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Old July 19th 10, 03:46 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
mattm[_2_]
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Posts: 167
Default Auto Launching: Truck types, etc

On Jul 19, 10:19*am, Andy wrote:
On Jul 18, 7:21*pm, Scott Alexander
wrote:

Wouldn't the answer to truck type depend on what you intend to
launch?

In the old days an FAA ground launch rating was good for winch or auto
tow. *Have not checked on the new endorsement requirements since I'm
"grandfathered" for all launch types. *For practical purposes an auto
tow starts like aero tow and quickly transitions to being like a winch
launch.

For lake bed launches the popular wisdom seemed to be that the best
truck was one that was rented

Andy (GY)


I got my restriction removed in the old days at a winch clinic. 6
flights from
intro to flight test. Would I launch off a winch or ground tow
today? No way!
There's several good ground launch operations in the US these days.
Take
a vacation at one of them for a while and get the endorsement. My
understanding
is that it will take at least 20 launches to really be proficient. A
good alternate
would be to hire in a top ground launch instructor like Frank to run a
clinic
at your field. That way several of you can get up to speed on all the
aspects
of running the operation.

-- Matt