Bill,

Thanks for the Pawnee education, good stuff, much of which I wasn't
aware. Though this whole discussion is a touch moot since that's a
certified plane I still stick to my guns that if you put a pilot in a
VG equipped Pawnee and one without nearly all would choose the one
with the VGs since they allow the pilot to land slower and safer (and
what pilot doesn't want that). As far as the tow speeds, that's all
up to the pilot, it wouldn't be the VGs fault if he got too slow and
caused issues with the tow VGs give slightly higher climb rates
because they increase the coefficient of lift at any given airspeed.

Speaking of the Pawnee....I use to own an Ercoupe (great little plane
for what it was designed to do BTW). It's designer, Fred Weick had an
autobiography called "From the Ground Up". It has great information
on the development of the Pawnee which was super revolutionary for
it's day (same as the Ercoupe). Fred Weick designed both as well as
the initial low wing Piper series. At the time he was also the
world's leading authority on propeller design. Anybody with an
interest in aviation history, especially early ag planes (future
glider tugs), would really love this book. And no, I don't sell the
book in case you were wondering I should though

Sorry, this is getting off topic. I did operate my Ercoupe as a
glider once though

Joa
www.landshorter.com