On Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at 8:18:15 AM UTC-5, Waveguru wrote:
It seems that most operations here in the USA use a 200' tow rope, and I've heard that some places in Europe even use a rope as short as 120'. Ropes at our operation are more like 275' because it seems safer and easier when it's longer. What is the rational behind using shorter ropes? I see no reason for short ropes unless you are towing out of a short field.

Boggs

I believe in Poland the basic rope length is still 30 meters/100' when new. If it breaks again and again it might be reduced to 20 meters. In the ground school we were taught to make it as short as 10 meters or 33' for a tow from a short field following an outlanding, where there would be no wing runner. The wake would help to lift the wing immediately. Shorter than 100' ropes are also used for towing to a wave through a rotor.

Personally I never had an issue with the 30 m rope. No slacks plus the advantage of circling together in the 'team' towplane/glider in a search for a good thermal. Traditionally tow pilots feel responsible for helping the glider pilot and leaving them in a good upwind.

When, as a student pilot, I was flying my double silver distance Poznan-Leszno-Poznan (70 km) I intentionally landed in Leszno and was towed back in the air by the local tow plane, and it felt like the rope was longer than usual. For a student pilot, yes, admittedly, it felt a bit more comfortable, but not a big deal.

BravoMike