At 23:33 16 December 2006, Derek Copeland wrote:
I thought that was exactly the point I was trying to
make! Stick position is type dependent. Where you hold
the stick and how much you have to pull back, or push
forward, may be different to what you are used to,
if you fly a different type of glider. It depends on
the hook position, the exact c of g and centre of pressure,
and the trim position. The advice I gave was to hold
the stick in a position that gives the optimum angle
of climb for your type of winch. Full stop, period!

Real life winch launching takes place using different
types of gliders in differing wind strengths. No one
throttle setting can cover all cases. If you launched
a slow glider (e.g. a K8) into a 45 knot headwind,
you could stop the winch altogether once it has got
airborne and allow it to launch like a kite. The wind
would be providing the energy while the winch would
just act as an anchor point on the ground. Conversely
launching a heavy two seater on a still day with a
moderately powerful winch might require absolutely
full throttle.

Derek Copeland
Yep, what he said.
If you take a winch launch with a really skilled winch driver you will
experience a constant speed all the way up the launch. How is that
done? There are a combination of things that can give clues to the
winch driver, the bow in the cable, if it is wire, does not work so
well with dynema/sky rope. Marked throttle settings as on a
Skylaunch winch can help but it really is a matter of feel and
experience. For most glass gliders 55-65kts seems to work best.
I always reduce power at the top, back to idle once the glider gets
near to the max angle, instigating a back release, this avoids the
possibility of a loop if the cable is released under tension. It is
absolutely essential to ensure that the power is cut, before the
glider is vertically over the winch in nil/very low headwind
conditions, it is very unpleasant to have 1000ftl of cable drop on top
of the winch, it it can take a bit of time to get it off as well.