Aerotow ropes: short or long, breakable or unbreakable?

On Friday, November 15, 2013 7:04:22 AM UTC-5, Peter Higgs wrote:
Is there a difference between a Winch launch Weak Link, and an Aerotow Weak

Link?



I would think the Winch launch requires a much stronger link because of the

higher angle of attack.



Peter - you seem to confuse angle of attack with deck angle. The angle of attack of the glider during a winch launch is no different than if the glider was in free flight at the same speed! During a winch launch, the glider is flying up a trajectory with a deck angle of up to 45degr.
And yes, the weak link strength spelled out in the plane's POH typically call for a stronger one for the CG hook vs. the nose hook.
With our winch, we measured the line forces and the results show an interesting force distribution - not at all what everybody expected.

Uli Neumann
'GM'