Bruce Hoult wrote:
In article 3fcfbbf3$1@darkstar,
(Mark James Boyd) wrote:

Sure, sure, I've read very careful use of spoilers and
yawing the sailplane away from the slack are tried and true
methods. However, even using these, there is still some point
there is so much slack you are going to break the
rope no matter what.

I've been towed in strong thermals and some pretty serious wave rotor at
e.g. Omarama. I've never had a problem with a big jerk when the slack
comes out of the rope. I don't use spoilers, and I don't yaw. What I
*do* is when the rope is becoming slack I climb (and therefore slow
down). As the rope starts to become tight I descend (and therefore sped
up). Do it right and there is no jerk at all.


Same for me. I began gliding in Montpellier where there are serious
rotors due to the mistral, and instructors never taught me to do
anything particular (like using spoilers, etc.) in case the rope is not
tight. They taught me to content following the plane as best as
possible, and apparently this doesn't cause big problems. I have never
seen a broken rope either.



--

Michel TALON