Are Weak Links really Necessary for Aero Tow?

Oh, my, where to start?

KM wrote:

Are you telling us that the tail can only handle its own weight?You are
using apples and oranges here because you used the FLIGHT loads of a
sailplane and the actual weight of the tow plane.In other words, if a
towplane can sustain 4.4Gs (In the utility category) shouldnt the tail
of said towplane ALSO sustain 4.4Gs.

No, I'm saying the airplane was designed to handle flight and landing
loads, based on it's max gross weight. These loads on the tail are only
a fraction of it's weight. The glider can transfer most of the lifting
force developed by the wing to the rope if a C.G. hook is used for
aerotow. An aircraft with a design load limit of 4.4 G's will have an
ultimate load limit 6.6 G's so a glider with a 1000 lb gross weight
could deliver over 6000 lb of force, before the glider's wings failed.

After an upset, the towplane will enter an unrecoverable dive, and if
the rope does not break, the speeds will quickly increase beyond
maneuvering speed.

Where do you come up with this?I have NEVER flown an airplane that
could not be pulled out of a dive. Another thing to consider is that the
tow pilot would just release by this point.The tost hook will release
at vitually any angle, and even if the plane had a Schweitzer hook, by
forcing the tail up you will change the angle on the rope and the pilot
could then release it.

You can't pull out of the dive if the glider is still attached to your
tail by a rope that won't break. And if you have a Schweizer hook on
the tail, it may not release after the upset because the pull is
greater and may no longer be straight back. There have been several
cases of upset where the tow pilot could not make the hook release, and
the dive would have been unrecoverable if the rope did not break.

Even if you tow with a Tost hook, you still need to react and operate
the release, and this will take more time than a rope needs to break.
If the glider pulls your tail up fast enough, you could be in negative
G's which will take your hand off the knob. How fast can you find and
operate the corect knob when the stuff hits the fan? That time could be
the difference between a low recovery and a splat.