http://ozreport.com/17.249#4

I was the pilot in the 'lockout'.

Firstly, as it was my first aerotow without an instructor present and my first
aerotow in 12 months since the aerotow course, I probably should have had a tow
in calm conditions early morning or in the evening to familiarise myself again.

Secondly, as I had watched two weaklinks break before me, I made a bad decision
to strengthen mine from the standard 1G to 1.5G. As you might have guessed, I
changed it back for the next tow.

Thirdly, because there was a ground marshal with a radio, I, for some reason,
deliberately chose not to lock-on my radio during the tow. My radio PTT switch
is on my left shoulder and I have to take a hand off the control bar in order to
operate it. Things got busy very quickly and I didn't get to communicate with
the tug pilot (who didn't see what happened to me) when I needed to.

However, my main problem, which no one has alluded to because it is not obvious
from the camera angle, is that when I wanted to release I couldn't see the
release line. The release was tied high on my right shoulder strap and in theory
all I had to do if I couldn't see it was to locate it by feel and pull it.
However in such a situation (and I have gone over the video which was filmed in
30 frames per sec), things were happening literally frame by frame, there is no
time to work out whether the release is on the right shoulder or the left
shoulder and then start feeling for it. I didn't end up releasing before the
(previously strengthened) weak link broke.

My towing inexperience caused me some indecision when the trike rose quickly in
a thermal. This doesn't seem to show well on the video, but I remember the trike
shooting up above my horizon reference. My indecision was because in all my
previous tows it has been an effort in my slow glider to stay down at the tug
level and not get above it, being below it was a novelty, forgot all about prop
wash.

As I watched two other pilots being towed up before my next tow, I also
remembered the short positive weight shift inputs that I had been taught but had
also forgotten about on that tow.

The glider had popped no.3 + no.4 batten tips on both sides and both no.2 +no.3
undersurface battens had come out on both sides,  so I guess the wing had
been working hard.

The next tow was good and at all times I knew exactly where the tow release
was!!