landed OK and the cradle was modified to prevent the rubber bands from not releasing.
Click the pic for a short video:
