On Friday, October 2, 2020 at 12:15:07 AM UTC+13, Sci Fi wrote:
Before I turned right or left I would put the nose down!

What, right into the downward path of the flying metalwork..?

I think you would have about 0.8 seconds to avoid injury, so maybe a zoom
climb to the right would be better.
I've had several rope breaks in flight.

The rope departs faster than your reaction time. Any turn you initiate is going to be happening after the rope has done what it is going to do. Normally the rope breaks at the glider end leaving the glider with the rings.

The rope will spring back only if released under tension and from the towplane end. If that happens you only have rope coming towards you. It will present little hazard unless you get it draped over the wing or tail and it can jam control surfaces. Very unlikely.

What is very likely, and has happened many times, is the desperate turn back to the runway and the resulting stall/spin.

Better to fly the glider, get it stable, assess your options, do whatever looks safest.

An immediate turn is not likely to be the safest option (depending on your local conditions) and if it is the safest option you still need to fly the glider and get it stable before turning.

All my rope breaks have been at altitude where that wasn't an issue. Ropes tend to break at the start of the ground roll as the glider starts to move or as the result of slack suddenly getting tight due to turbulence/rough handling (which tends to happen higher up).

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Phil Plane