"nimbusgb" wrote in message
ups.com...
On 16 Aug, 03:45, "Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:
Yes, safety is very important, but it's not a black art. If a student
pilot
can be taught winch launch in 20 or so flights, a rated pilot can be
taught
in less. There's no reason that a good pilot shouldn't be able to
concentrate on a launch for 30 - 40- seconds. The envelope is narrow but
not extremely so. Don't overstate the case.

Bill Daniels

Agree with the basics Bill but in practice its teaching all the
things that can go wrong that usually takes another 100 or more
launches. Correcting launch problems needs to become automatic, quick,
decisive and 'right first time' to make winching safe.

Ian

Yes, there are a million things that can go wrong but the pilot's response
is pretty much the same for all of them.

1. Fly the glider.
2. If anything feels funny, release.
3. Nose down ASAP but don't dive into the ground.
4. Wait for safe airspeed before doing anything else.
5. Land straight ahead if possible, or if too high, fly a tight 360 pattern.

The BGA winch safety poster is a very good start and we do use it. But note
that it is just a poster and not a 400 page manual on how to fly a winch
launch safely. That alone suggests that the safety issue in not that
complicated.

We appreciate the UK involvement but there are very significant differences
between the situation in the US and the UK which must be addressed. In the
US every pilot was trained in aero tow which introduces a few unique
problems. For one, US pilots are unaccustomed to monitoring airspeed during
ground roll and lift off - the tug pilot does that for them. They must be
taught to check for safe airspeed before entering the climb on a winch
launch. For another, most aero tow trained pilots will try to continue a
takeoff roll even if a wing touches the ground. On winch launch, they MUST
release if a wingtip touches.

Look, RAS is NOT the place to discuss flight instruction. That should be
one-to-one with a winch qualified flight instructor.

Bill Daniels