RE: Hi-Start vs Winch - Area Needed ? ?
Whooo boy..... Can we have a 3 way fight here???
Just kidding.... I don't want to fight.
Don't wanna fight because I think a winch can win in the right conditions and will lose in the wrong conditions for it, while a highstart can win with the right flyer and conditions and nobody special on the winch. So.... let me get to it...
One day we had the winch setup and everybody was getting better launches from it than the couple of highstarts that were out. Then somebody brought out a longer, stronger highstart and drove it's pin into the ground down where the winch turnaround was. Game over, right. Nope.... It was the perfect time for a bet however. Ran my mouth a bit while pulling back the winch's chute. And got a bet going. Went over and got out my my 14 footer and discussed what the original wording of the bet covered..... got that settled. Hooked up the big mother and clicked in some flaps. Pedaled the mother up about 20degrees and let off the foot pedal while working the elevator. You see there was a decently solid breeze. You can "crank" line off a winch with some careful flying. It's sorta like working bait past where the fish are when they're less interested. Pull some, let some back out. Pull some, let some back out.
However..... you can do the same thing on a high start on blustery days. So if you can word the bet right........
My vote on which can get a glider higher would be whichever way the bet was worded.
Wanna put a bet on that....