"toad" wrote in message
s.com...
sniped good points on winch
Earn money with a winch, spend it on new gliders.

I got 2 questions about setting up a winch operation.

1) How the hell do you get qualified to fly off a winch in the US ?

I have been looking for a operation that I can learn to winch
with,
and 1 club in Texas seems the only place that I could do it.

There are an increasing number of clubs in the US using winches. The
Southern California area is quite active - see Region 12 newsletter. There
are at least three clubs in Texas using winches - In Houston, Odessa and, I
think, San Antonio. Prescott, AZ uses a winch. I'm sure there are many
more.

2) How much land do you need to run a winch launch that can get the
glider to 1500-2000 ft altitude ?

Typically, you can expect 40% of the starting cable length in no-wind
conditions. A highly optimized launch using Spectra/Dyneema can get 50%.
So, 2000 feet AGL will require a 4000 - 5000 foot runway. Launches into a
wind will be higher.

Gliders with less than 30:1 L/D or those with poorly placed CG hooks will
suffer lower launches - above 30:1 there's not much difference between
gliders. 2-33's with only a nose hook are not well suited for winch launch.

There are a number of winch qualified instructors, myself included, who will
travel to new winch sites to help get them started.

Bill Daniels