Kiting Response - Daniels By: From Bill Daniels, Winch Launch Pres Posted: December 8 2004
The PW-5 may have undesirable winch launch behavior, I don't know since I have never flown one. Most gliders will not pitch up on their own even with a CG hook regardless of the acceleration. In fact the entire launch can often be flown hands-off. Modern European gliders are designed to be winch launched with the tail volume, landing gear and CG hook location carefully selected to give benign winch launch characteristics. The PW-5 is a new so I really doubt that it has a problem.
Most likely, it was pilot error and/or winch driver error. There are a few older gliders that will pitch-up if the acceleration is too high. Gliders with a high CG, hook mounted low and aft, small all moving tail and landing gear with a high AOA with the tail wheel on the ground are often the troublesome ones. Well trained winch drivers know about these and will compensate with lower acceleration.
