Winch Signals

On 10 Apr, 09:15, Derek Copeland wrote:
At 21:00 09 April 2009, John Galloway wrote:

Nowadays the pilot does not call launch commands. When he has accepted a
cable attachment he is deemed to be ready to launch and the the wing
runner (or a designated other) is responsible for making the calls
properly.

When I first started gliding in the UK, the pilot used to control the
launch by holding up one finger, stationary, for 'up slack' and then two
fingers, waved in a sort of Churchillian Victory salute, for all out. The
problem was that student pilots often went on signalling all the way up
the launch and would then make a grab for the wrong knob when they got to
the top. I had students who tried to open the canopy, or pull the flap or
airbrake levers, when trying to release the cable!

When the arrangement outlined by John above came into force, there was
quite a lot of British resistance to it, as it was felt to be too
'French'.

Not just for that reason. The ostensible reason for the change was to
make sure that pilots had a hand free for the release in an emergency.
One might well point out that there ain't a much better guarantee that
a hand is free (and not fiddling with the electronics) than seeing it
waving around but no, that didn't do. And so now we are all free to
have our hands on the release know when the launch starts, thereby
greatly increasing the change of an unintentional release. Which
someone will in due course notice, and change it all again.

The problem with the new system is that the ground launch controllers
have to be good (which is not always the case) and carefully briefed
if there is anything odd about the type. The worst problems I have had
are when the glider starts moving with a bit of a jerk and slackens
the cable a bit. In the old days one just continued with the "take up
slack" until things were all lined up again - now the prodent pilot
pulls the bung and shouts "stop" in case one has one of the idiot
signallers who thinks any movement of the glider is the cue for "all
out".

Ian