Just a few notes on Gary's Payout winch System.

I have done Winch Launches, Auto Tows and have had the privilege of launching with Gary's payout winch.

It has been a few years since I have launched with it, and it appears Gary has perfected the technique and winch some since I have used it. He has been using the system for quite a few years now. He was using an electric rewinder and less payout at the start of the tow when I did it. But he may have modified the technique from what I am going to describe.

From the glider end when I was towing with it seems like a normal Auto Tow to start with, However once nearing the top of the climb for the rope he had payed out, he would start paying out more rope. This was easy to determine from the glider end and we just lowered the nose to maintain airspeed while he payed out more rope. He would then increase the tension and we would go back into a steep climb.

I was doing it on a very long dry lake, but was getting 2200 feet or more on a tow. I am sure we could have gone higher if we wanted to. It is a bit different in that it is a stepped climb, as opposed to the constant climb you get with an auto tow or winch launch, but still very easy do.

Some advantages of the system are that...
it probably cost 1/10 what a winch would cost
It is entirely portable, no equipment is left on the field or needs to be setup
It retrieves the rope and resets almost as quickly as you can return to the staging area.

I am sure he has a guillotine in the system, I probably wouldn't have towed with it if he didn't.

Since I haven't used it on a shorter runway, I can't comment on how it compares to an auto tow for launch height.

The initial climb is identical to an auto tow and will get the glider high enough for a 180 or even a 360 degree turn back to the runway typically before he starts paying out line.

Thanks Gary, I enjoyed towing behind your system, Perhaps will do it again someday.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL