This winch was originally borrowed from Grampians Soaring Group. It was later decommissioned after the drum failed.
The club members originally constructed this winch for themselves. In 2004 it was upgraded to a new chassis with a redesigned cabin as seen below.
This is the winch currently being used by the club.
Winch maintenance for 2006 is underway with Phil tackling the broken alternator bracket. Major redesign of the winch feed and axle configuration has been deferred until next winter while the required parts are assembled
Ralph uses a grinder to dress the wire guides on the arms. The current arm system will be replaced with rollers in the new design and the drum rotation will be reversed.
Not strictly about the winch, but David Tickner is pictured here re-assembling the club generator. He later reaped reward for his efforts by scoring the longest flight of the day.