Auto-Towing - why is this not more popular?

On Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at 6:45:08 AM UTC-6, Nigel Pocock wrote:
The former Enstone GC in the UK used autotow for several years.
Parafil
wa=
s used as it could be dragged along the tarmac without
appreciable wear.
P=
arafil is not pulley friendly (they tried). It was easily spliced.
Case study,
http://linearcomposites.net/media/pa...e_study_13.pdf

The club moved on to winches before we wore out the parafil.
1500ft plus
l=
aunches were done on a 500m length using an XJ-6 Jaguar with
275hp. We
jus=
t pulled it back to the launch point at 65mph. Near tangled
though we did
=
snag a couple of things in the tall grass on the north side of the
runway.

That engine replaced the 150hp Bedford diesel in one of the ex-
ATC
winches.=
Another winch was refitted with the motor and transmission from
a stolen
=
Rolls Royce that was burned on the airfield one night.

I don't think the third ex-ATC winch was ever put into service
before the
c=
lub folded.

Maybe some lurker knows the fate of those winches.

Frank Whiteley

I learned to fly at Enstone in the late 70s but my recollections of
parafil are very different. Once the outer sheath had been worn
through on retrieves the cable broke on about 1 in 5 launches.
Since we were using scrapper cars we mounted the cable
attatchment in the middle of the roof. This solved the problem of
lifting the weight off the rear wheels when towing.
We also built a special which used a Ford Transit pickup with a mid
mounted 4.2litre Jaguar engine. We retained the original axle which
gave us very good acceleration but a top speed of about 60mph.

I now fly at Lasham which used to use Autotow. We now use
modern winches which give better and safer launches to 1700-
2000ft on a normal day. The cost of buying, maintaining and
running costs of autotow were much higher than the winch in the
UK. Gasoline about $7.50 a gallon here. Winch runs on LPG.


Interesting. I can only recall 2-3 repairs. We knotted the dacron in a protective rubber bumper. We did move in winches within a year, so I really only had a single season with the parafil. Enjoyed the Jag though.

Frank Whiteley