On Aug 27, 5:30*pm, Tony wrote:
On Monday, August 27, 2012 11:49:05 AM UTC-5, Bob Whelan wrote:
On 8/27/2012 9:13 AM, Waveguru wrote: It didn't actually break, it came loose from the towplane end. It happened at 800ft tho, so it was no big deal. I did manage to hang on to the rope and drop it back on the airport so we could find it and not do any damage with it. Got it on video for you all to see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zsGcburRP0 http://alturl.com/bdmwy Boggs Alright. This clinches it for me. Correlation DOES reflect causation. Would the rope have broken had you not turned the camera toward the towplane? I get really nervous when I see people filming stuff anymore! :-) Nicely handled... Bob W.

Though this rope release was not an actual break, it brings up a good
point. I've seen some synthetic ropes exposed to the heat/sun such
that they turn to powder after awhile. They look OK until you stress
them. Worth inspecting/replacing at certain intervals, perhaps? By the
way, the WGC team made over a 100 new tow ropes, some of which may
still be for sale.

Here's a video of another release that happened at 300' (by the
altimeter) at Inyokern. It appears to be a Blanik (L-13 or L-23). I
recall that one could easily trigger the release on the L-13 if you
placed your foot too far forward against the unenclosed mechanism. If
you watch the yellow release handle on the lower left panel, you can
see it jiggle slightly as the rope gets released. Not sure what the
'cause was, but I suspect they did a thorough investigation.

The caption reads, in part, "Had an actual rope break (uncommanded
relase of tow rope from glider it turned out) at 200' above the
ground."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK1jn...eature=related