Winch Launch Extreme 5200 ft

Hi,
ever heared of winch launches up to 5200 ft (1590m)?
in the forum of www.segelflug.de I read the following. It might be of
interest for you
(short form translation):
During a glider acrobatic meeting in Fuerstenfeldbruck (Germany/Bavaria),
pilots from
Bavaria and Austria had the possibility to try a new launch method. Mostly
double
seaters were launched up to 5200 ft. (1590m). Acro pilots were enthusiastic
after 29
launches, because they could fly their full program out of the winch after
an only
90 seconds lasting start.
This was made possible by the winch manufacturer Tost (Assling, Germany).
They supplied a specially modified winch. Karl Hoeck from Friedberg/Germany
did the technical calculations and the design of the drum of the winch.
This drum had to withstand a pressure of 3 million lb (1400 metric tons)
from the 9842 ft
(3000m) of Dyneema rope with 0.18 inches diameter (4.5mm).
Organizing clubs were Bundeswehr Sportflieger Gemeinschaft Fürstenfeldbruck
e.V.
and Akademische Fluggruppe München. Munich control was involved.

With headwinds between aprox. 6 and 11 knots (10 - 20 km/h) following
altitudes have been reached:
ASK 21 and ASK 13 double seated: 5216 ft (1590m)
FOX double seated: 4594 ft (1400m)
Mue 28 single seated: 3937 ft (1200m)

regards
Walter

How long was the runway?

Użytkownik napisał:

How long was the runway?
The rope was 3000m long, so I suppose they used about 3000m runway.

--
WojtuÅ›.net

Fuerstenfeldbruck is a discontinued NATO airbase. They have plenty of space
there.
The runway length was 2744m, but I think they used also the safety strips
close to 3000m.
regards Walter

Good show!

Dyneema/Spectra winch cable allows for launches to approximately 50% of the
original cable length. Calculations show that there is really no upper
limit to the amount of Dyneema that can be used.

90 seconds to 5200 feet AGL on a winch beats the hell out of 20 minutes on
aero tow. That's especially true when the typical cost is $10 for the
launch.

Karl Hoeck, the drum designer (and really nice guy), usually has a booth at
the SSA convention showing off brochures of his winch design based on a Ford
diesel pickup.

Bill Daniels


"Walter Kronester" wrote in message
...
Hi,
ever heared of winch launches up to 5200 ft (1590m)?
in the forum of www.segelflug.de I read the following. It might be of
interest for you
(short form translation):
During a glider acrobatic meeting in Fuerstenfeldbruck (Germany/Bavaria),
pilots from
Bavaria and Austria had the possibility to try a new launch method. Mostly
double
seaters were launched up to 5200 ft. (1590m). Acro pilots were
enthusiastic after 29
launches, because they could fly their full program out of the winch after
an only
90 seconds lasting start.
This was made possible by the winch manufacturer Tost (Assling, Germany).
They supplied a specially modified winch. Karl Hoeck from
Friedberg/Germany
did the technical calculations and the design of the drum of the winch.
This drum had to withstand a pressure of 3 million lb (1400 metric tons)
from the 9842 ft
(3000m) of Dyneema rope with 0.18 inches diameter (4.5mm).
Organizing clubs were Bundeswehr Sportflieger Gemeinschaft
Fürstenfeldbruck e.V.
and Akademische Fluggruppe München. Munich control was involved.

With headwinds between aprox. 6 and 11 knots (10 - 20 km/h) following
altitudes have been reached:
ASK 21 and ASK 13 double seated: 5216 ft (1590m)
FOX double seated: 4594 ft (1400m)
Mue 28 single seated: 3937 ft (1200m)

regards
Walter

This is good news, but I have to wonder how they, or we in the US would
protect the cable from other aircraft that might stray into it at those
altitudes. Next question is how far the cable would drift on the way
down, assuming that the wind is not always right down the runway.

Mark

Bill Daniels wrote:
Good show!

Dyneema/Spectra winch cable allows for launches to approximately 50% of the
original cable length. Calculations show that there is really no upper
limit to the amount of Dyneema that can be used.

90 seconds to 5200 feet AGL on a winch beats the hell out of 20 minutes on
aero tow. That's especially true when the typical cost is $10 for the
launch.

You have to clear the area of air traffic before launch. Sinch the launch
is over so quickly, that isn't too hard. The typical light plane will
travel about three miles in 90 seconds so clearing out to that distance plus
a safety margin avoids conflict. If you operate in an area with faster
traffic, you probably had a tower to coordinate with.

Bill Daniels

"aviationnut" wrote in message
oups.com...
This is good news, but I have to wonder how they, or we in the US would
protect the cable from other aircraft that might stray into it at those
altitudes. Next question is how far the cable would drift on the way
down, assuming that the wind is not always right down the runway.

Mark

Bill Daniels wrote:
Good show!

Dyneema/Spectra winch cable allows for launches to approximately 50% of
the
original cable length. Calculations show that there is really no upper
limit to the amount of Dyneema that can be used.

90 seconds to 5200 feet AGL on a winch beats the hell out of 20 minutes
on
aero tow. That's especially true when the typical cost is $10 for the
launch.

aviationnut wrote:
This is good news, but I have to wonder how they, or we in the US would
protect the cable from other aircraft that might stray into it at those
altitudes.

Presumably the same way we do: have your field marked as a gliding field
on the sectionals with a warning about cables to x000 feet.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

Bill Daniels wrote:
Good show!

Dyneema/Spectra winch cable allows for launches to approximately 50% of the
original cable length. Calculations show that there is really no upper
limit to the amount of Dyneema that can be used.

90 seconds to 5200 feet AGL on a winch beats the hell out of 20 minutes on
aero tow. That's especially true when the typical cost is $10 for the
launch.

That sounds a bit frightening - 3500 fpm! What are the stresses on the
glider to get that kind of climb rate? How far away is disaster if the
pilot twitches a bit on the controls or hits some wind shear or a thermal?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

"Transponders in Sailplanes" on the Soaring Safety Foundation website
www.soaringsafety.org/prevention/articles.html

"A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

That's a normal climb rate for winch launching. I know of no break-up on
winch launch during the last 26 years, and there are thousands of winch
launches done every weekend in Europe.

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
news:AFg1h.4183$WB4.3314@trndny04...
90 seconds to 5200 feet AGL on a winch beats the hell out of 20 minutes
on aero tow. That's especially true when the typical cost is $10 for the
launch.

That sounds a bit frightening - 3500 fpm! What are the stresses on the
glider to get that kind of climb rate? How far away is disaster if the
pilot twitches a bit on the controls or hits some wind shear or a thermal?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

"Transponders in Sailplanes" on the Soaring Safety Foundation website
www.soaringsafety.org/prevention/articles.html

"A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org