Is it Possible to Self launch (no wingman) with CG hook??

"Robert Ehrlich" wrote in message
...
"F.L. Whiteley" wrote:

Having ground looped once on a winch launch (inexperienced wing runner
and
tall grass) I doubt I would ever consider this on grass or dirt. A
paved
surface might be okay with a very experienced pilot. A wings level
assist
would be good, but might be moot if the up slack just pulled the glider
off
the leveler. Holding a glider with airbrake/wheelbrake combo level
doesn't
seem prudent. The more bothersome aspect is the lack of another set of
eyes
to visually check the launch zone for encroachment.

Think I'd prefer to file this in my never do list (from a winch driver
perspective).
'Never winch launch unassisted'
'Never winch launch downwind'

Frank


By us there is no wing runner for winch launch, only a wing holder. The
acceleration is so that nobody would be able to follow the glider,
nor any vehicle whose propulsion relies on friction on the ground, since
the friction coefficient will never be sufficient to provide such an
acceleration.
So the wing holder could easily be replaced by any object (wing stand,
tyres heap,
etc.) having the same function, although we never do it because we want to
keep the watching capability of the wing holder.

We don't actually commence the launch until the glider exhibits some forward
movement on the up slack. This would likely pull the wing off of such an
arrangement. We do this primarily because our winch run may cross some very
uneven surfaces depending on wind direction. This may mean the wire rope
(single run) is not quite straight initially and will displace laterally
during initial acceleration. That's one interesting aspect to winching,
that the run does not necessarily require fully improved surfaces. A winch
could quite easily be located 1000-2000ft outside of the airfield boundary
provided there aren't any obstacles.

You're right though, there's seldom any running involved.

Frank Whiteley

"F.L. Whiteley" wrote in message
...

"Robert Ehrlich" wrote in message
...
"F.L. Whiteley" wrote:

Having ground looped once on a winch launch (inexperienced wing runner
and
tall grass) I doubt I would ever consider this on grass or dirt. A
paved
surface might be okay with a very experienced pilot. A wings level
assist
would be good, but might be moot if the up slack just pulled the
glider
off
the leveler. Holding a glider with airbrake/wheelbrake combo level
doesn't
seem prudent. The more bothersome aspect is the lack of another set of
eyes
to visually check the launch zone for encroachment.

Think I'd prefer to file this in my never do list (from a winch driver
perspective).
'Never winch launch unassisted'
'Never winch launch downwind'

Frank


By us there is no wing runner for winch launch, only a wing holder. The
acceleration is so that nobody would be able to follow the glider,
nor any vehicle whose propulsion relies on friction on the ground, since
the friction coefficient will never be sufficient to provide such an
acceleration.
So the wing holder could easily be replaced by any object (wing stand,
tyres heap,
etc.) having the same function, although we never do it because we want
to
keep the watching capability of the wing holder.

We don't actually commence the launch until the glider exhibits some
forward
movement on the up slack. This would likely pull the wing off of such an
arrangement. We do this primarily because our winch run may cross some
very
uneven surfaces depending on wind direction. This may mean the wire rope
(single run) is not quite straight initially and will displace laterally
during initial acceleration. That's one interesting aspect to winching,
that the run does not necessarily require fully improved surfaces. A
winch
could quite easily be located 1000-2000ft outside of the airfield boundary
provided there aren't any obstacles.

You're right though, there's seldom any running involved.

Frank Whiteley



That's why a wing support POINT is a bad idea. A better idea is a support
rail that allows the glider to move forward a meter or more with the wing
tip sliding on a carpet covered rail.

A simple sawhorse made of slip together PVC pipe fittings would break down
into a small bundle. As for who removes this from the runway after takeoff,
it would have to be the winch driver after some delay.

Bill Daniels

(Jerz Rossignol) wrote in message om...
Hi Guys,

I'm curious if any of you guys have ever tried to self launch with no
wing man on a cg hook only glider. I have skids on my wingtips as
well. Would you put the wing that's on the ground further forward at
start? What's the technique!!
I think this is why having a cg hook is a disadvantage.

Regards,

Jerz

I have done this with an ASW19. I set up with the down wing far
forward (the nose was pointed 20-30 degrees off centerline-this will
appear to be a ridiculous amount while waiting in the cockpit). The
drag of the wing tip skid pulls the glider towards the center line
until you have enough speed to pick up the wing. You should setup
offset of the runway centerline to maximize use of the runway width.
Crosswind weather-vaning will NOT be a factor until AFTER you have
lifted the wing. At this point you will have rudder and aileron
authority and correct for this effect. I would place the down wing
INTO the wind to ease the effort required to lift it.

In article ,
"F.L. Whiteley" wrote:

That's one interesting aspect to winching,
that the run does not necessarily require fully improved surfaces. A winch
could quite easily be located 1000-2000ft outside of the airfield boundary
provided there aren't any obstacles.

In fact that's what the field I learned to winch on was like. The cable
was about 5000 ft, but the runway itself was probably not much more than
1000 ft. The rest of the cable run was over rather undulating ground,
crossed by several creeks, with the track for the cable retrieve car
taking a nowhere near straight route.

--
Bruce | 41.1670S | \ spoken | -+-
Hoult | 174.8263E | /\ here. | ----------O----------