On Thursday, October 8, 2015 at 1:27:33 PM UTC-6, Stephen Damon wrote:
Frank W. What kind of wire are people using and where to get it, Please. Just now learning about winch use.

WRT Reverse Pulley, wire was 13 gauge BS5216 'Shiney Bright" piano wire. 10 gauge was tried but the weight caused flats to wear more quickly on the 'memory' coils in the wire, so would break more often. No idea where to get in bulk. Not sure this would be insurable in the US. The Cotswold system was retired a few years ago. There was another system at Essex GC at North Weald also. Rather different design with high inertial pulleys.

Parafil is a sole-source product AFAIK. Google is your friend.

Winching in the US. We formerly used solid wire, then migrated to 3/16" 7/7 galvanized steel wire rope. Not insurable under the SSA Group Plan any longer. Now using Amsteel Blue. I have a vendor that has been pretty consistent with best pricing. However, it may be possible to secure Plasma 12 (virtually the same) for similar but I've never pushed a distributor for best price. UHMWPE ropes come in different flavors. The ropes mentioned are the higher performance brands. Dyneema 75 is the base fiber for Amsteel Blue. Spectra is the base product for Plasma12 There is a Yahoo group called winchdesign. Become a member.

Frank Whiteley