To see Lasham's retrieve winch set in action see URL:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1Slucbodmzo

In normal club use we get about 25 launches per hour
from this set up. The biggest problem is getting pilots
in their gliders and ready to launch. That is why we
line gliders up 3 at a time, so at least the second
two are ready! If all pilots were ready to launch and
we had a good team of helpers, we could easily achieve
30 launches an hour or more. We use just one drum and
4.7 mm steel cable on a normal two-drum Tost winch.
The retrieve winch is a Skylaunch product fitted with
2.5 mm steel cable: see www.skylaunchuk.com

Derek Copeland





At 23:24 27 November 2007, Marc Ramsey wrote:
tommytoyz wrote:
Bartek,
Most winches have more than one drum. In Europe, one
winch can have up
to 8 separate drums and lines. This enables a launch
every 3 minutes
or less.
http://www.hydrostart.nl/EN/

I've watched them launch gliders at Lasham at that
rate using a single
drum of a Tost winch and a retrieve winch. There is
a price to be paid,
of course, maybe 200 feet less altitude (if that much),
but a retrieve
winch is somewhat less expensive than upgrading to
an 8 drum Hydrostart...

Marc