On Thursday, October 8, 2015 at 5:09:52 AM UTC+11, wrote:
On Wednesday, October 7, 2015 at 10:56:08 AM UTC-5, wrote:
On Wednesday, October 7, 2015 at 12:26:10 AM UTC-6, Surge wrote:

The only gripe I have with winch launching is that the gliders I have looked at so far are not supposed to be winch launched with water ballast on board which limits the usefulness of the winch on booming days.

Which gliders are those?

Just went through my LS8-18 manual, no restrictions regarding winch tow with water except for min speed to be above 120 km/h or 65 knots, 74 mph. Winch launching with at least partial water is very common in Europe.

I have done a lot of winch launches over the years none with water as unless it is a big field my issue is can I still land ahead and stop with the extra weight if the cable breaks.

Its great for winter flying and training though. I have also come across aero tow pilots who have had little experience thermalling below 1500 feet agl where a winch trained pilot is happy at 800 feet agl.