US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

Hole Tows

Safety first! Loss of line? Speed control? Tension control?

A flatlander's hang glider hack?

Abandoned deep-well holes are to be marked and guarded for safety.
What hole size will do the job? Could a 10-cm diameter hole work?
Wright Brothers build a tower for dropping a weight to help launch their winged device. Similarly, a hole can be the assistant in a HG launch.
What minimum mass would be used to give a good launch to a hang glider?

Drop a tethered mass down a hole; attach a hang glider to the tether via use of a pulley. Have a braking cushion at the top of the hole to soften the stopping of the detached tether and save the line for a next use. Maybe pipe the hole with a teflon-lined casing to reduce the friction. Maybe shape the drop mass so air can be released so the mass will be able to fall! Use the potential energy of the dropped mass to give launch to a foot-launching hang glider. The hang glider could also be on a trolley or have wheels itself. Choices!

To prepare for the next launch, use muscle power or wind power. Perhaps use a parachute to pull the mass back up the hole. Or use a high aerial kite to pull the mass back up. Or have family and friends pull up the mass to be dropped.

Shallow-hole-big-mass drops using gearing to operate line pull?

A deep hole might fill with water or other debris. Sealing and casing a hole might work in challenging circumstance. Shallower holes with heavier masses combine with braking mechanisms might work.

Speed control? Want more speed? Want constant tension? Mechanical solutions exist. All these things could be discussed in this topic thread.

https://www.epa.gov/privatewells/learn- ... ater-wells

Hillside rolling dropped-mass: Let a round mass roll downhill; attach a tether to the mass; attach tether to the HG. Ready, clear, go-go-go. Be sure the rolling mass does not hurt property or people. This idea might be developed in this topic thread. Thoughts????
Have a limit line or stop-roll arrangement. Pull the mass back up the hill for another launch use.
========================================================

The deepest hole within the U.S. is the Bertha Rogers gas well in Oklahoma at 32,000 feet (6 miles) deep.

=============================
https://www.uu.edu/dept/physics/scienceguys/2003Apr.cfm
=============================

Alternative cousins, but not this topic: bungee, bungee combined with Dyneema line, above-ground drop masses, tow by friends and animals, tow by scooter, tow by car, tow by truck, tow by aircraft, tow by ultralight, tow by parachute arrangement, tow by kite system, onboard power winch, power winching offboard, engine onboard and drop all when launch is done or keep it all up, etc.

Using a hydraulic winch and a 70 lb weaklink I did a pulley tow to 500 feet agl.
(Lightest weaklink I ever used by the way.)
So maybe a hundred pound weight down a well hole but a way to slow the descending
weight if required is a starting estimate.

Bill Cummings wrote: but a way to slow the descending
weight if required is a starting estimate.

.
Team or solo?
Team communicating with HG pilot puts the brakes on the descending line by some control method working on the moving line. Pilot may or may not have remote control of the device; team stands ready to control speed of line as redundant mechanical backup.

Solo? Have real-time remote control of a ground-based line-speed device.
==================================
===================================
Line-speed governors/controllers?
Experts would have an answer. I am not an expert on this. I am a solution seeker here.
Solution seeking:
Perhaps have the line be on a bullwheel and actively control the speed of rotation speed of the bullwheel. The pilot would be aware of the bullwheel's rotational speed and have control over that speed. Have an actuator that brakes the bullwheel; more braking slows the bullwheel rotational speed.