The debate on the merits and technicalities of winch launching will
rage on ad infinitum as it has for years in the winch newsgroups.
However, in terms of winch safety the statistics for the UK and
Germany are very different. Winch launching on the Continent shows a
much lower accident rate than the British experience. In other cases a
mishandling of statistics paints an out-of-focus picture. For example
an article published in Soaring magazine a while back quoted
statistics from a very small sample group to make a point about winch
safety. The article was very much off-base and was a poor piece of
work based on insufficient data. The German study, however, does
appropriately apply statistical analysis to an appropriate sample
size.

I am surprised that no one has asked the question: Is it sensible to
winch launch a 50-year old wooden glider, in which the type has had
reported structural issues? A quick look at the UK winch accident
records seems to involve a disproportionate number of old gliders and
marginal winch equipment. Having flown at winch operations in both the
UK and Germany, my limited experience has been that the Germans
(generally speaking) are operating with better equipment than may be
the case in the UK. (Yes, of course there are some operations in the
UK with all the latest stuff and good procedures. But on the grand
average maybe not as good as on the Continent.)

So when the original question is asked, the first context should be –
Really? Winch launching 50-year old wood wing gliders?

Bob