Biggest Glider Ever Launched via Winch?

In our winch clinic last week, the paraglider folks we shared the dry
lake with, seemed surprised we could get something as big as a Blanik
off the ground with a long steel cable.

Their tandem instructor asked our CFIG, "what was the largest gross
weight sailplane ever ground launched". Never really thought about it
before.

Received my winch checkout in PA in a 1,200 lb. Slingsby T-53. Lots of
airfoil, climbed great.

Starting a "can you top this" thread....

Thanks,

Michael

I don't know about winch launch, but this looks like just an exciting
launch, with a 7500 lb gross wt. glider:

http://www.pointvista.com/WW2GliderP...rretrieval.htm

wrote:
In our winch clinic last week, the paraglider folks we shared the dry
lake with, seemed surprised we could get something as big as a Blanik
off the ground with a long steel cable.

Their tandem instructor asked our CFIG, "what was the largest gross
weight sailplane ever ground launched". Never really thought about it
before.

A starting point would be the Tost weak links for winch. The strongest is
the black 1000 Kg-force link used by gliders like the ASK-21, ASH-25.
Typically, the weak link is about 1.1 - 1.4 times the gross weight of the
glider.

The largest GLIDER was the Messerschmitt 321 gigant but I doubt they winched
it. http://www.waffenhq.de/flugzeuge/me321.html

Bill Daniels

" wrote in message
oups.com...
In our winch clinic last week, the paraglider folks we shared the dry
lake with, seemed surprised we could get something as big as a Blanik
off the ground with a long steel cable.

Their tandem instructor asked our CFIG, "what was the largest gross
weight sailplane ever ground launched". Never really thought about it
before.

Received my winch checkout in PA in a 1,200 lb. Slingsby T-53. Lots of
airfoil, climbed great.

Starting a "can you top this" thread....

Thanks,

Michael

Sarah wrote:
I don't know about winch launch, but this looks like just an exciting
launch, with a 7500 lb gross wt. glider:


Also have a look at the C-141 towing a QF-106, known as the Eclipse
project or "Dope on a Rope". Doubt I'd want to winch that one!
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/History/Pub...DF/Eclipse.pdf

Has anybody "step-towed" a sailplane? Using a pay-out winch in a
truck, tow the length of the runway. As the truck turns around and
winch operator keeps the slack under control, the glider does a wide
turn. The truck then heads back down the runway, paying out more line.
Jim

Jim, Gary Boggs (Oregon?) does the payout winch system with the 2-33, but I
have not seen him turn around, I don't think he has room on the airport for
that.

BT

"JS" wrote in message
ups.com...

Sarah wrote:
I don't know about winch launch, but this looks like just an exciting
launch, with a 7500 lb gross wt. glider:


Also have a look at the C-141 towing a QF-106, known as the Eclipse
project or "Dope on a Rope". Doubt I'd want to winch that one!
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/History/Pub...DF/Eclipse.pdf

Has anybody "step-towed" a sailplane? Using a pay-out winch in a
truck, tow the length of the runway. As the truck turns around and
winch operator keeps the slack under control, the glider does a wide
turn. The truck then heads back down the runway, paying out more line.
Jim

JS wrote:
Sarah wrote:
I don't know about winch launch, but this looks like just an exciting
launch, with a 7500 lb gross wt. glider:


Also have a look at the C-141 towing a QF-106, known as the Eclipse
project or "Dope on a Rope". Doubt I'd want to winch that one!
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/History/Pub...DF/Eclipse.pdf

Has anybody "step-towed" a sailplane? Using a pay-out winch in a
truck, tow the length of the runway. As the truck turns around and
winch operator keeps the slack under control, the glider does a wide
turn. The truck then heads back down the runway, paying out more line.
Jim
This was presented at one of the SSA conventions. The video included a
demo of the stability of the system as the F106 pilot was clearly
waving both hands to the camera.

(BTW, you really should come to a convention, you don't know what you
might be missing)

Frank Whiteley

Jim asked "Has anybody "step-towed" a sailplane? Using a pay-out winch
in a
truck, tow the length of the runway. As the truck turns around and
winch operator keeps the slack under control, the glider does a wide
turn. The truck then heads back down the runway, paying out more line."

Step launches, or "kiting" has been done by winch and tow car, but not
using the way Jim suggests as far as I know. In strong winds, the
car/truck can just stop, or even track slowly back; the winch can pay
out and then wind in again. It is similar to getting a kite higher
without running, by successively pulling on the string a bit and then
letting it out a lot.

The closest we came to Jim's method at North Weald in the old days of
truck tows was, in a cross wind, tow up the runway and turn into wind
at the end onto the peri track. The glider would have drifted downwind
from the main runway, meanwhile, so could be towed a bit further as the
truck continued into the cross wind. It did not gain much extra,
however - I think the main benefit came from not having to slow down
and stop within the length of the main runway.

Chris N.

I have not turned around at our airport during a tow, but we did it out
at the Alvord Desert! We made a very wide turn and ended the launch
back at camp where we had started. We regularly got to 2000ft to
2500ft, without having to turn around, but we have miles of dry lake to
use. The tow line back releases as soon as there is any slack, so I
can't see any way to turn around or back up at our airport, but I tried
something new the other day that did work very well. Given that we
have a set distance to tow here, I figured that if I aggressively
zigzagged the sailplane on the way up, I would effectively get a longer
tow. It worked very well and I got higher than I've ever gotten at
this airport, 1500ft agl. Our weather has not given us another chance
to work on perfecting this technique, but I think with good
communication and coordination between the pilot, the driver and the
winch operator, and a stronger wind, I just might be able to get as
high as 2000ft agl.

And on the subject of towing heavy gliders, I have winched our 2-32
with 3 people in it, I think we were probably close to 1400lbs, and it
worked surprisingly well.

I have not turned around at our airport during a tow, but we did it out
at the Alvord Desert! We made a very wide turn and ended the launch
back at camp where we had started. We regularly got to 2000ft to
2500ft without having to turn around, but we have miles of dry lake to
use. The tow line back releases as soon as there is any slack, so I
can't see any way to turn around or back up at our airport, but I tried
something new the other day that did work very well. Given that we
have a set distance to tow here, I figured that if I aggressively
zigzagged the sailplane on the way up, I would effectively get a longer
tow. It worked very well and I got higher than I've ever gotten at
this airport, 1500ft agl. Our weather has not given us another chance
to work on perfecting this technique, but I think with good
communication and coordination between the pilot, the driver and the
winch operator, and a stronger wind, I just might be able to get as
high as 2000ft agl.

And on the subject of towing heavy gliders, I have winched our 2-32
with 3 people in it, I think we were probably close to 1400lbs, and it
worked surprisingly well.

I have not turned around at our airport during a tow, but we did it out
at the Alvord Desert! We made a very wide turn and ended the launch
back at camp where we had started. We regularly got to 2000ft to
2500ft, without having to turn around, but we have miles of dry lake to
use. The tow line back releases as soon as there is any slack, so I
can't see any way to turn around or back up at our airport, but I tried
something new the other day that did work very well. Given that we
have a set distance to tow here, I figured that if I aggressively
zigzagged the sailplane on the way up, I would effectively get a longer
tow. It worked very well and I got higher than I've ever gotten at
this airport, 1500ft agl. Our weather has not given us another chance
to work on perfecting this technique, but I think with good
communication and coordination between the pilot, the driver and the
winch operator, and a stronger wind, I just might be able to get as
high as 2000ft agl.

And on the subject of towing heavy gliders, I have winched our 2-32
with 3 people in it, I think we were probably close to 1400lbs, and it
worked surprisingly well.