Pilots at the West Coast Air Corps Gliding School can launch and tow as many as three gliders at a time, using one airplane equipped with a 295-horsepower engine. At an altitude of about 3,000 feet, the gliders may be cut loose from the tow lines to soar on their own, the length of soaring time depending on the thermal conditions of the air. Gliders can be towed in units of one, two or three. A single tow is made with a rope about 400 feet long. Double tow requires two ropes forming a “Y,” one glider flying slightly back of the other. In towing three gliders at the same time, a longer line is used for the craft in the middle and two shorter ones on either side.