Vortex SmartWinch
We are proud to be fabricating the first commercially-available all-ELECTRIC hang gliding stationary winch!
We feel it could be quite revolutionary in the industry. The power is there to even tow tandem hang gliders. The intelligence is there to automate the winch operator's job to make it easy for new winch operators to increase your flying communities number of flights.
AND, the foundation is there for us to implement remote-control winch operating - imagine being able to tow yourself up where you want, when you want....all with no need for crew to assist you!
The key feature is the torque-regulated abilities....you just dial in the desired max tow tension and the winch moderates the speed the drum turns to automatically adjust to give the pilot a constant tow pressure, regardless of hitting a wind gust, thermals or sink while on tow. We were the first to implement this tension-regulation in the electric winch industry. We know there were a pair of PG electric winch makers but we beat them to the punch with it having auto-tension-regulation - as of 2023, I think they clued into it.
It is also incredibly portable! There are three components - the motor/drum, the controller box and the battery. All are light enough that they can be taken in and out of an SUV trunk and mounted on your trailer hitch as desired. No storing an entire trailer somewhere - take your winch home and go out to fly where the conditions are prime - rather than relying on a dedicated club site.
As of 2024 we are making small production runs and are ready to take orders - we even have a small inventory available (as of fall 2024). AND we now have three models (2 are ready for sale).
- vx4 for the individual PG pilot
- vx11 (not quite ready) for PG schools, tandem PG, skydivers and intermediate solo HGs
- vx15 for topless and tandem HGs
*all higher models tow the pilots of lower models
Prices are online now (see below), ready for purchase - configurations may change and evolve and as we add features and improve some components, the prices will only go up from what we have listed now.
It is sometimes hard to keep this page up-to-date - for newer news, stay tuned to the News Page
