Paraglider winching aka kiteing

Here is something completely new to me: Paragliders set up temporary winch sites in interesting places.

A terrific video of a near miss between a power plane and winch line taken from the paraglider perspective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFKsk8mPnPQ

More information about the incident on a UK General Aviation forum http://ukga.com/forum/viewthread?sho...essage 145894

Video of a paraglider payout winch equipment and typical launch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH4frJwlrVU

Hang gliders have been doing this for years. Most are out west where long, unused rural roads are easily found. Usually launch is from the back of a pickup truck using a payout winch controlled by a disc brake. For a view search YouTube for "Truck towing hang gliders".

On Thu, 09 Jan 2014 07:22:46 -0800, son_of_flubber wrote:

Here is something completely new to me: Paragliders set up temporary
winch sites in interesting places.

Its not that 'interesting'. The winch is at the end of a narrow grass
strip extending from a hang glider field, i.e. its a place where its
probably common to find an operating winch and I wouldn't be surprised to
find that the grass strip is a microlite runway.

I don't know Swedish regs, but in the UK you can't winch, bungee or
autotow to more than 60m unless the site is NOTAMed or (for a permanent
winch site) marked as a winch site on the air navigation maps. There are
UK glider pilots who want round and bungee off suitable hills but those
doing it are, AFAIK, careful not to break that 60m limit. The latest S&G
has a good article about doing it and emphasises that limit, but of
course the object of bungeeing off a hill is airspeed rather than height
gain.

I should add having our field marking in maps as 'cables to 3000ft' does
precious little: we still have GA and helis blundering over the field
below that height, evidently with little idea of where they are and/or
not having looked at the chart in recent years.

One of the comments in the second quoted URL about electronic maps,
including Sky Demon, not showing marked winching glider sites at some
zoom levels or at all is quite worrying. One wonders how they got
approved.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Thu, 09 Jan 2014 07:22:46 -0800, son_of_flubber wrote:

Here is something completely new to me: Paragliders set up temporary
winch sites in interesting places.


On Thursday, January 9, 2014 3:56:11 PM UTC-5, Martin Gregorie wrote:

Its not that 'interesting'.

The paraglider is winching to 800 feet and VFR traffic in this area is restricted to 1000 feet and there was no NOTAM.

On Thu, 09 Jan 2014 16:24:52 -0800, son_of_flubber wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jan 2014 07:22:46 -0800, son_of_flubber wrote:

Here is something completely new to me: Paragliders set up temporary
winch sites in interesting places.


On Thursday, January 9, 2014 3:56:11 PM UTC-5, Martin Gregorie wrote:

Its not that 'interesting'.

The paraglider is winching to 800 feet and VFR traffic in this area is
restricted to 1000 feet and there was no NOTAM.

Agreed there was no NOTAM, but as nobody has yet said whether Sweden has
the same 60m un-notified launch height restriction as the UK, we don't
know whether Swedes would think this launch was out of order.

I think the location isn't very 'interesting' since its obviously a
permanent microlite site. As such, it should be known to the local
microlite and GA community as a place that should not be overflown low,
especially not straight down the main run.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Friday, January 10, 2014 4:06:35 PM UTC-5, Martin Gregorie wrote:

I think the location isn't very 'interesting' since its obviously a
permanent microlite site.

I don't think that word means what I think it means. Inconceivable!

On Fri, 10 Jan 2014 15:27:04 -0800, son_of_flubber wrote:

I don't think that word means what I think it means. Inconceivable!

Which word?


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Saturday, January 11, 2014 11:09:49 AM UTC-5, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jan 2014 15:27:04 -0800, son_of_flubber wrote:



I don't think that word means what I think it means. Inconceivable!



Which word?

The one in quotes.

On Sat, 11 Jan 2014 08:48:17 -0800, son_of_flubber wrote:

On Saturday, January 11, 2014 11:09:49 AM UTC-5, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jan 2014 15:27:04 -0800, son_of_flubber wrote:
The one in quotes.

OK. I used it as shorthand for "launch site that's not shown on air
navigation charts and not NOTAMed".

I don't have any Swedish charts or access to their NOTAMs (do you?) so,
as I've said previously, I can't tell whether the field is marked on
Swedish charts or whether winching at this location should be NOTAMed.
Hence I have no idea whether doing so was breaking any regulations.

All I can say is that the winch appears to be on a permanent microlite/
hang gliding site and that, IMO, makes it a place that should not be
overflown in the way that it was.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Saturday, January 11, 2014 1:30:30 PM UTC-5, Martin Gregorie wrote:

I don't have any Swedish charts or access to their NOTAMs (do you?)

No (the event took place in Norway). I have only hearsay information from internet forums where someone commented that a NOTAM was not required for paraglider winching prior to this event, but the regulatory agency changed the rule consequent to this event.

Since I have no experience with winching, the concept of an errant airplane running into a winch cable is new to me and therefore interesting. It's not something that is often mentioned.

You have experience with winching and therefore see the event from a completely different perspective. Your matter-of-fact comment that errant airplanes commonly enter winch zones was also interesting to me.