Wallace,

Yes, that's the one. First, let me say that I don't
represent my club, so anything I say in this thread
is my thought alone. There are people smart about
winching in our club, I'm just trying to learn, and
maybe contribute something to the group.

The first thing I heard about this winch was that we'd
remove the cable and replace it with something like
the 'Plasma' on the other drum. Do you know how long
those lines are?

I was thinking about the retreive winch, and it seems
to me that our old winch will be serious overkill,
if it would even work. My gut feel is that something
like a snowmobile engine with a centrifugal clutch
would work, if that's enough power. What would you
use for a drum?

I was also thinking about using the parts of some small
car, like a Geo Metro, which has a 3-cyl front drive
system, maybe about 1 liter. I'd modify the differential
by welding the spider gears solid, so that you could
run with only one axle, and keep the seat and engine
as is. Probably take off the roof, and build a lexan
protective shield with expanded metal mesh over it
to keep the driver and possibly trainee safe from mishaps.
Might even be able to use either an original wheel,
or some different larger wheel without a tire as the
retreive drum. Brakes would already be there, just
stop off the lines for the 3 wheels that are removed.
Use the foot throttle and brake. Have to make a guillotine,
unless there are commercial ones for sale. If I wanted
to, I could do something like that myself, I'm pretty
sure. I could make it something that I could haul
in the back of my (or any) pickup, or tow behind.
I'd imagine I could find such a car at a junkyard,
wrecked in the rear, but with the front intact. Remove
all the parts I don't need, leave all the wiring intact,
and hook the steering gear up to rotate the winch within
a small range to allow some kind of aiming to keep
it pointed at the chute, and maybe act somewhat as
a level wind. How much tension do you suppose is required
to retreive? Any idea of what kind of speeds would
be used? Seems like you would use enough to keep the
chute full, and maybe the line in the air as long as
possible.

Ed