I had a homemade winch from way back (see the picture on the Index Page) and spend a fair amount of time flying alone. Over the last few years, being the equipment manager gave me access to the club's winch. I still have my own winch but it is rather weak, lacking power AND line speed. So it's time to get together something that will last for a while, and will not be lacking for oomph as planes get heavier and faster.
The decision to buy or build was easy. Mechanically and electrically the winch is a simple animal. The difficult part is making a decent drum, and I do not have metal working tools at my disposal.. By the time you run around and try to have one made locally, you might as well go to the existing fabricators. It seems that most of the name brand winch fabricators have quit the business, so it's now required get the pieces from several sources. I really like the look of the Tim McCann winch drum, so the order was placed.
Tim's winch kit can be seen HERE. Everything fits together perfectly and it's painted a bright yellow.
You see requests for the Ford long shaft motor on RCSE all the time. When I went to the UAP NAPA parts store, they looked at me quite strangely when I quoted the Lester Number 3110. The Starter Man in the back knew what I wanted when I said "Ford. 1954 to 56 pickup. 6 Volts. Long shaft. Bendix Drive." They had one in the warehouse and it was mine later that afternoon.
Our club winches have Real Balls on them, and once you try a winch with the ball bearing endplates you will NEVER be satisfied with a regular winch. At first the price may seem steep, but I highly recommend them for power, speed, and even beauty. Doug Boyd doesn't make enough money off these to survive, I'm glad he provides the service for the hobby. If you are building or rebuilding a winch now, get in line for the next batch run. The rebuilt starter motor had non-original end plates and the through-bolts were an oddball size! Though the Real Balls fit the housing, I could not bolt them in place. Ever try to find a 7 inch long 1/4" X 20 tpi hex head machine screw? I ended up making the through bolts from 1/4" all thread and some lock nuts.
The arming switch really does not serve as a kill switch on launches, it's too hard to get shut off in an emergency. It is useful to disarm the winch while moving it, or if the winch runs wild and the chute is rapidly approaching the line guide. I'm counting on the double solenoids and double foot switches to prevent runaway launches. The only way to get a true runaway would be to have a direct short somewhere in the foot switch cable.
Everybody has their preference in foot switches, I like a switch that you put your whole foot on and has a large button. Here is a version that is very heavy duty.
It's made from 3/4" solid oak and is 5 inches wide. Varathane enamel should make it impervious to wet grass. There are two "momentary on" microswitches wired in series. This radically reduces the probability of a shorted switch and a runaway winch. The actuator pedal is hinged with a brass door hinge, and the return spring is EPP foam left over from the Zagi.
My old bicycle hub turnaround is still serviceable, so no need for a new one.
Sometimes there is a hump in the field between the winch and the turnaround, so this tripod device keeps the line off the grass and saves wear and tear particularly on monofilament. A ball bearing pulley from the mountaineering shop has no drag during launch. I don't recommend this as a normal practice because if the line ever snags on it, you've got a missile coming at the winch. As a minimum, stake it down or tie it to a heavy object so the line breaks before it gets dragged into the winch.
The club has gone to mounting the winches and retrievers on a utility trailer, which is fine for high activity levels and lots of launches. Shagging the chute is an object lesson in keeping the plane in the air, so I don't want a retriever. Having the winch and battery on a cart will make the trudge to the far end of the field easier and moving the setup for wind shifts will also be easier. I mounted the winch on a piece of 3/4" MDF board and painted it with red Varathane enamel. It reminds me of the little Radio Flyers all kids used to have. The battery can sit either way as the winch is moved. A couple of loops of nylon line stake it down. Having the brake arm out of the grass helps a lot on setup. The board is removable from the hand dolly so the winch can sit on the ground instead. A set of cleats around the battery base stop the battery from sliding back and forth.
Here it is ready to roll. The tie down strap also is used to restrain the winch when launching.
Copyright W. Man-Son-Hing, Mar 2000