Numerical Simulation of Glider Winch Launches

Abstract

This paper describes a Matlab/Simulink framework for simulating the winch launching of gliders that has been realized and employed for a number of analyses.  It comprises models of the aircraft, pilot, winch, winch operator, cable, atmosphere and terrain.  Modeling of these building blocks is described in detail.  Results are presented for analyses of a reference case, wind influence and overly steep initial climbs.