On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 3:17:43 PM UTC-6, john firth wrote:
On Monday, April 23, 2018 at 4:56:24 PM UTC-4, John Foster wrote:
Hi everyone

I just started glider flying lessons and I'M HOOKED!!! Unfortunately, the closest glider club is 3:45 hr drive away. I also live in an area that looks to me to be perfect for ridge soaring, with a range of mountains facing the west that runs for at least 85 miles, and possibly longer. We have an airport close by with a 4800' runway, about 2-3 miles west of the mountains. A friend is a CFI and A&P, and is interested in getting his "glider ticket" as well. There are a few other folks in the area that have expressed varying interest in flying gliders as well. But as it currently stands, no one (except one possible individual that I haven't yet talked to) in the area actually flies gliders. My friend and I have talked about the possibility of starting a local club. What would be the best way to go about doing this?

Car tow might be the most economical way to launch, if the a/p mgt.. will let you; looks like 5000ft of hard top, which is more than adequate.
Moreover, driver training is easier than starting a newbie on a winch.
JMF

I spoke to the airport manager today, and he indicated he would need to discuss it with the board, but didn't see why we wouldn't be able to do auto tow here. Our runway is about 4800', oriented parallel to the mountains, but about 2.5 to 3 miles to the west of the mountains. It would be nice to be able to get as high as possible in order to get over to the mountains, particularly with a low-performance bird like a 2-33 or a 2-22. The idea of the reverse auto tow using a pulley really sounds appealing, and to me this more closely approximates the action of a winch (other than the acceleration). Anyone know where one could get a lead on the rope used to string high-voltage cables? That sounds ideal for a tow rope.

One of my objectives in this endeavor is to keep it as affordable as possible. There is a lot of poverty around here, and if there was a way to keep launching cost down to a minimum, that would be ideal.