Cable and Launch Equipment

Launch Equipment Maintenance

• Summer 2015
• Wot I did

One man cable change procedure

Easier and safer than previous methods!

• Put new cable reel on trailer, park winch in corner of field (NE is best).
• Attach cable end to winch with a 'pullout weak link' and tow slowly to the opposite corner.
• Attach tyre, return to winch, attach cable to drum, wind in.

Please View/Download full procedure: Acrobat (PDF) (470KB) or MS Document (DOC) (651KB)

Steel cable

• We use steel cable to launch with rather than Dyneema, or Skyrope. Dyneema is expensive (2-3 times the cost of steel cable) and would probably only result in launches 100 foot or so higher than we achieve with steel cable. It's unlikely that it would last as long as the steel cable does.
• Skyrope is a polypropylene rope that Skylaunch have started to offer. Its roughly the same cost as steel cable, and may give slightly higher launches. However, the size of our winch drums would restrict us to only about 1000 metres of Skyrope (our field is almost a mile long), so we'd get less height.
• The steel cable we use is 4.5mm diameter, of 7x7 construction, and typically 1500 metres comes on a drum.
• We have bought the last couple of drums of steel cable from Skylaunch. Price was £311 (incl VAT) each. Plus £50 for delivery on a pallet.
• Two drums of cable were purchased in April 2009 (and fitted to the Skybrid winch shortly afterwards) Two more drums of cable were purchased in April 2010 in readiness to replace the Skybrid cables again (this winch has been used almost exclusively to do all the launches)
• Previous supplier was Cosalt, Birkenhead branch. Contact: Ton Sedgwick on 0151 650 5606. The last price obtained from them was in March 2009: £364 per 1500m drum.

Quicklinks/Carabiners/Maillon Rapides

We use one of these to connect the drogue 'chute to the end of the winch cable. Carabiners have been used, but over time they seem to stretch, and they are more expensive than the Quick Links (aka "Maillon Rapides" - an oval steel loop with a threaded metal nut that joins the ends of the loop) to replace when work out / squashed through the Winch Rollers.

• As of 2009 we have used load rated Maillon Rapides. These should be done up with a spanner, hence spanners being attached to the winches.
• The ones we use are manufactured by Maillon Rapide, Type: PPENZ10. "10mm Standard Shape Galvanised Mild Steel Maillon Rapide (Quick link)"
• Spec: Height 89mm, Width internal 20.5mm, Gate Opening 12mm, Conformity: EN362, EN12275. Type Breaking Load: 55kN / Working Load Limit (WLL) 1100kg
• They are available Mail Ordered from Abaris International (01484 768277) Price £4.09 (incl VAT) each.