Launching a glider into the air requires a fair amount of power, but unlike the the US Navy we don’t have steam powered catapults to launch our gliders we make do with a slightly different kind of American power, an 8.2 litre V8 from General Motors. These power units are incredibly reliable and produce enough power to launch a glider to over 1200ft in around a minute. Shown here is a video of a launch of a two seater K21 seen from the winch drivers perspective.
![](https://www.camgliding.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/K21-Winch-launch-from-winch-POV-1_thumb2-scaled-1-2000x1125.jpg)