Dan, a pulley tow launches a glider just fine - but then you need to reset for the next launch. Often, this means untangling the rope. Straight auto tow or winch launch rarely tangles the rope.

There are very few pulley tow operations in the world and cycle time is the usual reason why they gave up on pulleys and moved on to winch launch.


On Monday, October 5, 2015 at 9:16:28 AM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:
I once flew for an ESPN video on flying (Secrets of Speed).* One of
the launch methods used was an auto pulley tow wherein the pulley
was mounted to the receiver on the back of the car and the cable was
staked to the ground near mid field.* The car drove in the takeoff
direction during the launch and, with the 2:1 advantage of the
pulley, it was every bit as exciting as a winch.* The car drove at
about 1/2 the speed of the glider.* We were using a 3,400' runway
and I don't recall the release height, though it was not as high as
a winch with a full runway length of cable.




On 10/5/2015 5:01 AM, GB wrote:



Good question. Seems to me reverse car tows(fixed pulley windward car drives toward the glider) would be the way to go. Has there been any sailplane work with car mounted pay out winches? Pay out winches are what the hangglider and paraglider community have mostly settled on using. Both of these solutions somewhat mitigate the space needed to auto tow.






--

Dan, 5J