How Many Ways to Launch?

Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
I have seen a video clip of a jantar 2 rolling off a hill
somewhere in Poland I think, so as long as the hill has the
right shape a rolling launch can launch just about any
glider
gary


"Andy Blackburn" wrote in message
...
At 17:00 26 December 2004, Shawn wrote:
OscarCVox wrote:
OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of
tow vehicles or of tow
planes does not count)


Hmm I will try
Autotow
reverse pully auto tow
Winch
winch with winch retrieve
Bungey
Shoulder launch
aerotow
Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that
they used a horse and a
tow rope at Dunstable pre war)

Now i am stuck. Any others?


Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders
Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows)
Rocket launch
Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n
Pay-out winch
Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the
deck of a carrier?)


Not sure what a shoulder launch is - with my ship it
would be tough on the old rotator cuff. I think a
Navy cat would likely rip the whole tow hook mechanism
right out of the fuselage.

How about:
Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
Bungee launch (requires being on a hill)
Self-launch (Eric's favorite)
Foot launch (for ultralights)
Kite launch (needs a lot of wind and some form of mental
defect on the part of all concerned)
Tornado launch (typical in central and southern US
- always with bad results)

reductio ad absurdum...

9B

Incredibly, no one said aerotow; the initial poster
forbade different makes of tow planes but not aerotow.


To this I would add the snatched aero-tow used by C-47s
in WWII to pick up troop-carrying gliders.


At 20:00 26 December 2004, Goneill wrote:
Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
I have seen a video clip of a jantar 2 rolling off
a hill
somewhere in Poland I think, so as long as the hill
has the
right shape a rolling launch can launch just about
any
glider
gary


'Andy Blackburn' wrote in message
...
At 17:00 26 December 2004, Shawn wrote:
OscarCVox wrote:
OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of
tow vehicles or of tow
planes does not count)


Hmm I will try
Autotow
reverse pully auto tow
Winch
winch with winch retrieve
Bungey
Shoulder launch
aerotow
Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that
they used a horse and a
tow rope at Dunstable pre war)

Now i am stuck. Any others?


Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders
Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows)
Rocket launch
Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n
Pay-out winch
Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the
deck of a carrier?)


Not sure what a shoulder launch is - with my ship
it
would be tough on the old rotator cuff. I think a
Navy cat would likely rip the whole tow hook mechanism
right out of the fuselage.

How about:
Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
Bungee launch (requires being on a hill)
Self-launch (Eric's favorite)
Foot launch (for ultralights)
Kite launch (needs a lot of wind and some form of
mental
defect on the part of all concerned)
Tornado launch (typical in central and southern US
- always with bad results)

reductio ad absurdum...

9B

In article , Nyal Williams
writes:

At 17:00 26 December 2004, Shawn wrote:
OscarCVox wrote:
OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of
tow vehicles or of tow
planes does not count)


Hmm I will try
1) Autotow
2) reverse pully auto tow
3) Winch
3a) winch with winch retrieve
4) Bungey
5) Shoulder launch
6) aerotow
7) Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that
they used a horse and a
tow rope at Dunstable pre war)

Now i am stuck. Any others?


8)Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders
9)Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows)
10)Rocket launch
11)Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n
12)Pay-out winch
13)Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the
deck of a carrier?)
How about:
14) Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
4) Bungee launch (requires being on a hill)
15) Self-launch (Eric's favorite)
16) Foot launch (for ultralights)
17) Kite launch (needs a lot of wind and some form of
mental
defect on the part of all concerned)
18?) Tornado launch (typical in central and southern US
- always with bad results)

and I'll add
19) Airship tow
20) Airship drop
21) Greased Board
We might get to 50!

Steve
Only 3 of the 21so far for me.

I believe the Wright brothers used a falling weight
tied to a pulley system -- 22




At 04:00 27 December 2004, Steve Bralla wrote:
In article , Nyal Williams
writes:

At 17:00 26 December 2004, Shawn wrote:
OscarCVox wrote:
OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes
of
tow vehicles or of tow
planes does not count)


Hmm I will try
1) Autotow
2) reverse pully auto tow
3) Winch
3a) winch with winch retrieve
4) Bungey
5) Shoulder launch
6) aerotow
7) Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe
that
they used a horse and a
tow rope at Dunstable pre war)

Now i am stuck. Any others?


8)Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders
9)Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows)
10)Rocket launch
11)Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n
12)Pay-out winch
13)Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the
deck of a carrier?)
How about:
14) Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
4) Bungee launch (requires being on a hill)
15) Self-launch (Eric's favorite)
16) Foot launch (for ultralights)
17) Kite launch (needs a lot of wind and some form
of
mental
defect on the part of all concerned)
18?) Tornado launch (typical in central and southern
US
- always with bad results)

and I'll add
19) Airship tow
20) Airship drop
21) Greased Board
We might get to 50!

Steve
Only 3 of the 21so far for me.

There was a commercial glider operation on that Island once. On the
strip that is near Lihui on the southern tip. I flew both the Pawnees
and the 2-32s taking turns. We were too far away from any ridge and
the job was boring, we would tow a mile up above the low clouds that do
not have lift and glide down slowly sightseeing.

My suggestions a first learn the sport well. Then you may look at
the whole thing differently.
If I would live on the Islands I might not do the sport there. A self
Launching sailplane would work that you might fly off any airport and
reach distant ridges or wave. There was a Stemme stationed at Kahuluhi
for a little while. The owner was starting up another com Operattion
and since I wanted to see the islands from above once, I bought a one
hr ride or a little longer. We climbed up
to the top of Haleakela. I think It was 11500ft. I thought, with this
altitude and the performance of the ship we could reach the big Island.
so we turned off the engine and made a long glide there.
It was quite erie to sit high over the Pacific flying off that
altitude. On the big island we turned on the engine climbed up to
Observatory turned the engine off again at about 14000ft and made a
final glide across part of the big island, the sea and half of Maui
back to Kahului. During that whole flight there was never any lift! I
think the Islands have other sports that makes them great!
Soarski

as many different ways people come up with.. they still fall into the 3
basic categories:
tow, ground, self

there was a video on a European web page.. of a glider bring dropped from
balloon.. it was one of the newer micro light ones.. I think..

BT

"Les Ward" wrote in message
...
I am interested in getting a sailplane and wondering what are the various
ways to launch. I am aware of the traditional methods.
Example= Steep downhill runway? Maybe I had too much coffee this morning!!
I live on Kauai and there are no Gliders on this Island at present.
Alo9ha, Les

Actually, when I first posted and asked about naming 10 ways to launch, I was
hoping to get some *practical* methods applicable to sailplanes. The proposed
solutions so far remind me of the old joke for the definition of a consultant:
a fellow who knows 37 positions for sex, but does not have a girlfriend of his
own.

Cheers, Charles

Rocket launch (aka White Knight)
Bicycle power "Gossamer Albatross across English Channel, right?"

In article ,
Steve Bralla wrote:
In article , Nyal Williams
writes:

At 17:00 26 December 2004, Shawn wrote:
OscarCVox wrote:
OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of
tow vehicles or of tow
planes does not count)


Hmm I will try
1) Autotow
2) reverse pully auto tow
3) Winch
3a) winch with winch retrieve
4) Bungey
5) Shoulder launch
6) aerotow
7) Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that
they used a horse and a
tow rope at Dunstable pre war)

Now i am stuck. Any others?


8)Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders
9)Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows)
10)Rocket launch
11)Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n
12)Pay-out winch
13)Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the
deck of a carrier?)
How about:
14) Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
4) Bungee launch (requires being on a hill)
15) Self-launch (Eric's favorite)
16) Foot launch (for ultralights)
17) Kite launch (needs a lot of wind and some form of
mental
defect on the part of all concerned)
18?) Tornado launch (typical in central and southern US
- always with bad results)

and I'll add
19) Airship tow
20) Airship drop
21) Greased Board
We might get to 50!

Steve
Only 3 of the 21so far for me.


--

------------+
Mark J. Boyd

I think the horse at Dunstable was only used to pull
gliders to the top of the (300 feet or so) hill, where
they were bungee launched.

At 21:00 26 December 2004, Nyal Williams wrote:
Incredibly, no one said aerotow; the initial poster
forbade different makes of tow planes but not aerotow.


To this I would add the snatched aero-tow used by C-47s
in WWII to pick up troop-carrying gliders.


At 20:00 26 December 2004, Goneill wrote:
Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
I have seen a video clip of a jantar 2 rolling off
a hill
somewhere in Poland I think, so as long as the hill
has the
right shape a rolling launch can launch just about
any
glider
gary


'Andy Blackburn' wrote in message
...
At 17:00 26 December 2004, Shawn wrote:
OscarCVox wrote:
OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes
of
tow vehicles or of tow
planes does not count)


Hmm I will try
Autotow
reverse pully auto tow
Winch
winch with winch retrieve
Bungey
Shoulder launch
aerotow
Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that
they used a horse and a
tow rope at Dunstable pre war)

Now i am stuck. Any others?


Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders
Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows)
Rocket launch
Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n
Pay-out winch
Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the
deck of a carrier?)


Not sure what a shoulder launch is - with my ship
it
would be tough on the old rotator cuff. I think a
Navy cat would likely rip the whole tow hook mechanism
right out of the fuselage.

How about:
Hillside launch (rolling - only good for smaller/lighter
ships)
Bungee launch (requires being on a hill)
Self-launch (Eric's favorite)
Foot launch (for ultralights)
Kite launch (needs a lot of wind and some form of
mental
defect on the part of all concerned)
Tornado launch (typical in central and southern US
- always with bad results)

reductio ad absurdum...

9B

In article , Shawn sdotherecurry@br
esnananotherdotnet.? writes
OscarCVox wrote:
OK, I'll bite: name 10 (listing different makes of tow vehicles or of tow
planes does not count)


Hmm I will try
Autotow
reverse pully auto tow
Winch
winch with winch retrieve
Bungey
Shoulder launch
aerotow
Horse tow ( I know it sounds daft but I believe that they used a horse and a
tow rope at Dunstable pre war)

Now i am stuck. Any others?


Balloon drop. Seen it for hang gliders
Helicopter drop (tail first-done in airshows)
Rocket launch
Aircraft drop-like Space Ship 1, X-n
Pay-out winch
Catapult? (How much altitude could you get off the deck of a carrier?)

Gravity rope launch. AFAIK this has never been tried.

You need a disused mine shaft at one end of the runway, you set up a
great big pulley over it. You run a cable from the other end of the
runway, over the pulley and attach it to a weight.

Yo let the weight go and as it falls it pulls the glider into the air.
Then you heave the weight up again.

There is a club in the west of England that has several disused tin
mines nearby. Hmm.

--
Mike Lindsay