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Fellow glider pilots,
First, I apologize for the length of this post. Our club has acquired a new powerful 2-drum winch, and I've been wondering about how to best operate it. We have operated an older single drum winch successfully, which works but is apparently a bit weak. We have about 3800 feet for winch use. There has been some talk about using the old winch for a retreive winch, and using only one drum of the new winch, and that has prompted all these questions. I've read Piggot's Ground Launches book, and he barely mentions retreive winching. Following, in no particular order, are some of these questions: What about emergencies? Suppose the glider releases or the rope breaks at 400'? Will those lines up in the air cause any difficulty for the glider, or any possibility of interference? It seems possible that the lines, being under tension from both ends, will come down quicker than the glider does. Looking from the glider viewpoint of making a safe landing somewhere on the field, regardless of runways, there is a possibility of running over the towlines. We don't have skid-equipped gliders any more, so that really shouldn't be a problem, but I could see the lines catching on gear doors, etc. Another thing, what keeps the glider from running over the retreive line on takeoff? I suppose that would be prevented by, for example, having the takeoff point where it usually is, even with the middle of the driveway, but having the retreive winch offset a few dozen yards to one side. That would keep the retreive line out of line with the glider, at least until the glider got off, then the weight of the strop would make it hang below the glider. This might make the retreive winch need some kind of steering device, maybe made from a car steering system, which would keep the winch pointing at the glider/parachute. Yet another thing, it seems that doing this right will require more communications between the two winch operators than the simple radio checks from one winch to the glider. I would see it as the main winch operator being in command, and telling the retreive winch operator what to do. Maybe a command sequence something like: (main to retreive) Ready to launch (retreive to main) winch drum in neutral Main winch starts launch Glider releases (main to retreive) Glider overhead, apply brake (to stop the retreive drum from overrunning) (main to retreive) Glider off, main winch in neutral, begin retreive (retreive to main) 500' left, begin braking (to stop the main drum from overrunning) (retreive to main) Retreive complete This would seem like a lot of communications to use over the regular aviation frequencies. Has any thought been given to using FRS radios for this function? The main winch could have two different push-to-talk buttons, one for glider communications, the other for the FRS radio. I assume the winch operators would be wearing headsets, which could be stereo, with the two radio circuits in different ears, and mike switching with relays based on which PTT switch was pressed. I'm not sure the retreive winch operator needs to talk on the glider channel, just to listen. What kind of line do you use on the retreive winch? By my crude calculations, I think we would need at least 4500' of retreive cable, maybe 5000'. Am I making this too complicated? Speed of operations is nice, but safety comes first. I know there are people or clubs out there who are already doing this safely and successfully. If you could point to, or send me, any operations manuals or procedures, I'd appreciate it. Thanks, Ed |
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