Ground launch and the incremental vanishing of soaring

"Mark James Boyd" wrote in message
news:4046baa4$1@darkstar...
I spent a good portion of the past few days looking into
auto-tow launching. After some fairly extensive
searching, I found that, as far as I can tell, nobody has
used auto-tow OR winch launch at a public airport
in four years.

LaGrange-Callaway GA (SES) used to do winch, and according to the airport
manager that was stopped there because it interfered with the
traffic there.

Efficiency and safety are likely to get in the way, politically. We have
ground launched at the local public airport on a demonstration basis during
open hours day with lots of power traffic. However on a day to day basis
the airport manager apparently has rejected CAP plans to aerotow from the
same airport. Why the CAP stopped to ask, I have no idea. Safety was a
minor issue until the taxiways were built. Before that, pilots had to back
taxi on the main runway. I know the airport manager of another local public
airport would love to have us use our winch at his facility (In fact, he's
an instructor at our club). Using main runways with lights is likely a bad
choice in any event. Eventually something will go wrong. A wide grassy
area paralleling the runway might be good, but modern drainage engineering
has made these areas less friendly. Since we have our own airfield, we tend
to confine our winching there.

There are a few publicly funded, uncontrolled airports in on the western
Colorado slope that have been used for ground launch. These are a bit
remote, but great soaring areas and would make excellent camp sites. In
fact, winch launching or auto tow are logistically easier as there's not
avgas on site, meaning an extra vehicle to haul drums if the tow plane comes
along. We plan on using one private (6000') and one public strip (7000')
for winching this summer. Our club used to have a winch wave camp each
September (something we'd like to revive) at a strip to the west
http://www.soarcsa.org/images/pikwinch.jpg. Those are the Steamboats in the
distance. The pilot in the image got his Diamond altitude from the winch at
that site IIRC.

Bend, Oregon couldn't remember when auto-tow was used last, and
after my call the city engineer suggested perhaps they should change the
"auto-tow by special request" to "no auto-tows allowed."
So my inquiry actually perhaps has now closed even the possibility at that
airport.

Does anyone know of a US public airport that has allowed auto-tow
in the past five years? How about winch?

This was quite troubling to me. It seems public airports have
rejected ground launch entirely. I wonder when aero-tow out of
public airports will completely disappear as well, including
aero-retrieve.
Public airport managers certainly can prohibit (in writing) a person
from walking on the runway and hooking up a towline. I suppose a
careful reading of just about every airport policy document already
prohibits this.

I hadn't really believed this until I talked to four airport managers.
Without a clear YES from the Calif. public airport insurance "pool",
and no overriding benefit to the airport, it looks like (non-self launch)
gliders can generally use public airports legally only as
landouts to trailer from. Sure, sure they turn a blind eye to
the occasional aero-retrieve, but if anything happened, the
"walked on the runway" illegality would absolve the airport of any
liability...

Soaring departures from private and military/CAP airports only?
I guess that's pretty much it. And if most gliders sold are mostly
motorgliders, I'm guessing even tow will become more rare.

Does anyone know the numbers of public airports that used to
have tow or ground launch operations years ago vs. today?

Hmmm...I was a bit surprised at how little the "public" airports
support soaring. Well, at least they make good landouts...

If you want unencumbered access for soaring, something like this is prudent
http://www.airsailing.org/

Although it may be also quiet cheap to lease land on a long term lease (when
compared to buying and paying taxes) and set up a ground launch operation.
I can show you places within a 45min drive of my place where we could quite
literally pay out 10K worth of spectra behind a vehicle and launch to great
heights. HG pilots use this area for auto launch frequently.

There are a number of interesting strips in the west. One potentially
excellent soaring site is at Powell, Wyoming where there is a 6000ft
airfield the ends over a 700ft drop into the prevailing winds;^). Another
site we plan on testing. There are a few other Parowan like sites around
the American West.

The places to look for are potential ridge top or ridge bottom sites. In
some cases a BLM patent can be secured and away you go. It just takes some
vision and initiative and a sensible approach. The SSA club committee
highly recommends organizing a 501c(3) and pressing ahead with securing
access to a primo site. Getting it close in may be problematic. Why PASCO
or RESCO don't own/operate winches is beyond me.

Frank Whiteley