On Monday, June 2, 2014 9:41:10 AM UTC-6, wrote:
Congratulations on a successful outcome Bill!



My only rope break was on my FAA check ride with an inspector in the back seat.



A turbulent tow where the line went slack. A boot full of rudder pre-tension wasn't enough apparently as *snap* a the tow rope became a flicking serpent in front of me. Approx 400ft AGL with limited options in my 12 o'clock I made a turn back and judged I was high. Deviated right of centreline to fly a short base leg to wash off excess altitude before landing. Gained a few points with the examiner that day as he had only just 're-qualifed' on gliders that morning.



In hindsight? I should have been more aggressive in the post-slack yaw to soften the blow a little more. I also feel I could have released the tow rope over the field to allow the FBO to recover the rings instead of 'systematically', soon after PTT.



As a poster in the bunkhouse says, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. Thanks TK.

My first uncommanded Tost release was on a winch launch at about 10' AGL so I just landed straight ahead on the runway. This was a no-sweat event and I didn't know it was an uncommanded release until the crew told me.

The second was on aero tow just as I decided to release in a good thermal. This was more startling since it seemed like the glider had acquired some intelligence of its own.

The others were during CAP Cadet orientation rides where the Cadet attaching the rope may not have checked the security of the ring in the hook (Our fault since we hadn't trained them to do it). These incidents persuaded us to check the Tost ring pair more carefully for wear and to insist the person attaching the rope checks to insure the ring is free to rattle in the hook.

It's possible for a pilot to detect an improperly inserted ring pair since the yellow knob won't retract all the way if the ring is just "captured" by the "beak". I've learned the hard way to pay attention to how the release knob feels as the hook closes.