As this part of the original thread slowly drifts away into "teachable stuff"...

On 5/6/2014 1:49 AM, Chris Rollings wrote:
Snip...

I have always felt that the American view that you can turn back once
above 200 feet is lacking in flexibility, certainly turning back below 200
feet is almost always inadvisable but there are plenty off occasions when
a landing off field is the best and safest option at heights above 200
feet.

Chris - and elsewhere, Cindy B. - touches upon something I believe Seriously
Important to Joe Pilot..."flexibility of mind." Numbers and rules of thumb are
great ways to get *started* to internalize concepts - in this case, the
concept of when it's safe to attempt returning to the launch field in the
event of a premature termination of the tow. That's where our American "magic
200 feet" comes from.

But the number/rule of thumb is *just the beginning!*

Anyone who seriously thinks that "200 feet agl will always be sufficient to do
a turn-around in my glider to land on the reciprocal of my takeoff runway" is:
1) setting themselves up for a crunch; 2) choosing to substitute a number for
continuing judgment and assessment of a situation (aka "flexibility"); and 3)
arguably abdicating their judgment as a pilot. Are your best landings
routinely done without good judgment? (Granted, premature termination of the
tow isn't "routine," but that's not the point...)


Some years ago I was running a course for potential CFI G's in the USA, as
an exercise, I asked each of the on tow to call "Now" at the earliest
moment they felt safe and comfortable for me to pull the release and them
to turn back to the field - the calls all came above 500 feet!


Imagine that!

Bob W.