We tried using the hollow braid poly.. but it does not stand up to the wear
and tear out here..
The "flat" braid also twists more in the wind off tow, enough so to put
knots in the weak link, even enough to catch itself and wrap up the wiffle
ball on the end of the rope.
Also the hollow braid does not stand up well to being dragged across gravel
approaches and paved runway surfaces during landings. We don't "drop the
rope" to land.
We use, 3 ply twisted poly, I do not recall right now if it is 1/2" or 5/8",
and we use 3/8" 3 ply twist for weak links. Both ends are eye spliced, and
eye splices on the weak links. We can get a 600ft roll of the 3 py twisted
poly from our local "industrial rigging and safety" supply house for about
$70. Out of the 600ft we make 3 - 200ft lengths.
We get about 3-4 months out of each 200ft length. We fly weekends only, and
average 20-25 tows each day. The tow end wears out and a 10ft section is cut
off and a new eye splice. When it gets down to about 150ft, it's about ready
to be cut up into tie down ropes. The hollow braid would not last 1/2 that
time.
BT
LVVSA
"Paul Remde" wrote in message
news:F2FBd.6563$3m6.1087@attbi_s51...
Hi,
As many of you know, I sell soaring supplies. I would like to add towrope
and accessories to my inventory. I see that Tim Mara has a nice selection
of towrope on his Wings & Wheels site. I would also like to help support
my customers by having a lot of towrope and accessories in stock. Also, I
need a bunch of towrope for the Region 7 Contest in Minnesota in May.
I've done some searching for manufacturers and haven't had much luck
finding a good source.
Given the great number of experienced glider pilots that read this
newsgroup I thought that you may have some advice for me.
Where do you buy towrope in the USA? How much do you pay for 1000 feet?
What size rope do you use?
I'm looking for 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" hollow braid polypropylene rope.
Upon finding a good source I'll buy a lot for inventory so that I can get
a good price and customers can get it when they need it.
Thanks,
Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com