Dear Winchers/Australian Soarers ! A couple of weeks ago a group of us launched a Blanik using the simplest winch system available - a car rope and pulleys. We were able to achieve 1400 feet on an almost nil wind day from 1500 metres of runway. We used a 4 litre Nissan Patrol diesel and a 3 to 1 pully arrangement, ie for every 1 foot the car travelled the glider was pulled in 3 feet.
We aim to use a longer strip once we have established a permanent operation and will therefore get more height. The pulley system has a number of advantages over a normal winch, the main one being that it is possible to use the vehicle you arrive at the site in (a modern 6 cylinder car has also been tested and is more than adequate for the job). These are: -commonly available -incredibly reliable -the airflow from the moving vehicle cools the engine -maintenance is done off location -usually airconditioned -easy to operate and train someone -more controllable tension -mobile (ie the car you arrive at the site in is licenced and easy to take cross country) -as soon as the launch is finnished the rope is back at the launch point ready for the next glider if you use a single pulley -using a multiple pulley arrangement it is possible to wind the rope in 200 km per hour or more if you wish -tractors can be used if you wish to operate from a farm -launching using car propelled launches has a better safety record than winches Anyone else care to share similar experiences ? Michael Derry Western Australia _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
