On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 09:29:17 +0200, Stefan wrote:

Is anyone doing this?

In Europe, this is becoming more and more common. Towing works
astonishingly well with 100 hp and one of those new planes. The limit is
when the glider is very heavy (fully loaded two seater) or the runway is
very short and soft. Towing with 3 gal/hour and with remarkably little
noise is much cheaper and neighbour-friendlier, even if a tow it last 10%
longer.

When I visited the Wasserkuppe in 2003 they were using a Robin GR400 for
their two-seat fleet (ASK-21) and a Pelikan UL for the single seaters.
That's a reasonable tow-plane test: OK, they operate off tarmac, but
launch is usually down-wind and down-hill so the tow plane needs to be
fairly capable.

--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |