Martin Gregorie schrieb:

On my club field turning at 80m would never be necessary because the
runway is mown grass 1000 m long by 100 m wide with the winch at one end
and 200-400m of landing area behind the launch point.

Where I fly, the runway is 600m (we can place the winch some 200m
further away) and there are buildings along the runway. There is a
certain height where a downwind landing is the only safe option should a
rope break occur. I don't even know at which exact altitude this is, as
we judge it by eye and it changes with the wind conditions.

If we knew what the field looked like maybe we could all learn from
his sad experience.

What I have learnt by *almost* experiencing an accident is that when
having to choose the downwind landing option, don't turn too early, as
the wind will blow you a considerable distance down the runway. Further,
don't let the speed over ground fool you in judging your airspeed (as
the pilot involved probably did).