Another point of view from the other end - written by Mike our winch driver about  evening of 11 May 2005

Mike raises some interesting points - read on

"Congratulation to Bea - really well done - I just hope you had a good
launch!
Interesting evening down the far end which should have been really easy
from the winching point of view (apart from looking straight into the
sun most of the evening!) with a long run and almost no cross wind, but
it wasn't. Not all that easy to get the speed right. Don't know why,
probably variable wind strength/direction at different heights or just
lots of different pilots playing with the controls. Just for a change Ian
had the crap winch (ha, ha) which seems to try to shake itself to bits
and deafen you at the same time, and his radio didn't work, so the
appearance of the balloon overhead was nearly an interesting surprise! At
least it was something interesting to watch - very pretty. Oh yes, and I
nearly had some real power failures as the winch backfired on a couple
of launches with a really noticeable loss of power for a moment. It
broke the blue link (on a Ka13 launch!) the first time. So, it can happen.
Also worth pointing out that, as most Ka8 pilots know, it helps a lot
to let us know when something different is on the end (Merv's comment1)- and it will also
save us the bother of getting out of the cab and playing with the
spanners if you change the link back for a Ka13! (Merv's comment2)
AND, it may not be obvious from the launch point end, and it may be
hard to believe,  but it is impossible to see what is happening at the
airex aerotow launch point from the winch - so if you signal we will
launch. We often hear the aerotows before we see them! No problems
yesterday, but in the past they have become unreasonable when they have seen the
winch lights flashing as they are just getting airborne."(Merv's comment3)

Mervs reply:

Hi Mike

Thanks for you comments - I think we should pass on some hints/tips and highlight salient points which can be sometimes overlooked or forgotten about in the mainstream of the efficient launch environment.

Last night was, as you say, an interesting one for a variety of reasons and it may be worth the time  if I can find the inclination, for me to sit down and draft a general debrief on the evening and some lesser known facts such as -  were you aware that K13 H has a placarded max winch launch speed of 58? - how many people actually check the placard when they jump into a 13?  I suspect most people take it for granted (assume) that all K13s have the same limiting speeds ie 65, That is probably why you were finding it difficult to judge the speeds as I was signalling too fast in H which would have been perfect in most of the others.

Sorry about the blue link on the K13 - still it keeps the punters in practice!!

Thanks for the feedback

Merv's Comments:

1 For letting the winch driver know what's on the end of the cables, the person in the best position to do this is the cable retrieve driver. As the cables arrive at the launch point the driver is looking directly at the next gliders to launch and has a dedicated radio within arms length so advance notice can be easily given with the minimum of effort. This will also lighten the launch point controllers' workload and smooth the operation significantly. (back)

2 The weak link obviously wasn't checked before being attached - this is - at worst inconvenient in the case of a K13 as it uses the strongest weak link available but could be potentially hazardous in the case of a 'weaker' weak link not being fitted in place of a stronger one. The rating of weak link depends on the structural strength of the glider and ensures that excessive loading of the airframe is prevented in the event of encountering a gust as the weak link fails before this point is reached. There is plenty of time to verify the weak link before the cable is attached and where a weak link needs to be changed, using two people, one to change the link and the other to attach the cable can and does save valuable seconds! (back)

3 Co-ordination between the winch and air ex launch points relies on good communications between the two. Before initiating a launch the air ex lp must be visually checked for an imminent departure, there is a radio in the control bus that listens to the Lasham frequency 131.025 and relays instructions given to the tugs so listen as well! They are justified to be upset if they are launching and a winch launch occurs at the same time - an aerotow combination and steel winch cables do not mix and MUST be avoided.
The winch driver must also look and listen for aerotow movements before initiating the launch. (back)

Remember SAFETY is EVERYBODY'S responsibility.

All views expressed here are absolutely nothing to do with The Lasham Gliding Society, the best place to glide in the UK.
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