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05.10.2006
Sacramento Hang Gliding


http://www.sachanggliding.com/


Sunday I went out and checked out the new hydraulic winch that George Hamilton
from Sacramento Hang Gliding was operating at their site at the Scheider Ranch,
south east of Sacramento. Here's what George had to say about his new
winch (http://ozreport.com/10.197.1)


With all of the options, it was 9,000 Euro or about $11,500 not
including line. I still haven’t received the air freight bill though!


We still have the scooter. It is a Honda Elite 250 we used for recreational
flying and Novice instruction. We did some modifications and tested it for
Beginner style towing with experienced pilots. We were encouraged with the
results, but we never had enough smooth days this year to finish testing, and we
decided to wait for the new winch.


Although our main intention for getting the new winch was to provide quality
recreational towing, Novice instruction, and tandem instruction, I think it will
work well for low power Beginner instruction as well. In Slovenia last year, we
were easily ground skimming paragliders!





Click on above to see a higher resolution version.


Kevin Dunn takes off on the first flight on the new tow system. Photo by Ray
Bailey.


The line is about $1,400 and freight looks to be about $3,000.
These are expensive little numbers, although quite a bit cheaper than
Dragonflies.


It was overcast and cool when I drove down from Auburn, just was of Sacramento,
to the Scheider Ranch near Rancho Murieta. The paved road to the site was thin
and well worn. They are really out in the country here.


The site started as a pay out winch towing site with a tow road further south.
That now belongs to the Nature Conservancy so they can no longer use it.


After that deal went down, George turned to scooter towing to give hang two's
and students a place to fly as they were denied access to Colma, the local's
site. The upgrade to the hydraulic winch will allow for higher tows for the more
experienced pilots.


When I got there Sunday George was still in shakedown mode and trying to develop
a feel for the controls under various conditions. The fact that he was on the
tow rig 3,800' across the field from the take off areas, and that the radios
were spotty, and that the winch was louder than the scooter didn't help matters.
There were also problems with the level wind not tracking all the time.


When George is instructing he places a pulley out at the other end and positions
the tow rig next to the student. This cuts down on radio issues and allows for a
lot quicker feedback to the instructor about how the tow is going, especially in
the early stages.


They use over/under bridles for towing. You can see one type that Steve Wendt
produces here: http://ozreport.com/10.117#0. Also look at the photo and you'll see
Kevin using a Koch style release.


I didn't end up towing on Sunday as it was quite overcast and I wanted others to
help out with the shakedown, not me. I do enough test flying as it is.



http://OzReport.com/10.202.1
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