On Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 6:44:39 AM UTC-4, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Fri, 31 Aug 2018 18:15:06 -0700, Dave Nadler wrote:

On Friday, August 31, 2018 at 7:11:23 PM UTC-4, Martin Gregorie wrote:
...or join the winch queue....
Admittedly that needs a dedicated team (winch driver, cable truck
driver,
launch marshal and one or two guys on golf buggies...

And a site where this is practical, plus enough pilots to support the
operation... All not available in many locales.

Sure, but from what I see on r.a.s, winching seems to be making some
headway in America.

The minimum launch requirement is three people: winch driver, launch
marshal/wing runner and the glider pilot who, if needed, can tow out the
cable he launches from. IOW, not much different from aero towing except
that nobody in their right mind or half out of it would ever start a
winch launch with a wingtip on the ground.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

Total subject drift now but I have to respond to that one: I am actively involved in (re)-introducing winching in the US and am trying to teach safe procedures mostly based on the German set of rules. That is an absolute 'No-No' and many fatal accidents have resulted from this!
On the other hand, I should say 'go ahead - do it!' - It may be Darwin at work but it will give winching a bad wrap (again).

Uli
'AS'