On Dec 28, 10:06 pm, "Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:
There may be improvements in aero tow and motorgliders will continue to be
popular but winch launch has by far the greatest potential to impact the
economics of gliding.

I hope left-of-pond people don't emphasise the cost to the
exclusion of other important points:
- winch launches are *fun*, both to watch and to do.
My 15yo liked her trial flight in an aerotow, but was
hooked by her first winch launch
- winches are great for training - lots of circuits in a
short time
- even training for launch failures is fun
- when you're learning, the short time in the air isn't
seen as a negative

Of course aerotows have advantages as well

Adopting winch launch is NOT easy. Almost everything we know about aero tow
either doesn't apply or requires significant change. Even things we think
we know about winch launch is likely to be wrong or even dangerous. Winch
launch must be approached with knowledge and dicipline at both the
individual and organizational level.
Suggestions made here that US operations adopt the BGA winch launch manuals
is something I strongly support. I would suggest equal emphasis on the
German DAeC winch manuals which are available in English. The German
manuals tend to be more engineering orientated and less traditional than the
British. Keep in mind all these manuals assume the reader has a significant
knowledge of winch launch.

All very true, of course.

Here usenet discussions can be very helpful.

And also misleading at times. Witness the recent AoA thread.