Originally Posted by
scifi
A few of us Private Pilots got into flying via Gliding, and for every winch launch you have ever done you have to be very quick to lower the nose. At the end of the launch, when you are 1400ft agl, the glider has a nose-up attitude of about 25 degrees, The cable back-releases, as it is supposed to do. Then you simultaneously give the cable-release a precautionary two tugs, and lower the nose to below the horizon. It is only when you get to fly powered aircraft, that the application of power is also required.
If you fly anything larger, with tonnes of inertia, then that is a different problem, but after all this is the Private Flying Forum.
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I don't know why I'm bothering to reply to this, but I was always taught, release before the thing back releases because otherwise you have passed the overhead the winch and if there is little or no wind you will drop a 1200ft pile of high tensile spaghetti all over the winch. So "as it is supposed to" is not correct! The back release mechanism is a safety device which will operate separately if the normal release cable doesn't work/is broken/jammed etc. Try having a close look at how the two seperate systems actually work!!
Also, as said, engine power is not required to unstall any aircraft.
Unfortunately not many light aircraft have an angle of attack indicator, so the only reference we have is the ASI, or the shoogly stick.