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How does the glider get into the air without an engine? |
Well there are several ways to launch a glider. Winch, Aerotow, Catapult, Rocket and Self powered. (Motor gliders)
The most common and cheapest way is with a winch. "A winch is a strong
engine with a short drive shaft and diff connected to two drums with a
lot of cable on them."
The cable may be up to 1500m long. The winch is then positioned on the
opposite side of the runway from where the glider will take of. The
glider is then hooked onto the cable which is laid out on the length of
the runway. After a series of hand signals and radio calls, the winch
is cleared to begin to pull the glider up. The winch driver has to pull
the glider at an optimum speed to make sure that the glider can climb
high enough before it will we released. The glider has a device which
releases it automatically as soon as it goes beyond a spesific angle
above he winch. There is also a manual release knob in the cockpit if
there is an emergency and also to make sure that the glider is released
properly.
Another method preferred by most pilots, is the Aerotow, where the
glider is pulled by a tug plane like a Cessna 172. The tug pulls the
glider to a point where there is a strong enough updraft, after which
the glider calls and then releases from the rope / cable. This gives
the glider the maximum chance of getting a good thermal and climbing as
soon as possible.
Ohter methods are catapult, where the glider is virtually catapulted
with huge rubber bands off a cliff. The last and least used method is
by rocket propulsion. Rockets are mounted on the glider, which will
provide enough thrust to get airborne untill the pilot can get a
thermal to gain more height.
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