And things come full circle...
I did a bit of gliding at Dunstable 10 years ago - all was either winching or aero-towing.
But in them olden days, the glider used to be launched with elastic bands off the ridge, as pictured in your link.
In mordern times, this has now been taken over by paragliding and hanggliding pilots, continuing the tradition of using suitable hills to launch flying vehicles from...
Of course these days ... Denmark is very flat, and does not really lend itself to foot-launched flying. 8-(
Maybe when the kids are grown, I'll get enough cash to by a glider, and become a soft-har pilot with beard and pipe and everything...
Do you fly?