Wanting to start a new glider club

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 2:29:30 AM UTC-4, Surge wrote:
If it were up to me I'd consider winch launching seeing as those mountains are very conveniently located.

Some advantages of a winch operation:
1. I would think that a second hand winch would be much cheaper to purchase than a type certified, tug aircraft. You don't need the latest SkyLaunch system to get gliders airborne.
2. Operational expenses of a winch are typically a fraction of those of a type certified aircraft. No annual inspections, no mandatory expensive overhaul schedules, much lower fuel consumption per launch, etc. A tug costs money to maintain even if it sits in a hangar doing nothing over winter.
3. You don't require a pilot with a tug rating. Sourcing and retaining tug rated pilots appears to be a problem for a number of soaring operations around the world.

I'm sure Bruno from Utah Soaring Association (Nephi) would be able to point you in the right direction if you are interested in setting up a winch launching operation. https://sites.google.com/site/nephisoaring/about-us

If you don't want to buy a brand new factory built winch or build one for yourself, consider buying a used one and importing it. Take a look he
http://www.segelflug.de/osclass/inde...&sCategory=107
A 40' container with a DG500 in a trailer from Bremerhaven to Charleston, SC cost us under 2,000€. For most winches, a 20' one will do. Granted, you would have to add the transport to MT but that would still be cheaper than buying and maintaining a tug.
Building a winch from scratch is a fun club project but to get it right, seek the advice of those who have done it - this is not a 'hold my beer - watch this' project.

Uli
'AS'