Free flying in South Africa
The winch is made from a Kymco 250cc scooter motorcycle. It has an
automatic gearbox which works perfectly for towing up first time
students. The scooter is mounted to a trailer by means of support
stands, The rear wheel has been removed and replaced with a steel
Drum(spool) that can hold up to 2000 meters of spectra tow line. The
front wheel has also been removed and replaced with a line guide and
tensioning system. Our scooter has more than enough towing power and
with a qualified winch operator the system is fantastic for training
students and for just getting hang glider pilots into the air.
automatic gearbox which works perfectly for towing up first time
students. The scooter is mounted to a trailer by means of support
stands, The rear wheel has been removed and replaced with a steel
Drum(spool) that can hold up to 2000 meters of spectra tow line. The
front wheel has also been removed and replaced with a line guide and
tensioning system. Our scooter has more than enough towing power and
with a qualified winch operator the system is fantastic for training
students and for just getting hang glider pilots into the air.
Here you can see how
we have mounted the
Scooter to the Trailer
we have mounted the
Scooter to the Trailer
This is the Drum
(Spool) we replaced
on the rear side for
holding the line
(Spool) we replaced
on the rear side for
holding the line
This is the front view
of the scooter, notice
the rollers for the line.
of the scooter, notice
the rollers for the line.
The system works as follows
The line from the scooter winch is routed to a
pulley that is situated 1000 meters away. The
line then goes around the pulley and taken back
to the winch, the student will then be attached
to the towline. This allows the instructor to
chat with the student on the take off and more
importantly be right by their side on their first
few tows into the air.
The line from the scooter winch is routed to a
pulley that is situated 1000 meters away. The
line then goes around the pulley and taken back
to the winch, the student will then be attached
to the towline. This allows the instructor to
chat with the student on the take off and more
importantly be right by their side on their first
few tows into the air.
We use a tension
gauge in the system
to make sure the
winch operator does
not over tension
on the tow
gauge in the system
to make sure the
winch operator does
not over tension
on the tow
