On Jun 5, 8:22*am, "john hawkins" wrote:
I have recently started gliding again after a long absense. I no longer have
funds to support my power plane habit and am soaring as less expensive means
of getting airborne. I am surprised to see that winch tows in the USA are
still almost non existant. Why not. Surely a winch is much cheaper than a
tow plane. I see that a new winch is manufactured in CA but My god the
price!

I would appreciate readers of the new group to educate me.

Presuming you're the NC Hawkins, winching is being done in Florida and
South Carolina. There's some auto tow also done in South Carolina,
but privately. I've previously suggested to a member of NCSA at
Harnett County Regional that they consider winching (which I believe
the club did at another location in their past). There's space and it
can be done safely as at municipal/public airports in MN, TX, OK, CO,
NV, CA, NY, and soon in WA. There's also winching at clubs in LA, PA,
AZ, and auto tow in some other places.

Frank Whiteley