My NSP XL is now 2+ years old and I doubt your is any stronger. If you ever get the chance, get a hand held fish scale and attach the high start to it and start walking. You will be amaized at what 15 lbs feels like.

I have a fish scale and have been using it for 3 years on mine and other people's HS. It is a 50 pound scale.

At full pull mine registers around 30 pounds. I can't launch alone at full pull. I have launched my Legend ( 5 pounds )alone at about 250 feet, or about 23 pounds and could just barely hold on.

At 150 feet, 1/2 pull, it registers 12-13 pounds which is what I use to launch my Spirit and Sagitta 600. At that pull I can just about hold on to the Spirit without crushing the fuselage. I get some wrinkle in the wing monokote but not enough to be a problem.

Curious! Why don't you use a winch instead? What am I missing? Or is it- you just don't have one?

I see a lot of info on maximum pull. What is minimun pull I can get away with on launching a Thermal Dancer? John

Why would you want the min pull , that just nuts , get the thing in the air.

JJC
I did not mean for that to sound flip, but my brother and I launch , Supras , Avas, Ez bubble dancers and many more gliders ,and we never are trying to just get in the air, our min pull is 15 pounds all the way up to 30 plus pounds , I even have a just for practice landing Hi start that gets my Supra in the air about 200 feet , just enough for a couple of turns and a good landing. I have a new winch and thats so I can get some practice on winching for contest, so its all fun.

Shoulder problems, I can work around that with a winch, load it up quick and go. But hi-start has constant pull. John

...

Andy,
That is the best description on highstarts Ive ever read.
Bob

Thanks Andy, that is the information I was looking for. John

Originally Posted by jjc

I see a lot of info on maximum pull. What is minimun pull I can get away with on launching a Thermal Dancer? John

I don't think you can over pull a TD on any hi-strat. I full pedal my TD on the club winch in up to about 10 mph winds. That winch has to be exerting at least 120 pounds of pull, so pull back all you like!

Want one of the best 'Advice' on hi-start?

Don't use a parachute! Use a lenght of ribbon (2" wide 5' long). Pulls out of the bushes and weeds like a champ! You don't have to go the the end with the ribbon. No, just get somewhere near the middle of the nylon line and pick it up. Start walking back downwind and get thrilled to see the ribbon racing through the weeds and such like a lively snake of some kind! Try this and you'll never go back to a parachute! Trust me!

Originally Posted by philami

Want one of the best 'Advice' on hi-start?

Don't use a parachute! Use a lenght of ribbon (2" wide 5' long). Pulls out of the bushes and weeds like a champ! You don't have to go the the end with the ribbon. No, just get somewhere near the middle of the nylon line and pick it up. Start walking back downwind and get thrilled to see the ribbon racing through the weeds and such like a lively snake of some kind! Try this and you'll never go back to a parachute! Trust me!

I used to fly rockets, which use both streamers and parachutes. The problem with a streamer is that it does not drift downwind as much as a parachute (which is the point of using them with rockets), meaning you have to walk farther to get your line back. Of course, if you aren't launching upwind like you're supposed to (mea culpa ), using a streamer would be better.

KG

I started flying again this past summer after a twenty plus year absence... Way back then I had to teach myself for there were no clubs in my area (and before the internet - love the internet now) that flew sailplanes... After I had built my 1st plane (gentle lady) I 1st bought 100' of bungee cord and 400' of line... Can only stretch the cord only so much, I slowly increast the pull (to a full pull) and at one time during launch the plane was 1/4 way up and seeing the wing fold and helpless watching as it came crashing back to earth (if i crashed it once, i must have crashed it a hundred times) I figured there must be a better way... I heard about hi-starts and being a cheapskate (hense the bungee) I had bought 100' of 3/8" surgical tubing (extruded - amber) from a local medical supply house and the difference was night/day... It was true surgical tubing and no UV protection... Well needless to say it did not last long before it became brittle and was breaking all the time... Never did catch a thermal... That was then and this is now... I picked up flying again and had bought this time the heavy-duty hi-start from Dynaflight and it worked pretty well but once again after heavy use it deteriorated rather quicky and this to was breaking all the time and the pull was noticeably weaker than when it first came out of the box in no time at all... Now I have purchased several "HoseMonster" hi-starts...

( http://www.aerofoam.com/hosemonster.html )

I had puchased a Pinnacle hi-start off of ebay for a really good price but have not had the chance to try it out yet but looks very promising...! It is quite different than the hosemonster and seems to be a different type of rubber than the mandrel-dipped and has a very thin wall, if anyone could shed some light here would be very appriciated... I know next to nothing on this one and their site does not say much about it... What and or how is it made/made-of, how can you tell which size Pinnacle hi-start it is such as diameter vs the mini, small, standard, medium, large or extra-large...? Still seems hands-down much better than the Dynaflight systems and much cheaper in cost than the hosemonster's...

( http://www.nesail.com/categories.php?subcatID=54 )


The HoseMonster rubber I have in the 2, 3 and 4 meter class... They are mandrel dipped and heavier wall thickness than the Dynaflight Heavy-Duty and seems to have a much smoother pull to them... I have them "ringed" at their 50' marks and can adjust the length with qiuck release hooks depending on the size field that I am flying at... I am using 500' of 200lb massion line also "ringed" at the 250' mark for adjusting to the size field... This seems to be a good way of doing this and I can also add sections together if more pull is needed by using (joining) the rubber in parallel (tandem) such as a 50' length of 2 meter rubber along-side with a 50' 3 meter rubber... I did spend close to $400.00 (i've spent at least as much on all the cheap ones added together) on all that rubber but have found it to be well worth the cost... No more cheap rubber for this guy, I have learned my lesson...! I also use the aerospace protectant "303"

( http://www.303products.com/tech/inde...TOKEN=38121153 )

to keep them in top-notch condition and adds to the UV protection... I also have them stored in insuated Kelty Binto Cooler to keep them out of UV light and away from ozone which will also deteriorate the rubber... Store in a cool place...

( http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...0226&langId=-1 )

I thought that I would mention since I have not really heard anyone talk about the care and maintenance of the very expensive rubber...! It makes a difference between making your hi-start last a long time or make it last a VERY LONG TIME...

Well, for what it's worth...
Kevin

Have you had a chance to fly the Pinnacle? I would be interested in your thought of how it compares to the Hosemonster hi-starts.