In article ,
Bob Johnson wrote:

In all our past kicking around of the ideal winch prime mover, here's one
that sounds silly but might rate at least an engineering investigation -- a
recip steam engine! If I recall correctly, the steam engine develops max
torque at stall.

That is true, and it is also true of many electric motors.

Unfortunately, I suspect that if they are strong enough with the glider
flying at 60 knots then they will be far *too* strong at the start!

-- Bruce