Another Beautiful Tow Day

Heres some pics of our tow day at cedar fort on sunday.  We spent all day in the desert flying under sunny skies with small clouds popping up here and there.  Surprisingly, there were some good thermals mid-day which can be rare this time of year.  We were all able to thermal a bit early on and then the air smoothed out for some good wanking practice right through sunset ;)

Trip to Boise

Beck and I took our new winch to Boise Idaho to visit some family and do some flying around the local area.  We flew Melba for a bit but it wasn't quite working so after a couple of sledders we decided to move on.  We found this great highway in the birds of prey area that was desolate enough to do a few tows.

This road went east/west and was right next to the snake river canyon near swan falls.

This one was a last minute one right before sunset and faced north/south.  Turned out to be right into the upper winds and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Having this thing to tote around on trips like this is exactly why I have always wanted a to build a tow winch.  With several of these things sold this summer, Beck and I are now able to have our own!  

Supervisin....

These dogs are slave drivers. In the back ground are three winches that are coming to fruition. The two black ones in the back are for some one in Australia and some one who is taking one to Mexico. The bright green one is for me and beck ;) Testing to commence soon....

PHEW.....

Here is the next batch of winches just before I took em to the powder coater last week. I'm glad that welding marathon is over for a bit ;) One of them is going to be our personal winch so we can have one around permanently for playing this coming fall and winter. One of the winches below is going to Australia for someone who is getting pretty pumped for the upcoming season down there ;)


I can't believe how fast the season feels likes its changing. It's getting cold in the mornings and warm during the day. The colors are about to come out in the mountains soon.

Towing with the homies

Went out for some final testing of one of the winches before we hand it off this weekend. Marshall, Wade, and this strange guy who I hardly ever see flying came out...Rob Whittall. Becky and Dennis also came out for some towing after working graveyard shifts...couple of junkies. Our friend Lisa also came out to see what this towing thing is all about. Despite the lack of sleep, Beck managed some nice wing overs and SATs while Denny took a couple turns running the winch under the watchful eye of Beck (Rob and Marshall volunteered to be the ginnie pigs). Of course, Rob, Marshall, and Wade were throwing down all kinds of heli's, and tumbles. I didn't get any video but Marshall got some good footage via the "slam cam"....don't ask.....maybe we can get some of the video up here soon.

Rob sent this pic along with the following comments about the winch:

"Thanks man, that was a killer morning. It has been a long time since i have towed but I have done one hell of a lot of towing in my time and I got to say your rig is very smooth. I am used to feeling the line pay out with a bit of constant jerking but your winch ran without even a tug. On the last tow there were some good thermals and even then the ride remained smooth. All in all I got to say you have done a real good job and thanks for dragging me into the air again."

Well, 3 more winches in fab and one of them is gonna be our personal winch. That way we can keep these morning tow sessions going all year.

Testing Before OD

Went out for some testing on Chris and Sarah Galli's new winch before they come and get it this weekend. Everything went smooth as butter AND we got to try out a new tow spot.

This one is out in Grantsville, UT by the West side of the Salt Lake and looks as if it may have some potential on a good thermic day as it is right next to a nice mountain range running north to south. Even nicer is that is is paved so no dust to chew on! Unfortunately this day, it was blowing over the wrong side of the ridge so the air was a little weird behind the ridge and low.Looking NorthLooking east toward the Salt Lake. Managed to do a SAT without getting motion sick...maybe I will start to like them.....lol

New Winch in Jackson Hole

Today the boys from Jackson came to pick up their winch. We went out for some winch training this morning and were accompanied by some of the local acro heads. Bri, Jake, Marshall and Beck came out to be test tow dummies. I ran both AJ and Pete through the process of towing with the cloud street from getting the winch set up, running the dial, rewind techniques as well as maintenance tips to ensure longevity of this thing.
The crazies were throwin down all morning and it turned out to be a great crew. Thx to all for chipping in to cover expenses and make it happen! I hope the guys in Jackson get some good use out of this unit. It sounds like a good group and they are on the right track and already thinking about putting together a kit that stays with the winch for daily maintenance items and handy towing tools (ie. winch tow checklists, waivers, line fids, weak links etc.). Even thinking about a cover for it since it will be traded around a group of people. Its gonna be a good bunch and I think we will be able to work together to develop tow checklist and what not and share information in order to improve the value of the whole package!

In the works is small manual that will show pictures and tips about running the winch and maintenance tips as well as fine points such as allowable weaklink strengths and such.

Three more winches are starting fab and I may be keeping one for me and beck. I just gotta make it happen before our wedding in Vegas this September....phew. Planning for that is in full swing (I've gotta get two shirts/ties for my friends and buy a suit). Thats why we are doing it in vegas. Easy decisions. I did buy my first suit the other day....now thats a milestone....forget turning 30 last year or 31 this year, or being able say "I remodeled our house" this year...its all about the suit.

More towing and more winches

The cloud street winch was put to the test in Chelan Washington this last weekend during the towfest that went on.  Chris had two tow winches on the back of his red neck rig and it looked like an awsome way to have some fun.  Roughly 30 tows a day including some tandems were logged on the winch and I am told it performed great.  Here are some of the pics:

  

(a dusty road in the middle of nowhere never looked so good)

The orders keep coming along for these winches and interest is growing much faster than I expected.  I am now working on an electric start version for someone who is putting one to use in Mexico!  Building two at a time isn't seeming to be enough to keep one around for me and Beck...lol

Thanks for everyones support!  Without people like you this wouldn't be happening for me and Beck.

Thats it....Beck and I are skipping town next month for a flying trip...;)

More to come...we have some rough video of beck and I doing a tandem step tow but haven't had time to edit.  Not a bad testing method before shipping these out....

Going, going, gone

Well I thought beck and I were gonna have a winch for us to use for a bit but it has already been sold to some good peeps from Fort Collins CO. Good for business, bad for us getting to go towing...actually we could probably take the one that chris has out just about anytime. Perhaps this next week sometime since I will have a small gap of time while the frames are out to the powder coater. And of course, we have to go test these units before we send them off.

I would like to extend a thanks to all who have supported me in this project from my wife, to friends and family to those who I don't know but have sent positive comments and vibes. This is by far one of the coolest/scariest things I have decided to do in my life. It has been hard work but it is so much better than sitting behind the desk at the rocket farm....;)

More orders and more towing

Lots has been happening since I last updated this blog.  We have been out towing a bunch and the cloud street winch is holding up to all abuse with not a problem yet.  We had a good session at Yuba reservoir a couple of weekends ago.  Chris was towing on the lake with his boat and I was towing people along side the lake so we could handle the fairly large group of people who showed up for maneuvers coaching.  Once people were to altitude along side the lake, they simply pinned off and in a minute or so were right over the lake for chris to give them instructions on how to scare themselves....;)  It worked out really well until mid day when it blew out.  Later on we finished it off with an evening marathon tow session in some magic air.  Back to back tows about as fast as we could crank em out so everyone could get their fill.  Of course chris and I had to go "test" out the conditions before sending anyone else up...(read: we actually got to take some tows and fly some).  I gotta say, I have a new found respect for people running these tow clinics.  Even though it doesn't seem all that tough, it takes a lot of stamina to tow people up all day. 

I am currently working on putting two winches together.  One has already been sold to a group of avid pilots in Jackson.  I'm sure they will be stoked!  The second may be going to someone in mexico.  If not, it will be ready to go for the next person in line who cant wait.  

BTW: Lead times on these winches are running about 1.5-2 months in case you might be thinking of a purchase.