Boris, thanks for your reply.

It is great to hear about all the auto launching that is going on (many replies so far) worldwide, including your club in Croatia. For me, auto launching still seems greatly underutilized here in the USA. It still appears to be, by far, the most affordable (and simple) method of glider launch (if the flying site has the space).

I still find it ironic that many club members (or customers of commercial operations) seem to complain about costs (here in the US) but very few clubs or commercial operations seem to practice auto launching in general. I think being towed into the air by a car has more romance or appeal that a noisy airplane at 400 ft per minute! Many club members (and leaders) seem almost nostalgically tied to the idea of having an expensive and maintenance hungry towplane or winch. To a certain segment of these clubs the towplane or winch is probably their favorite part of the club. Perhaps the idea of auto towing might Be a threat to or risk taking away the importance of the expensive toy? For me, auto luanching seems even more nostalgic and cool, especially for training and club ops.

At my commercial operation in Michigan, a tow to 2000 AGL is now just under $50. Towing expenses are the highest portion of training costs. Therefore this is an important cost to manage. Imagine how many more pilots would be able to afford glider training if towing costs were reduced by 30, 50, 50 or even 75 percent? The 50 training aero tows required to get a glider rating can cost up to $2500. Imagine if that cost was only $1000? Many will cite that soaring clubs have lower aero-tow fees. True, but you must also factor in that the student must the pay for the club membership and put In the required time serving the club in return (time=money). That is a real cost as well.

Unfortunately for me, the location I fly from is an active public airport (rarely used but still public) and auto launching is not a great option for them. This is also true of a good portion of other clubs and commercial operations here in the USA unfortunately. That said many do have the space to auto tow. Perhaps more US clubs should be located at facilities suitable for auto towing?

In regards to Hobbs New Mexico, USA, it is a huge abandoned WWII air base with greater than 10,000 foot runways (800 feet wide). I just did a search of "glider club Hobbs New Mexico" and nothing really came up. This might be associated with the SSA (Soaring Society of America). I'll keep looking for more info and perhaps some video. I'm sure someone here has more knowledge about the Hobbs operation that conducted the auto towing during the 2015 18 meter/Club/Open nationals.

Sean