Hi All, I have flown from the Long Myndd, which at 1600ft asl is the
highest gliding club in UK, situated on a 4 mile long N/S ridge.
So as long as there is more than a 15 knot Westerly wind it does not
really matter how high you get on the winch... you WILL GO UP !
They are the only club still able to use Bungee Launching, to catapult a
glider the 50 or so yards from the ridge top, into the rising ridge lift.

As for the recent Winch Launching debate, we did find that the woven
Dynema cable used on a SkyLaunch winch did break quite often. This was
thought to be because it was used in muddy conditions, or on an abrasive
tarmac runway. It was replaced by some sort of normal 3 strand plastic
rope (8 and 10 mm.) which was easier to splice, and gave better results.
These nylon ropes do stretch a bit first on 'All Out' and can give a
very quick initial acceleration, only limited by the weak link I guess.

A good winch driver is the best 'constant tension' device, he can judge
the tension from the cab, by looking at the bow in the cable. If its too
much he winds it in a bit faster, and if it is as tight as a bow string,
he just backs off the power a little.

Pete