wrote:
In our winch clinic last week, the paraglider folks we shared the dry
lake with, seemed surprised we could get something as big as a Blanik
off the ground with a long steel cable.

Their tandem instructor asked our CFIG, "what was the largest gross
weight sailplane ever ground launched". Never really thought about it
before.

Received my winch checkout in PA in a 1,200 lb. Slingsby T-53. Lots of
airfoil, climbed great.

Starting a "can you top this" thread....

Thanks,

Michael

Go to http://www.luftarchiv.de/ and select 'English'. Then select from
the main menue Misc. Apparatus and scroll down to the photo showing a
He-111 being 'winch-launched'. Not exactly a glider but nevertheless, a
clever idea to get a power plane airborne quickly and much cheaper than
with RATO or JATO devices.

Uli Neumann