On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 16:15:01 -0000, Dylan Smith
wrote in
::

At our glider club, we can either use the tow plane or the winch to get
the gliders in the air. Not many power pilots have come across the idea
of flinging an aircraft airborne on the best part of a mile of steel
piano wire, but we do this crazy thing. [Power pilots - whenever you see
the glider port symbol on your chart, remember that there may be a winch
there. They are less common in the US than over here, but they are used
in the US, and the 1/8th inch steel cable will not be kind to you if you
run into it. Never directly overfly gliderports below 3000' without
talking to their radio operator].

We (the Southern California Soaring Society) used to auto-tow gliders
off the dry lake north of El Mirage field in the Mojave Desert with a
1,500' wire attached to an old Buick. There was a lot of other sport
activity taking place on the dry lake at the same time, sand-sailors,
motorcycles, gyrocopters, ... One day a fellow and his girlfriend in
an Aircoup ran into the steel tow wire. The wire imbedded itself in
the wing leading edge up to the spar, and broke, fortunately. The
pilot landed on the field, and inspected the damage, then took off.