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

On Sunday, June 1, 2014 10:50:10 PM UTC-6, Andrew wrote:
Hi Kevin



Congratulations on managing this emergency safely. A low tow

termination of the tow is a true emergency, that some people have

not managed successfully, as discussed on this website.



I've been gliding for a long time, and my experience is that

unplanned tow terminations are very rare. I have only had two

unplanned releases, the lowest at 400ft at Lasham (Euroglide 73),

the other at 1000ft at Portmoak. On the one at Lasham, I was very

aware that the entire competition grid were watching me. Both were

wave-offs, due to towplane engine problems (neither serious as it

turned out later, but the tow pilots were understandably concerned at

the time). My experience seems logical when one considers that after

liftoff, the tension on the rope should be close to the drag on the

glider, i.e. about weight divided by L/D, i.e. about 35lbs or less. Apart

from shocks from slack lines tightening, if the rope doesn't break

during the first few seconds when the glider is being dragged over

the ground, a 'pure rope break' is unlikely. The rope is essentially

'proof tested' in the first 30 seconds of every tow. I haven't had any

ring or tow-mechanism malfunctions. So from my experience, the

most likely (but rare) problem is a tow plane engine problem.



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.



It's not that a typical glider isn't capable, aerodynamically-speaking,

of performing a 180 at 200ft. They obviously can. Its that an early

solo pilot may not be able to, and experienced pilots under that

stress may not be able to either.



Safety is a tricky concept. My view is that, to be safe, one should

'stop before it becomes unsafe'. That sounds obvious, but then

consider that this logically means that we should 'stop while we are

still safe'. Ie..... we should stop when we could have safely gone a bit

further. The price for safety, is to stop too early. I can remember

stopping flying (for weather) knowing people were thinking we could

have safely gone on a bit longer. And they were completely right.

Straining this logic, its arguably safer to teach to go straight ahead,

even if an excellent pilot could do a 180.



I stand by my remark made earlier, that a site where a straight-

ahead landing is likely to produce more than minor damage, is not a

safe site.





At 23:20 01 June 2014, Kevin Christner wrote:

I had my first "rope break" ever today. I was approximately 200-

250ft

abov=

e the ground. Emergency procedures were not a problem.



The Tost released for some reason. Its a nose hook so the back

release

mec=

hanism could not have been the culprit. Further testing with the

wheel

bre=

ak on the ground revealed no problems so I took another tow and

had no

prob=

lems. The ring may not have been engaged properly (doubtful) or

the slack

=

I got in the rope was just too much when it tightened back up

(probable

but=

the release still should have held).



In any case has anyone else ever experienced an actual emergency

unplanned

=

release? In 14 years of flying I have never heard of one. Good

thing we

d=

o practice this. =20



2C



The rope tension is more than the glider's weight divided by the L/D which would only be the case in level flight. Aero tow is lifting the weight of the glider into the sky which requires more tension.

The record shows premature termination of tow is far more common than you suggest. Only one incident I know of involved a rope break in the takeoff roll. The rest were rope breaks during the early airborne part of the tow.

The reason is ropes don't simply snap when overloaded. Fibers break then the rope unravels which takes a little time. If the rope was overstressed in the takeoff roll, expect it to part at few hundred feet AGL.

The 200' AGL 180 turn back to the runway is the MINIMUM STANDARD in the US. Either a pilot learns to confidently demonstrate the maneuver with grace and precision or his flying career stops right there. All pilots are expected to retain that level of ability throughout their careers and can expect to be asked to prove it in every Flight Review or Check Ride.

However, demonstrating an ability to perform the maneuver doesn't mean it's required or even the preferred action in a real emergency. It's simply an additional option in the pilots repertoire. A pilot is expected to exercise good judgment in selecting the best option for the situation.

That said, if a pilot damages a glider in a risky off field landing when the glider was in a position for a safe return to the runway, he'll likely be grounded pending a check ride.

At Moriarty, we create rope/ring protectors using plastic water bottles
with the bottoms cut off. The bottle is placed over the rope, large end
facing the glider, and wrapped many times with duct tape for abrasion
protection. Better to wear that out than the rings or ropes where
wrapped around the large ring.


Dan Marotta 5J

On 6/1/2014 6:45 PM, Bill D wrote:
On Sunday, June 1, 2014 5:20:14 PM UTC-6, Kevin Christner wrote:
I had my first "rope break" ever today. I was approximately 200-250ft above the ground. Emergency procedures were not a problem.



The Tost released for some reason. Its a nose hook so the back release mechanism could not have been the culprit. Further testing with the wheel break on the ground revealed no problems so I took another tow and had no problems. The ring may not have been engaged properly (doubtful) or the slack I got in the rope was just too much when it tightened back up (probable but the release still should have held).



In any case has anyone else ever experienced an actual emergency unplanned release? In 14 years of flying I have never heard of one. Good thing we do practice this.



2C
I've had two uncommanded Tost releases myself and observed two more. (No drama ensued.) In another case, the hook wouldn't initially release until the pilot worked it loose by maneuvering the glider on tow. In all cases the release itself was found to be within its service life and in excellent condition with springs intact.

The one common thing with all these incidents was a badly worn Tost ring pair. An abrasive runway had noticeably removed metal from the small ring leaving it with a rough, pitted surface. The point of the hooks "beak" could capture the rough ring against the cage with friction even though it wasn't fully inserted into the release. Even when tested by pulling hard on the rope, it sometimes wouldn't come loose but it could still work loose during the tow. The "beak" can't capture a new, smooth ring pair.

We speculate the fail-to-release incident was the result on a worn, undersized ring getting cocked sideways inside the cage.

If the tow operator can't be convinced to replace the ring pair, have the wing runner shake the rope to make sure it rattles in the hook after it is attached. If it's captured by friction, it won't rattle.

Congratulations on a successful outcome Bill!

My only rope break was on my FAA check ride with an inspector in the back seat.

A turbulent tow where the line went slack. A boot full of rudder pre-tension wasn't enough apparently as *snap* a the tow rope became a flicking serpent in front of me. Approx 400ft AGL with limited options in my 12 o'clock I made a turn back and judged I was high. Deviated right of centreline to fly a short base leg to wash off excess altitude before landing. Gained a few points with the examiner that day as he had only just 're-qualifed' on gliders that morning.

In hindsight? I should have been more aggressive in the post-slack yaw to soften the blow a little more. I also feel I could have released the tow rope over the field to allow the FBO to recover the rings instead of 'systematically', soon after PTT.

As a poster in the bunkhouse says, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. Thanks TK.

On Monday, 2 June 2014 23:41:10 UTC+8, wrote:
Congratulations on a successful outcome Bill!

*ahem*

Kevin

On Monday, June 2, 2014 9:41:10 AM UTC-6, wrote:
Congratulations on a successful outcome Bill!



My only rope break was on my FAA check ride with an inspector in the back seat.



A turbulent tow where the line went slack. A boot full of rudder pre-tension wasn't enough apparently as *snap* a the tow rope became a flicking serpent in front of me. Approx 400ft AGL with limited options in my 12 o'clock I made a turn back and judged I was high. Deviated right of centreline to fly a short base leg to wash off excess altitude before landing. Gained a few points with the examiner that day as he had only just 're-qualifed' on gliders that morning.



In hindsight? I should have been more aggressive in the post-slack yaw to soften the blow a little more. I also feel I could have released the tow rope over the field to allow the FBO to recover the rings instead of 'systematically', soon after PTT.



As a poster in the bunkhouse says, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. Thanks TK.

My first uncommanded Tost release was on a winch launch at about 10' AGL so I just landed straight ahead on the runway. This was a no-sweat event and I didn't know it was an uncommanded release until the crew told me.

The second was on aero tow just as I decided to release in a good thermal. This was more startling since it seemed like the glider had acquired some intelligence of its own.

The others were during CAP Cadet orientation rides where the Cadet attaching the rope may not have checked the security of the ring in the hook (Our fault since we hadn't trained them to do it). These incidents persuaded us to check the Tost ring pair more carefully for wear and to insist the person attaching the rope checks to insure the ring is free to rattle in the hook.

It's possible for a pilot to detect an improperly inserted ring pair since the yellow knob won't retract all the way if the ring is just "captured" by the "beak". I've learned the hard way to pay attention to how the release knob feels as the hook closes.

Our tow operator uses "whiffle balls" to protect the knot and ring pair and they are almost always found inside the ball as intended so it's a bit of a mystery how they suffer so much wear.

On Monday, June 2, 2014 9:38:36 AM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:
At Moriarty, we create rope/ring protectors using plastic water bottles

with the bottoms cut off. The bottle is placed over the rope, large end

facing the glider, and wrapped many times with duct tape for abrasion

protection. Better to wear that out than the rings or ropes where

wrapped around the large ring.





Dan Marotta 5J

At 15:18 02 June 2014, Bill D wrote:
On Sunday, June 1, 2014 10:50:10 PM UTC-6, Andrew wrote:
Hi Kevin
=20
=20
=20
Congratulations on managing this emergency safely. A low tow=20
=20
termination of the tow is a true emergency, that some people have=20
=20
not managed successfully, as discussed on this website.
=20
=20
=20
I've been gliding for a long time, and my experience is that=20
=20
unplanned tow terminations are very rare. I have only had two=20
=20
unplanned releases, the lowest at 400ft at Lasham (Euroglide 73),=20
=20
the other at 1000ft at Portmoak. On the one at Lasham, I was very=20
=20
aware that the entire competition grid were watching me. Both were=20
=20
wave-offs, due to towplane engine problems (neither serious as it=20
=20
turned out later, but the tow pilots were understandably concerned
at=20
=20
the time). My experience seems logical when one considers that after=20
=20
liftoff, the tension on the rope should be close to the drag on the=20
=20
glider, i.e. about weight divided by L/D, i.e. about 35lbs or less.
Apart=
=20
=20
from shocks from slack lines tightening, if the rope doesn't break=20
=20
during the first few seconds when the glider is being dragged over=20
=20
the ground, a 'pure rope break' is unlikely. The rope is essentially=20
=20
'proof tested' in the first 30 seconds of every tow. I haven't had
any=20
=20
ring or tow-mechanism malfunctions. So from my experience, the=20
=20
most likely (but rare) problem is a tow plane engine problem.
=20
=20
=20
You say you are pleased that you practiced for this. I assume you=20
=20
mean that you are glad you practiced 180 turns from 200ft. I wish to=20
=20
say that my personal opinion is that a verbal briefing (to go
straight=20
=20
ahead) would have been much safer for your instructors to teach=20
=20
you, with a verbal briefing that any other alternatives must be=20
=20
delayed until high enough for 'some maneuvering'. I'd put that at=20
=20
300ft minimum, when a 90 turn to look back, and do some thinking,=20
=20
would be be ok, but even then, a turn away to the safest area should=20
=20
be made, even if off-field. Otherwise, go more-or-less straight
ahead,=20
=20
and let the insurance company worry about their glider. I'd=20
=20
recommend that instructors should teach that a low rope break is an=20
=20
emergency, and the only responsibility on the pilot is to get
himself=20
=20
and his passenger down without harm. Damage to the glider should=20
=20
not be considered. I obviously don't know for sure, but I think its=20
=20
arguable that this teaching approach might produce more minor=20
=20
damage to gliders, but fewer fatalities.
=20
=20
=20
It's not that a typical glider isn't capable,
aerodynamically-speaking,=
=20
=20
of performing a 180 at 200ft. They obviously can. Its that an early=20
=20
solo pilot may not be able to, and experienced pilots under that=20
=20
stress may not be able to either.=20
=20
=20
=20
Safety is a tricky concept. My view is that, to be safe, one should=20
=20
'stop before it becomes unsafe'. That sounds obvious, but then=20
=20
consider that this logically means that we should 'stop while we are=20
=20
still safe'. Ie..... we should stop when we could have safely gone a
bit=
=20
=20
further. The price for safety, is to stop too early. I can remember=20
=20
stopping flying (for weather) knowing people were thinking we could=20
=20
have safely gone on a bit longer. And they were completely right.=20
=20
Straining this logic, its arguably safer to teach to go straight
ahead,=
=20
=20
even if an excellent pilot could do a 180.
=20
=20
=20
I stand by my remark made earlier, that a site where a straight-
=20
ahead landing is likely to produce more than minor damage, is not a=20
=20
safe site.
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
At 23:20 01 June 2014, Kevin Christner wrote:
=20
I had my first "rope break" ever today. I was approximately 200-
=20
250ft
=20
abov=3D
=20
e the ground. Emergency procedures were not a problem.
=20

=20
The Tost released for some reason. Its a nose hook so the back=20
=20
release
=20
mec=3D
=20
hanism could not have been the culprit. Further testing with the=20
=20
wheel
=20
bre=3D
=20
ak on the ground revealed no problems so I took another tow and=20
=20
had no
=20
prob=3D
=20
lems. The ring may not have been engaged properly (doubtful) or=20
=20
the slack
=20
=3D
=20
I got in the rope was just too much when it tightened back up=20
=20
(probable
=20
but=3D
=20
the release still should have held).
=20

=20
In any case has anyone else ever experienced an actual emergency=20
=20
unplanned
=20
=3D
=20
release? In 14 years of flying I have never heard of one. Good=20
=20
thing we
=20
d=3D
=20
o practice this. =3D20
=20

=20
2C
=20


The rope tension is more than the glider's weight divided by the L/D
which
=
would only be the case in level flight. Aero tow is lifting the weight
of
=
the glider into the sky which requires more tension.

The record shows premature termination of tow is far more common than you
s=
uggest. Only one incident I know of involved a rope break in the takeoff
ro=
ll. The rest were rope breaks during the early airborne part of the tow.
=
=20

The reason is ropes don't simply snap when overloaded. Fibers break then
t=
he rope unravels which takes a little time. If the rope was overstressed
i=
n the takeoff roll, expect it to part at few hundred feet AGL.

The 200' AGL 180 turn back to the runway is the MINIMUM STANDARD in the
US.=
Either a pilot learns to confidently demonstrate the maneuver with
grace
=
and precision or his flying career stops right there. All pilots are
expec=
ted to retain that level of ability throughout their careers and can
expect=
to be asked to prove it in every Flight Review or Check Ride.

However, demonstrating an ability to perform the maneuver doesn't mean
it's=
required or even the preferred action in a real emergency. It's simply
an=
additional option in the pilots repertoire. A pilot is expected to
exerci=
se good judgment in selecting the best option for the situation.

That said, if a pilot damages a glider in a risky off field landing when
th=
e glider was in a position for a safe return to the runway, he'll likely
be=
grounded pending a check ride.

Bill, you need to accept that this forum is worldwide. Advice and practice
is different outside the USA. While turn backs may be de rigueur at low
height in the USA they are positively discouraged in the UK and never ever
practiced. People who make low turns receive intensive counseling and/or
remedial instruction.
I would never ever criticise a pilot, or take punitive action for choosing
the option which gives the best chance of survival. Insurance can pay for
damaged gliders, as far as I am aware all the money in the world cannot
resurrect dead people.
You have made it very clear that you feel we are lacking in some way and of
course we think the FAA is barmy, such is life.

Hmm I think the BGA may want to take a hard look at this. My cockpit being crushed by trees would not have been an appealing option.

Bill, you need to accept that this forum is worldwide. Advice and practice

is different outside the USA. While turn backs may be de rigueur at low

height in the USA they are positively discouraged in the UK and never ever

practiced. People who make low turns receive intensive counseling and/or

remedial instruction.

I would never ever criticise a pilot, or take punitive action for choosing

the option which gives the best chance of survival. Insurance can pay for

damaged gliders, as far as I am aware all the money in the world cannot

resurrect dead people.

You have made it very clear that you feel we are lacking in some way and of

course we think the FAA is barmy, such is life.

On Monday, June 2, 2014 10:38:34 AM UTC-6, Don Johnstone wrote:

"Bill, you need to accept that this forum is worldwide. Advice and practice
is different outside the USA."

Don, you need to accept that it's different everywhere outside the UK.

"While turn backs may be de rigueur at low height in the USA."

Wrong. Turns are optional. TRAINING is de regueur.

"You have made it very clear that you feel we are lacking in some way."

In very specific ways.

"We think the FAA is barmy."

Thanks for pointing that out. I've made sure they got the message.