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.

Another Sweet Morning

Got up squirrelly early on tuesday morning and had a good session. I was really happy to get the first couple of tows this time. Usually I end up getting the 11am tow after everyone has already gone and the thermals are getting big by then in the desert. These tows were hands off and really smooth. What a great way to wake up in the morning! I need to figure out a way to bring my coffee up on these mornings and just cruz.

We brought a newbie out as well but he showed up a little late (thanks to my directions....). He had a great first tow and his second was a bit more rowdy. He hit a pretty good thermal on tow and I think it freaked him out cause he pinned off right quick after coming out of it. He was sort of quiet after landing....
















I love this picture here. You can see the drainage coming out all the way from the Oquirrh mountain range on the west side of the Valley.






















My honey, "tow tech Beck". She is really good at running the dial now. I think she was having a good time as well ;) She pulled the sweetest SAT I have seen her do so far.

Tow date with the wifey

My wife Becky and I spent this morning out in the west desert towing each other up. Really nice day for towing and much warmer than it has been for a while. Very nice to get out with Beck and do some flying away from the crowds at the local hill. Thermals started kicking around 11:30 and we were hitting peaks of 5 m/s on tow with sustained climb rates of 2 m/s all morning...Pretty sweet...

GOOD STUFF!

The weather here in SLC has finally let up and flying is looking good. Last weekend was spent out towing at Cedar Fort and it was beautiful both days. Friday turned out to be a bit windy/thermic but still tow-able. We arrived around 3:30pm so conditions were definitely going to be on the big side. We started off with two tows with Becky (my wife) and I to warm things up. Tows were great and the air was rocking! Hitting peaks of 1000 fpm on tow was a great way to see how the winch performed under high loads. After our two tows, we did two tandem tows with Chris in the same conditions. The winch performed great! No over heating issues, pressure issues, etc...absolutely no problems!

Saturday was spent with several of our close friends out in the desert. After calling the wind and figuring the point wouldn't be working till later, we decided to go back out towing. We did 9 back to back tows until we started seeing BIG dusties and decided to call it. The day went off without a glitch and everyone was stoked. It sure is a lot of fun to be able to go out with some good friends to fly and not worry about what direction the wind is going to be blowing at the local hill! Its also nice to see that this winch is operating with no problems day after day. I think I have finally convinced myself that this thing is ready to be released for sale.

After towing saturday, we headed over to the north side for some free flying. After all Beck and I didn't get any tows...We need to get some people up to speed now on running the dial so we can fly more!

Contact Chris if you are interested in a demo or purchase. This thing is ready! I couldn't be more pleased with the results and I'm sure anyone who sees it and/or gives it a try will say the same.

I'm going to dig up some more video/pictures and post them up...more to come...

Happy tows!

Winter Towing in Cedar Fort

Winch working perfect, glassy air, not as cold as it looks... Great tow day with Justin, Becky, Loren and Nova. Perfect toy for a winter day with no wind.

With some initial testing and tweaks out of the way, this winch is finished. We have had several days of great towing in the west desert of utah and look forward to many more. I am thinking southern utah is on the list now that we are getting into cooler weather. Here is a video of the winch in action.

I couldn't be more happy with the results! I am truly excited about this project and believe that this a great answer to the" bulky and heavy" winch woes. This winch weighs in right around 200lbs and will fit right into the receiver hitch of any vehicle. It can easily be installed with two people or one person with the help of transmission jack to wheel it around.

Here are some pictures of the finished product:












































Leave a comment or email for more info!

justin.brim@yahoo.com