this would be extremely rare....Tost tow reels are pretty common and rarely
have problems with tow ropes....I suggest you look at the installation to
see if there is some place sharp along the travel of the rope that might
cause it to fatigue early or some place where the rope is getting loose
outside the normal carry tube where it might somehow get tangled on a corner
or flat gusset in the aircraft.
I have several tow reel users that use both the TOST cable (rope) and the
Dacron I sell and have no other information from anyone on uncommon rope
breaks though the rope can fatigue normally as with almost anything so it's
not impossible, (why we train for rope breaks and other emergencies) the
TOST cable is non-stretchy purposely to prevent snapping back on release..
If you have a length of the broken cable send it to me and I'll forward it
on to TOST for their evaluation.
tim

--
Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com

"Jim Kellett" wrote in message
...
On Jul 9, 6:27 pm, Nyal Williams wrote:
When do they break? Presumably on tow, but at what point?

snip

Pretty much anytime - anywhere from initial takeoff roll to release
altitude.