Tow rope reel

[Don[_4_]]

Our club here in the States is considering purchasing a tow rope reel for
our Pawnee. We have roads at both ends of our runway, requiring us to land
very long to prevent dragging rope/rings over the road. We read old posts
on this subject but nothing was very conclusive. Am most concerned about
safety, reliability and maintenance. Any comments from clubs and/or
commercial ops with these would be appreciated. Thanks.

[bildan]

On Oct 28, 2:48*am, "Don" > wrote:
> Our club here in the States is considering purchasing a tow rope reel for
> our Pawnee. *We have roads at both ends of our runway, requiring us to land
> very long to prevent dragging rope/rings over the road. *We read old posts
> on this subject but nothing was very conclusive. *Am most concerned about
> safety, reliability and maintenance. *Any comments from clubs and/or
> commercial ops with these would be appreciated. *Thanks.

Fred Robinson at Great Western Soaring is using them on his Pawnees.
The last I talked to him, he really liked them for all the reasons you
mention plus faster turn around and less wear on the Pawnees.

[noel.wade]

Our club occasionally encamps at some small airfields. Growing trees
& access roads at the approach end of the runways are beginning to
cause problems with our operations... I would be VERY interested in
learning what reel systems folks are using, and what their cost &
reliability is like.

Thanks!

--Noel

[stephanevdv]

Our Husky is our second towplane with a reel system, and we wouldn't
consider reverting to the old system. We have a Tost reel that is very
reliable, but there are two caveats with all systems we used:

- It happens that the cable is not completely winched in (friction
system incorrectly set, for example, or electrical problem). The pilot
should always check that before final approach.
- The cable can start to weaken inside the system, so you have to
check that regularly (dayly), because it can't be seen by checking the
cable from the outside, even by unrolling it completely (should also
be done regularly).

[Bob Whelan[_3_]]

stephanevdv wrote:
> Our Husky is our second towplane with a reel system, and we wouldn't
> consider reverting to the old system. We have a Tost reel that is very
> reliable, but there are two caveats with all systems we used:
>
<Snip>
> - The cable can start to weaken inside the system, so you have to
> check that regularly (dayly), because it can't be seen by checking the
> cable from the outside, even by unrolling it completely (should also
> be done regularly).

I can add an ancient historical 'second' to this. The only
non-self-induced rope break I've experienced happened on a
tow-rope-reel-equipped tug (1975, Heber City, UT).

There I wuz, in perfect position, benign conditions, enjoying the
scenery...which came to include a diminishing-size towplane, climbing
away from me as the *front* of the towrope sagged away out of sight.
Being directly overhead the runway, I pulled my release, rather than
depend solely on the back release, flew a normal pattern and landed -
somewhat puzzled.

Turned out the rope had broken at the exit from the tug's bellmouth
leading in to the winch reel. Or, right where it would be expected to
experience repeated load/strain/bending/etc.

Regards,
Bob - so much for the 'if it withstands the initial acceleration, it's
an OK rope' theory - W.