The following points must be considered when converting the Tost twin-drum winch to plastic Winch cable (rope)

1. Azimuth roller set

All rollers and pulleys of the azimuth assembly must be free from grooves or indentations. The azimuth rollers and pulleys must spin freely . The metal case should also be free from grooves.

2. Guillotine

The Guillotine equipment must be set up for synthetic cable. Scissor action cutting equipment does not sever the cable completely or only partially so. We have developed a conversion kit for all early Tost shearing equipment, which we can supply on demand. The guillotine equipment must be cleaned with compressed air every 300 launches, this requires removal of the knife and block assembly.

3. Cable pay on arm and rollers

The pay on arm must not have any grooves or welded seams. We recommend that square profile tubes be fitted with synthetic (plastic) insets and that round profile tubes be replaced with square profile tubes with plastic inserts. The pay on rollers must turn easily and must likewise be free from grooves.

4. Cable drum

Early series aluminium drums must be clean and free from grooves. The split in the centre of the drum must be filled or welded over. Ideally the drums should be re-turned.

Single piece drums must merely be free from grooves.

Where the aluminium drums are warped, cracked or broken we recommend switching to steel drums.

5. Pay on gear

The pay on gear must be correctly set up to prevent excessive cable wear. If necessary the (v-belt) pulleys should be replaced to match the cable diameter.

6. Airfield

The airfield must not be primarily sand or tarmac A grass airfield offers the best conditions for a long operating life.

7. Parachute

Due to the lower weight of the synthetic cable a smaller parachute is needed. We recommend replacement to guarantee smooth flight operations.

8. Weak link

Pay particular attention to the use of the correct weak link. The synthetic cable has a much higher breaking load compared to steel cable. We have developed weak links for this purpose with a tolerance of only 5%.

9. UV-tolerance and operating life of synthetic cable

The synthetic cables we provide are UV-tolerant. However, in common with all synthetic materials, they should not be exposed for long time periods to direct sunlight. Heating to over 80 ° C, even short term, sharp edges, abrasion, dirt and dust should be avoided. The cable should not be stored for long periods under tension on the drum.