Gravity launch

Mark James Boyd wrote in message
news:3f7f48f1$1@darkstar...
I'm wondering if anyone regularly rolls gliders
down a cliff for launch.

I was thinking that a suitable slope off the edge of a cliff
would work just as well as any tow/winch/auto/bungee/rotax.
And if there is reliable lift nearby, you can come back and
land.

I know this is commonly done with hang gliders, but haven't
heard of a location that does this with gliders. Maybe somewhere
in the Sierras or Alps or something like that? Any of you
Europeans heard of something like this regularly used for gliders?
I'm thinking of a place where you launch, then find lift, do some
circles, and then come back and land.



At the Midland Gliding Club in the UK they still bungee launch when the
conditions are suitable.

Back in the 70's I regularly launched this way. On one occasion the ring was
not properly inserted into the (recessed) tow hook on my Dart 17r even
though a check indicated that it was. The 6 man launch team stretched out
the bungee ( 3 each side on the Y shape) and I had rolled forward about six
feet when the ring came off the hook. Unable to stop as the glider rolled on
down the rapidly steepening hill, the launching crew threw themselves down
as my wings passed over them. The glider rolled down the hill slowly
accelerating until a bump threw us in the air. With a lot of forward stick I
dived into the valley until it was safe to pull back and climb away in the
lift. The wind on the ridge was probably about 20/25 knots so flying speed
was attained fairly quickly.

Its not something I would like to repeat though.