SAFE Winch Launching

On Jul 11, 9:36*am, bildan wrote:
On Jul 11, 2:00*am, Derek Copeland wrote:

At my club we typically get about 1600ft in no wind and

2000ft launching into a 10 knot headwind. Our standard aerotows are 2000ft,
but you can go as high as you like, depending on your needs and the depth
of your wallet.

This week we were getting as high as 1900' from 3900 feet of rope at
9000 feet density altitude with little wind with the Hydrowinch. *With
no gear shifting at all, the Hydrowinch is MUCH smoother than any
winch with an automatic transmission.

Skylaunches are just like old Gerhleins with new paint - they use
exactly the same components. *They are not particularly well
controlled since they use road vehicle torque converters and automatic
transmissions free to shift gears when they please. *The old junk
Gerhleins around most US clubs are probably the only winches in the
world worse than a Skylaunch - but they are a LOT cheaper.

BTW, notice how Derek has to reply to himself to get any conversation
at all?

That you, Lennie?

-T8