Quote Originally Posted by davidfrank View Post
Hi Bill,

Your not taking my thunder. The link goes to something that is not for the same use. I don't know many falconers that would be happy to hand crank the kite or balloon up and down 2000 ft each day for training. Yes, drills or batteries can die and I've seen people simply put a glove on and walk the line down, untie the balloon or kite, and then wind up the line by hand. I originally looked at the product you are showing us and it just seemed way to flimsy to me. Ours is not quite twice as much in terms of cost but it will last forever.

We will be working on a version next that slips into a cradle that can be hooked into your trailer hitch.

Thanks for being a fan of Western Sporting.

David Frank
Western Sporting
David,
I designed and built a spool holder five years ago, that is mounted into the 2 inch square reciever hitch. It extends out from the back of the truck far enough to clear the tailgate of the truck when it is down. Then it elbows up at a 90 degree to a working level just above the tailgate. The spool is mounted in a yoke that will pivot in any direction you want it, to adjust to wind direction changes. The spool is mounted onto a steel rod, the end of the rod long enough to easily clear the yoke frame. On the end of this rod, has a small rod centered and welded onto it. That fits into the drill chuck. I use two drills, one as a backup. My main drill is 18 volts and the back up is 9 volts. Anyway, this works well for kites or balloon. I even slip it into the 2 inch reciever on my ATV and use it there when I want to get way out in the field away from places with trees or other hazzards.
Once the amount of line is out I anchor the spool by a rod pushed through a hole in the yoke frame and through a hole in the spool side. My spool is a very thick heavy spool used to hold deep sea fishing monofilament or Dacron line. I have three thousand feet of spectra type line on it and it would hold more than twice that amount. Since the spool is very thick ( 1/4 inch ), it does not collaspe under the pressure of the line if rolled up when the kite is flying. But I always walk my line down and roll without pressure on the line or spool. Maybe you can picture that.

Dan