"John Smith" wrote in message
...
2cernauta2 wrote:

Wouldn't it be possible to locate the winch outside the airfield's
boundary, and launch with a longer rope on a 600m runway?
Is this common practice at some glider sites?

If geography allows you to retrieve the cable (no bushes, roads, walls,
rivers, whatever between start place and winch), if the safety of
uninvolved persons is not compromised, if there's no road, house, whatever
the cable can fall onto, if you can find an agreement with the farmers
whose fields you will cross while retrieveing the cable... and be sure
there's no regulation which prohibits cables above a certain height. If
you can fulfill all these requirements, then it would certainly be worth
to give it a try.

I would speculate that Spectra or Dyneema is a lot more forgiving in this
regard. It's possible that sites unsuitable for steel cable would be
workable if Spectra or Dyneema is used.

Steel cable is heavy and can damage anything it falls on. Because it forms
kinks and weak points, is easier to break. It's electrically conductive so
power lines are an extreme hazard.

Spectra or Dyneema is so light that it 'floats down' more than falls so is
unlikely to damage anything unless it is pulled across something under
tension or the connecting hardware does the damage. It's also a very poor
conductor.

Bill Daniels