Actual Rope Break

You say you are pleased that you practiced for this. I assume you

mean that you are glad you practiced 180 turns from 200ft. I wish to

say that my personal opinion is that a verbal briefing (to go straight

ahead) would have been much safer for your instructors to teach

you, with a verbal briefing that any other alternatives must be

delayed until high enough for 'some maneuvering'. I'd put that at

300ft minimum, when a 90 turn to look back, and do some thinking,

would be be ok, but even then, a turn away to the safest area should

be made, even if off-field. Otherwise, go more-or-less straight ahead,

and let the insurance company worry about their glider. I'd

recommend that instructors should teach that a low rope break is an

emergency, and the only responsibility on the pilot is to get himself

and his passenger down without harm. Damage to the glider should

not be considered. I obviously don't know for sure, but I think its

arguable that this teaching approach might produce more minor

damage to gliders, but fewer fatalities.


Hi Andrew,

Here is the US the standard instruction is that you make a 180 deg turn at or above 200ft or a straight in below 200 feet. This is what the FAA Glider Flying Handbook says.

Our site is a little tricky. The runway is parallel to a 400 foot high ridge or so. You can only make a turn to the north. Generally you should always make your turn into the wind so that the wind will cause you to drift back towards the runway. In this case I was turning away from the wind. Luckily the runway parallels a large field on the other side so if you get blown away from the runway its still possible to land in the field.

2C