On Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 9:53:08 AM UTC-5, Sean Fidler wrote:
Shaking my head. You are missing the point entirely.

Really? Other way around, if you ask me...

First, we are in the USA, not Europe. There are endless options for auto-towing in the USA. See earlier post describing a great day in Cadillac, MI.

Yep, we're in 'Murica, where all glider clubs have 10,000 ft runways or dry lakebeds to use for auto-towing. I guess here in St Louis we can just go over to Scott AFB/Mid America and use their spare runway (cuz they sure don't use it much!). Othewise, our nice little 2300' grass strip is just a tad short for that super-efficient auto-tow. Bummer, dude.

This "winch, winch, winch" obsession demonstrated on this thread is a big part of the problem for auto-towing I imagine. Ridiculous, but a sad reality. Soaring would be more popular and less expensive if auto-towing was more prevalent. Think colleges for example. Every college could have a soaring program with auto-towing. If it was encouraged as a low cost, minimalist means of soaring, almost anyone could afford it.

Good luck getting ANY college to get involved in ANY soaring club these days!
"Hey professor, can we borrow your Porsche Cayenne this weekend, the college glider club is going to do some launches down main street in their new Arcus!"

Imagine how many more "clubs" could exist on a simple auto-tow strategy. Or, small groups could form without the full club organization required to afford, maintain and manage expensive winches, towplanes, etc. Or, if you want to justify a winch expenditure in your club for the future, why not try auto-towing at first to prove the concept, then go for a winch? Or, why not have both auto-towing and winching in your clubs "arsenal" simply to have the ability to teach/train/utilize all launching methods? We have wave camps, wouldn't an auto-tow camp be fun once in awhile? No, no, no...blasphemy? Maybe near some airport along a ridge or on a beach as the Brits posted earlier.

Knock yourself out - set it up!

What a depressing lack of vision and freedom displayed on this thread. Why the "kill auto-towing" press here boys. It makes no sense. There can be both, can there not?

Do you even read the responses? No-one is trying to "kill auto-towing" - in fact, several clubs actively use the method on special occasions, where there is suitable locations. But you asked why auto-towing wasn't more popular, and got a lot of educated, experienced answers. Deal with it!

And, if winches are so great, why are they not "gloriously" hard at work at every US club "in mass?" If I took you all at your word, winches should be roaring away everywhere, should they not? The truth is that winches are actually quite rare in the USA. Are they not? Why is this? Why is Europe apparently succeeding with winches when the USA is clearly not?

Two reasons: Cheap fuel and cheap Pawnees (compared to Europe). In case you haven't noticed, there is a resurgence of interest in hi-tech winches in the US as fuel prices and availability of avgas, and the dwindling supply of cheap towplanes, make winching appealing again.

I have my answer boys. I really do. It is: Few understand the benefits of auto-towing and this is why it is dead in the USA. Everything is boiled down to a club mentality. Nothing left to discuss here. Got it. Thank you!

Wow, you really have your head deep in the sand! Auto-towing is not at all dead in the US - and it's limitations are well recognized. Your reading comprehension is a bit suspect, though!

Perhaps go start a "Winches are great (wait, we're is ours again)" thread? Good luck with this. I'll certainly look forward to commenting, "in kind." A fact base discussion I'll look forward too.

Winches have already been discussed at length on RAS. Just curious, have you ever done a winch launch or a car launch?

Sean
7T

Kirk
66
(Pawnee tow pilot who also likes winch launches)