Steve Leonard wrote:
No, Marc. most of my reading has been in the messages
section. And I guess I need to ask again, does a typical
US Operation really need multiple drums?

Single drum winches have a long launch cycle time, two drums help. That
said, two drums do add more mechanical complexity than I (and others)
expected.

And does
a typical US operation really need 250 to 300 HP turbo
diesels?

Many in the group fly in the western US, where summer density altitudes
range up to 10,000 feet. Yes, the numbers I've run indicate that we
need at least a 250 HP turbo diesel (not so much for the HP as the
torque) to be able to launch something as mundane as a Grob 103 with two
aboard.

If we want this much, it is available from
Europe right now. We are not buying them because the
initial cost is higher than the initial cost of most
towplanes.

Agreed, the point behind the group is to try to substantially reduce the
initial cost (over buying new $75,000+ dual drum winches from Europe),
by building on a reasonably priced used vehicle readily available here
in the US (i.e., heavy duty pickups and light trucks).

If you have the space to do straight auto towing, look
in your local paper in the 'Used cars under $600' section.

Auto tow has its places (but not that many here in the land of high
priced real estate), but so does winch launching. What we desperately
need is alternatives to aero tow, which if it continues to be the
default launch solution, will kill the sport in the US due to
fuel/maintenance costs and noise.

Marc