On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 12:39:40 PM UTC-5, Sean Fidler wrote:
Winching seems fine, but auto towing seems less complex to me and far less expensive. Of course clubs are always working to find a way to stamp out as many cycles as possible (quantity). For smaller groups or just a few (or when looking for absolute minimum cost), auto towing seems more elegant (quality)! Rigging up that loud spinning monster seems like overkill in many cases.

I'm going to plan an auto-towing event in Michigan next summer for the fun of it, maybe up in Frankfort so we can go ridge soaring on the dunes.

Book: https://books.google.com/books?id=K4...oaring&f=false

More later...

Sean
7T

Have you ever been on a modern 2-drum winch, Sean? With a trained crew and a good winch driver you can launch 2 gliders every 10 min without the hassle of dealing with 3-4000' of cable. Have you considered what auto-launch is like with a good cross-wind? No real problem with a winch because the cable ends up on the reel - all of it. Ignorance is sometimes bliss, you know.
Herb J7