Transport Gliders - what happens to the tow line?
I was thinking about the use of transport gliders over the weekend and was wondering how the tow rope was released. In particular, what happened next to the tow rope?
If the glider released it, was it manually winched in by people in the towing aircraft? Some of the footage I've seen shows three gliders being towed at once so someone must have thought about what happens next to the ropes. The tow rope isn't attached to the glider when it lands so it must still be attached to the towing aircraft but I would be surprised if tow lines were left dangling out the back of the towing aircraft until it landed?
Also, what happened if the tow line couldn't be released, was there a manual method or did it have to return home?
Can someone shed some light on what the procedure was?