Winch Launch Safety Study

Just think about it. Why does the tail go down into the ground at the
beginning of the launch, despite full forward stick? Because there is
little to no air moving over the elevator to overcome the pitch up
moment produced by the rope tension when the glider fist begins to
move forward at 0.1 seconds into the launch. This effect can continue
after the glider leaves the ground if the rope tension is too high.

If there is no stall and accident, then yes the airspeed will continue
to build up very quickly and so will elevator authority and the AOA
can be moved back to larger margins quickly by the pilot, so long as
tension doesn't continue to increase. However, there is a specific
rope tension for any airspeed within the first phase of the launch
(initial angle vector of rope VS horizontal), after which the maximum
AOA will be exceeded due to the pitch up moment and limited elevator
authority to prevent a stall.

In all my years, I have never even seen an accident on the winch,
where anything was damaged. Plenty of incidents, but everything
always turned out well. So what we're talking about here is to make it
even safer than it already is.
Thomas Vallarino
Manhattan Beach, California