"Robert Ehrlich" wrote in message
...
"F.L. Whiteley" wrote:

Having ground looped once on a winch launch (inexperienced wing runner
and
tall grass) I doubt I would ever consider this on grass or dirt. A
paved
surface might be okay with a very experienced pilot. A wings level
assist
would be good, but might be moot if the up slack just pulled the glider
off
the leveler. Holding a glider with airbrake/wheelbrake combo level
doesn't
seem prudent. The more bothersome aspect is the lack of another set of
eyes
to visually check the launch zone for encroachment.

Think I'd prefer to file this in my never do list (from a winch driver
perspective).
'Never winch launch unassisted'
'Never winch launch downwind'

Frank


By us there is no wing runner for winch launch, only a wing holder. The
acceleration is so that nobody would be able to follow the glider,
nor any vehicle whose propulsion relies on friction on the ground, since
the friction coefficient will never be sufficient to provide such an
acceleration.
So the wing holder could easily be replaced by any object (wing stand,
tyres heap,
etc.) having the same function, although we never do it because we want to
keep the watching capability of the wing holder.

We don't actually commence the launch until the glider exhibits some forward
movement on the up slack. This would likely pull the wing off of such an
arrangement. We do this primarily because our winch run may cross some very
uneven surfaces depending on wind direction. This may mean the wire rope
(single run) is not quite straight initially and will displace laterally
during initial acceleration. That's one interesting aspect to winching,
that the run does not necessarily require fully improved surfaces. A winch
could quite easily be located 1000-2000ft outside of the airfield boundary
provided there aren't any obstacles.

You're right though, there's seldom any running involved.

Frank Whiteley