I know nothing whatsoever about gliding so can someone who does please explain to me the issues surrounding winch launches.
One sees cable warning information given on CAA half mil charts at varying heights up to and in excess of 3000 feet. Are there really many gliding sites with 1000 metre runways and 1000 metre cables? and at what point on the winch launch would the cable be released? Surely there must come a point during the launch (45 degrees?) where the cable begins to drag the glider back down towards the ground rather than up in the air, in which case a cable release at say 45 degrees would cut the height risk down to say only 1500 feet rather than 3000 feet? or am I being thick about this?