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#21
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Speaking of launches, any luck looking into those tow rings, Gary?
Paul "goneill" wrote in message ... Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter ships) I have seen a video clip of a jantar 2 rolling off a hill somewhere in Poland I think, so as long as the hill has the right shape a rolling launch can launch just about any glider gary "Andy Blackburn" wrote in message ... At 17:00 26 December 2004, Shawn wrote: OscarCVox wrote: OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of tow vehicles or of tow planes does not count) Hmm I will try Autotow reverse pully auto tow Winch winch with winch retrieve Bungey Shoulder launch aerotow Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that they used a horse and a tow rope at Dunstable pre war) Now i am stuck. Any others? Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows) Rocket launch Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n Pay-out winch Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the deck of a carrier?) Not sure what a shoulder launch is - with my ship it would be tough on the old rotator cuff. I think a Navy cat would likely rip the whole tow hook mechanism right out of the fuselage. How about: Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter ships) Bungee launch (requires being on a hill) Self-launch (Eric's favorite) Foot launch (for ultralights) Kite launch (needs a lot of wind and some form of mental defect on the part of all concerned) Tornado launch (typical in central and southern US - always with bad results) reductio ad absurdum... 9B |
#22
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OscarCVox wrote:
OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of tow vehicles or of tow planes does not count) Hmm I will try Autotow reverse pully auto tow Winch winch with winch retrieve Bungey Shoulder launch aerotow Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that they used a horse and a tow rope at Dunstable pre war) Now i am stuck. Any others? Me162 was rocket launched glider. (So are Starship one and the Space Shuttles) Kiting with no ground run - (know of one inadvertent launch this way.) Self launch with internal combustion (piston reciprocating and turbine) |
#23
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Aircraft Carrier Tow - just remembered, honest, I've
seen the photo's. At 09:00 27 December 2004, Mike Lindsay wrote: In article , Shawn writes OscarCVox wrote: OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of tow vehicles or of tow planes does not count) Hmm I will try Autotow reverse pully auto tow Winch winch with winch retrieve Bungey Shoulder launch aerotow Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that they used a horse and a tow rope at Dunstable pre war) Now i am stuck. Any others? Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows) Rocket launch Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n Pay-out winch Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the deck of a carrier?) Gravity rope launch. AFAIK this has never been tried. You need a disused mine shaft at one end of the runway, you set up a great big pulley over it. You run a cable from the other end of the runway, over the pulley and attach it to a weight. Yo let the weight go and as it falls it pulls the glider into the air. Then you heave the weight up again. There is a club in the west of England that has several disused tin mines nearby. Hmm. -- Mike Lindsay |
#24
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Shawn wrote:
OscarCVox wrote: OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of tow vehicles or of tow planes does not count) Hmm I will try Autotow reverse pully auto tow Winch winch with winch retrieve Bungey Shoulder launch aerotow Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that they used a horse and a tow rope at Dunstable pre war) Now i am stuck. Any others? Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows) Rocket launch Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n Pay-out winch Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the deck of a carrier?) There was an article in S & G some years ago concerning some experiments done by the Fleet Air Arm just after WWII looking at airflows around aircraft carriers. IIRC they used a Slingsby Tutor modified with chord extensions to give an extremely low stalling speed: this was tethered, with pilot in, and became airborne easily behind a ship steaming into wind. Not sure if this counts. |
#25
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Chris Rollings wrote:
I think the horse at Dunstable was only used to pull gliders to the top of the (300 feet or so) hill, where they were bungee launched. The version I heard may be a bit harder to substantiate but is rather more colourful. Apparently the horse was used to provide the power to extend the bungee. The system apparently worked well until the occasion when the bungee broke while under almost full tension. The horse immediately went into a full gallop towards the horizon and was never seen again. |
#26
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"Andy Blackburn" wrote in message ... I believe the Wright brothers used a falling weight tied to a pulley system -- 22 Also the proposed launch system for the "Colditz Cock" -- bathtub down a chimney launch. Tim Ward |
#27
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"Shawn" sdotherecurry@bresnananotherdotnet wrote in message ... OscarCVox wrote: OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of tow vehicles or of tow planes does not count) Hmm I will try Autotow reverse pully auto tow Winch winch with winch retrieve Bungey Shoulder launch aerotow Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that they used a horse and a tow rope at Dunstable pre war) Now i am stuck. Any others? Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows) Rocket launch Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n Pay-out winch Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the deck of a carrier?) Helicopter tow has also been done (without the drop bit). Crane drops have been done a couple of times, but the gliders weren't rigged so the resulting flight was short and pilotless. At least one resulted in a water landing. I seem to recall another pitched off the top of the containers in a 'storm launch'.;^) I seem to recall pictures of horse tows of Primary gliders from a book I've thumbed through. One of John Campbell's IIRC. Here's one unsuccessful hybrid horse/bungee attempt http://www.aerofiles.com/memories.html There's are accounts of horse tows of the Baby Albatross here http://www.twitt.org/MitchellHistory.html Frank Whiteley |
#28
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Vorsanger1 wrote:
Actually, when I first posted and asked about naming 10 ways to launch, I was hoping to get some *practical* methods applicable to sailplanes. The proposed solutions so far remind me of the old joke for the definition of a consultant: a fellow who knows 37 positions for sex, but does not have a girlfriend of his own. Cheers, Charles Aw Charles that's cruel. (Still no towplane in Salida, but two prospects-at the moment.) Shawn |
#29
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At 14:30 27 December 2004, Richard Brisbourne wrote:
Chris Rollings wrote: I think the horse at Dunstable was only used to pull gliders to the top of the (300 feet or so) hill, where they were bungee launched. The version I heard may be a bit harder to substantiate but is rather more colourful. Apparently the horse was used to provide the power to extend the bungee. The system apparently worked well until the occasion when the bungee broke while under almost full tension. The horse immediately went into a full gallop towards the horizon and was never seen again. You wouldn't be, either, if the bungee broke at the glider end and it whacked your butt! |
#30
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that was a Paul Simon reference
"Vorsanger1" wrote in message ... "There must be fifty ways.." says Bob K. OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of tow vehicles or of tow planes does not count) Cheers, Charles |
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