On Sunday, October 26, 2014 8:59:46 AM UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
The case of the towplane being on the ground and aborting takeoff when the glider is flying in ground effect is problematic.

On Sunday, October 26, 2014 10:27:28 AM UTC-4, John Carlyle wrote:
I don't understand why you call low level tow plane engine failure "problematic".

Problematic
noun
1. a thing that constitutes a problem or difficulty.

The problem is obvious: the glider pilot has very little time avoid collision.

jc:

I've seen two actual low level engine failures in ten years of glider flying (to be specific, the glider was flying and the tow plane was not).

Was there a collision?

I've seen the aftermath of one such aborted takeoff. The tow plane and glider collided (no human injuries).

What is the success rate for this maneuver?