10mm Orange Polyethylene Rope - per metre

Just a bit of feedback regarding the 2 lengths of polyethylene rope 10mm and 12mm purchased last April for use as aero tow ropes at Burn Gliding Club Ltd, Selby. The gliding club has had all sorts of technical difficulties over the last 18 months with our tow planes so there has been far less aerotow launches done than normal. However, I am pleased to confirm that both diameters of rope seemed to perform ok but the 10mm rope appears to give the best all round performance and shows the least tendency to fray when used on our hard runways. Also the lighter weight and narrower diameter of the 10mm rope creates less drag on the tow aircraft after the glider has released and less of a tail down trim issue. The 12mm rope seems to fray more easily and didn’t appear to be twisted together as tightly as the 10mm material. Neither rope seems to hold much water when dragged through puddles so that’s also a bonus compared to ropes with woven casings. So all in all, the 10mm rope appears to be perfect for aerotowing off our hard runways and its nominal 1100kg breaking strain is double the strength of the 500+/-50Kg weak link used for aerotowing.Alastair Mackenzie