Weak Links - Probably the most important item in any tow system. A weak link acts like a fuse, in that it responds instantaneously to an overload condition in the tow system. There are many things that can produce extreme and unplanned loads on the tow pilot. Some of the overloads we have seen include an overzealous tow operator, line dig or jamming of the towline, vehicles and boats running over the towline and dragging it away - with the pilot still attached, pilot entering a very strong thermal on tow. Typically a weak link that breaks at 75% of your inflight load is desired. (ie. If you, your gear, and glider weigh 300 pounds; you should use a weak link with a 225 pound breaking strength). Weak links are essential to prevent overloading your glider, as they limit the maximum force that can be exerted on it to 75% over your normal inflight load. Some pilots feel towing causes severe stress or damage to their gliders. Our experience has shown that towing causes little noticeable wear, and frankly our gliders are exposed to 100% over their normal inflight load when we do a simple 60 degree banked turn. If it is unsafe for the glider to perform steep turns, you probably wouldn't want to be flying it anyway.
We are big fans of testing, and virtually all of the products on this site are tested to failure to ensure they perform as designed. We do a combination of computer modeling using a finite element analysis program to predict loads in areas of stress, and destructive testing using load cells and strain gauge testers. A weak link is useless if you don't know what strength it breaks at in a predictable manner. We use only Dacron or Polyester weaklink line specially manufactured for us to our specifications and each batch of line is tested to verify its actual breaking strength . We are big fans of sewn weak links, since they break in a very predictable manner at the rated strength of the line used to make the link. Sewn weak links are offered in a wide range of breaking strengths. These are the ultimate in ease of use since they don't require any fiddling to tie, and you know exactly what load they will break at. We also carry a wide range of Calibrated weak link line with instructions to tie them so they break in a predictable fashion at a predetermined load. We have even added a page to show you how to build your own Weaklink tester to calibrate the breaking strength of your own links for around $100 from readily available materials.
Tow Bridles - We manufacture our own custom line of tow bridles using the best available materials sewn on computerized industrial sewing machines. Made to our exacting specifications our Split Apart Style Tow Bridles are possibly the best bridle available in the world. We also manufacture and supply Link Knife style Tow Bridles, Compact style Tow Bridles, and sewn Hang Glider Single and Dual Release Tow Bridles.
Pre stretched Spectra Towline - We have our towline custom wound for us from a Honeywell patented Performance Product originally made for the Department of defence. Woven from UHMW PE/Spectra 1000 fibers on a continuous spool with no splices, then coated with a synthetic finish. For our payout winches we stock Flat tubular braided towline that splices very easily, in 5500 foot lengths with an average breaking strength of 1200 pounds. Colored 500' red - 4500' white - 500' red, it can be wound quickly on a winch drum, and gives you a visual indication that you are running out of line near the end of your tow. We carry pre stretched Spectra in 500 pound, 675 pound, and 725 pound strengths as well, but we no longer offer it in towline lengths because it tangles to easily and isn't safe enough to use as a towline. We do offer sewn leader lines made from this product for use as a backup to a weaklink system. If your needs require longer lengths of this lighter duty line, please contact us for pricing. The ONLY safe way to join 2 sections of towline, or repair a broken towline is to splice the line. TowMeUp.com produces our very own Splicing fids to make this task an easy process. For instructions on how to splice your own towline you can visit our Splicing instructions page.
SuperTow Hydraulic Payout Winch - Far and away our favorite winch, the Supertow hydraulic winch is a top of the line winch designed for back to back tows of solo or tandem pilots. For pilots, it provides one of the smoothest tows to altitude available. If you are considering purchasing any type of hydraulic winch, you owe it to yourself to educate yourself as much as possible before deciding which winch to purchase. There are many winches out there. Some are very well designed and tested, others are hacked together in a garage with whatever surplus components happen to be available. Far to many people consider hydraulics to complicated, which is a shame, because a properly designed hydraulic winch provides one of the smoothest, safest, most trouble free towing systems available anywhere. To help simplify your understanding of the system, we have prepared an extensive informational document in .pdf format. It illustrates how each component in the system is designed to function, both individually, or as part of a system. If you own a hydraulic winch that overheats, surges, breaks weaklinks, or is not functioning properly, this document will help you understand why. You can download the Hydraulic Winch Circuit Description and Operations Manual by clicking this link.
SuperTow Hydraulic Payin / Payout Winch - Utilizing a larger rewind motor and pump, as well as some upgraded hydraulic components, our SuperTow Payin / Payout Winch is the ultimate in versatility. It can be used as a stationary winch like a scooter tow, as a traditional payout winch, or both. This winch opens up many more areas to tow than would otherwise be possible with a standard payout winch. Consider the number of times you have found the ideal tow road, except the wind always seems to blow 90 degrees to the road, and there is a gnarly barbed wire fence along the downwind side of the road. With our SuperTow Payin / Payout winch, you simply lay out 500 feet or so in a clearing on the downwind side of the road. The pilot lays out facing into the wind and the tow tech winches the pilot aloft, headed towards the tow vehicle. Once the pilot gets a couple hundred feet in the air, and the line is well clear of any obstructions, the driver simply drives off down the road and the winch automatically switches into the payout mode. The Tow Tech shuts down the rewind system and continues to tow the pilot to altitude.
Stationary Scooter Tow Winch - Scooter tow winches have been around since the earliest days of towing. Over the years, we've built 21 of them, almost all of which were built around a used / rebuilt Honda 250 Elite scooter. The Scooter Tow Winch uses a very efficient 4 stroke, water cooled engine with a torque converter to smoothly tow solo and tandem paraglider pilots aloft. They are ideal for training new pilots. Sadly they were all built one at a time, and they are too costly to manufacture on an ongoing basis. Our Hydraulic Payout winch can mimic all the functions of a scooter tow when given enough power on the rewind system, plus it gains the benefits of tension controlled towing which makes them far safer to operate. We no longer sell Scooter Tow based towing systems, but we will continue to support those we have built in the past until they no longer function reliably, which should be a long time in the future.
Drogue Parachutes - Typically attached near the end of the towline, Drogue Parachutes are used to keep the line from falling into trees, fences, or water during the rewind process, and are often used to provide tension to wind the towline smoothly back onto the drum. We stock an excellent Ventilated round drogue, as well as a Rectangular drogue for specialized applications.
Leader Line - Typically attached between the apex of the parachute and the weak link connector link, our Sewn Leader Lines are designed to prevent a round drogue from blowing up in a pilots face if the line tension is reduced during the tow. Essential for any training pilots, this line also serves as a backup to the weak link in that it is typically installed made from material with a lower breaking strength than the towline.
Harness Carabiners - Carabiners are an essential piece of gear for all pilots. For towing, especially with a Tow Assist device the Airsave carabiner manufactured by Fader is our favorite carabiner for all paragliding applications. Rated to 20Kn with a very practical design. Their large gate allows easy connections to glider risers and tow bridles. We have had several requests for Steel Carabiners as well, and since we are an importer for many brands of rock climbing gear we have added the AustriAlpine Powerfly and Delta style carabiners as well. These biners are suitable for the most hard core pilots and are the strongest available for our applications.
Stainless Steel Quick Links - We stock a wide range of Maillion Rapide quick links made from Stainless Steel. Yes, stainless steel is a bit more expensive than cheaper plated or galvanized quick links, but our links are typically twice as strong as a plated product in the same size and weight, and we only carry links that have ratings to ensure their integrity.
Winch and Towboat Leases - We have found that once owners get one winch, they often create a demand for more, but perhaps only on a limited basis. We were asked so many times if we could provide a winch for short term leases that we have made a small fleet of winches available through our lease/rental program. We also offer marine vessels with winches installed available for rent with a driver and winch operator, available anywhere in the Continental US and Canada. Due to the limited availability and great demand for these winches and vessels, you need to book well in advance to ensure availability. If it's a maneuvers clinic that you would like to put on, we can make arrangements to get a towboat with driver and winch operator to your site; and then provide you with one of the finest maneuvers coaches available world wide. Currently, we have made arrangements with Enleau O'Conner of Safety in Flight Training (formerly ProTow), and Chris Santacroce of Superfly to provide coaching services for your event. These guys are simply 2 of the very best in the world at what they do and they both have unique teaching styles that ensure pilots attending your clinics will learn a phenomenal amount. Please follow this link to our Supertow hydraulic winch page for costs on winch leases. Our 21' Mirage towboat lease agreement, or our 17' Calglass towboat lease agreement can be downloaded by clicking the appropriate link. Please note that all winch and towboat leases require a signed agreement before they leave our facility. We reserve the right to NOT provide winches, or towboats to anybody who we feel does not meet the qualifications to safely operate them.
Custom Aluminum Towboats - Like most pilots who developed an interest in paraglider acrobatics, we decided the only way to learn and develop any skill at all would be to obtain our own towboat with a winch in it. We already make one of the best winches available, so finding a suitable boat should have been easy. We obtained a used 16 foot boat with a 90 HP outboard motor and installed the winch. For a total price of under $11,000 retail we had a tow boat that was quite adequate for towing most solo or tandem pilots, and capable of speeds around 34 M.P.H. This worked fine for tows in light winds, but to circle tow in stronger winds and to be able to deal with pilot who "cut the corners" we needed a bit more speed. A couple grand later we found and installed a 140 HP outboard that allowed speeds of up to 44 M.P.H. This was good, but we soon found we wanted more.
Working with our own small fleet of towboats, and helping several customers install our winches in their boats we learned some of the weaknesses found by most tow boat operators. One of the problems lies in the method of hull construction itself, and mounting the winch to the hull. Most fiberglass boats use a floor that is encapsulated in fiberglass and this in turn is glassed into the hull. Mounting the winch to this floor causes the floor to flex and in time separate from the sides of the hull, making this a high maintenance area. Many operators also desire a means of rewinding the winch line without the need to start a separate small Honda motor to run the rewind pump. Having the facilities of a fully stocked CNC fabrication and machine shop in house, we made custom mounting hardware to allow these individuals to belt drive a hydraulic pump with an electrically controlled clutch from an extra crankshaft pulley on the V8 engine in the boat. This provides them with a greatly increased rewind speed, and the ability to easily stationary tow a pilot by paying in the line. Most customers still retain the stock Honda motor as a backup in case their main powerplant fails.
To help ensure reliable functioning over many years, we typically build a small subframe that we fiberglass into the floor of our fiberglass boats. This frame has 4 studs that our winch simply drops over, and is then secured by tightening down 4 nuts. We can drop a winch in a boat, or remove it for truck towing in about 5 minutes. We typically end up reinforcing the floors in our boat, but all of our fiberglass boats require ongoing maintenance to repair the minor dings, chips and cracks that they seem to accumulate.
If your looking for a new boat, our experience has shown that it's really hard to beat an aluminum hulled boat. The best boats in the business are manufactured from Aluminum, and for good reason. we like a thick Aluminum hull to withstand collisions with floating objects when our attention might be diverted, and it must be capable of routine beaching, since we often run onto the shore after every tow, to prepare for the next one. Ideally it can travel at least 50 M.P.H. when loaded. A motor that is economical to rebuild, with readily available parts is a must, at least the size of a small block 350. If you must use an outdrive, get one that uses a cone clutch rather than a transmission to shift gears from Forward to Neutral, to Reverse. You will always going be shifting between neutral, forward, and reverse, while waiting for pilots to get their act together on launch.
Since we started work on our boat we've learned an awful lot about using boats to tow paragliders with. Using our existing fleet of boats, we've learned first that it can get expensive if you want to tow in murky waters and different locations with varying water levels. It seems no matter how careful some of our operators are, we still suffer from quite a bit of prop and lower unit damage from strikes with unseen submerged objects. Fortunately, our friends at ReelJet helped us develop a unique solution. we purchased the patterns and rights to build the Endeavor Jetboat line that used to be manufactured by Boice boats and joined forces with ReelJet.com to produce what is likely the worlds finest paragliding towboat. Here's some photos of our prototype boat Nightmare (aptly named if you know the history of the Boice Banckruptcy Fiasco). There are simply some HUGE advantages to using a jetboat for tow launching paragliders. It's certainly not a cheap solution, but the costs should be easily amortized by reduced maintenance expenses, and the increased productivity one of these vessels allows. We can operate our jetboat in areas we'd never even consider towing with a prop. Click on our Aluminum Jetboat Project for more information. Curious where you can go with a jetboat? Take a look at the photos below of an Endeavour climbing up class 4 whitewater. Or the one on the right, of Nightmare doing a "crash" stop. A really cool thing about a jetboat is that it has brakes. You can go from flat out to fully stopped in just a couple boat lengths. It's great for removing the wuffos who bum a ride on the bow! You can wave at them as they float by...
