A winch/truck and operating method for launching gliders is constructed from a cab and chassis truck which has been modified to utilize truck's power train systems for locomotion of winch machinery. The winch/truck is designed so that truck front faces the launching glider such that truck cab and power controls can be used for operation. The winch/truck can be shifted on the fly from drive mode to winch mode, is completely roadworthy, and can be driven to and from launch site under its own power. The operation method is precisely controlled by using the truck's power control module, GPS, electronic sensing and off the shelf computer technology to display performance parameters and data to the operator.
Glider winch/truck combination and method of use
2020-09-15
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
The Problem of Glider Takeoff Using a TOW Winch
NTIS | 1968
|Winch car of Buergien glider group running on substitute fuel
Engineering Index Backfile | 1942
|The Take-off an Unpowered Glider by Winch or Car
AIAA | 2018
|