I'll save a suggestion 'til last.

First, I've recently towed behind both a 180HP Husky and a 235 Pawnee at
Salida, CO where the density altitude was over 10,000 feet. Both tugs did
fine. In fact, I didn't see much difference.

For the Pawnee: It's a known quantity. There's plenty of experience around
both maintaining it and flying it. Against the Pawnee: It's old, thirsty
and it's a single seat which means using another airplane for tuggie
training.

For the Husky, it's available new, uses less fuel and it's a two seater -
and now it's available with 200HP. Against: It's expensive since it's new.

The fuel cost issue is becoming a real one. According to AirNav, the
average price for 100LL is now $4.61/gal with a maximum of $7.61. By next
summer it is likely to be more than $5/gal average.

My advice is keep the old Pawnee but minimize its use to save operating cost
and extend its life - and get a winch for training and joyrides.

Bill Daniels


"Travis Beach" wrote in message
...
Our club has a Piper Pawnee 235hp in excellent condition.
We just spent $35000 five years ago to completely overhaul
her...new fabric, new engine, anything that needed
to be replaced was...

Heres the rub...we are in the middle of a new two place
acquisition with the club making a decision about getting
a new two place intermediate performance. We were about
to drop the hammer when a very vocal minority raised
the issue of PAWNEE needing to be replaced citing extreme
maintenance cost (???) and inability to get parts.
He/She cited the local aero repair facility as his/her
source of information...Many of us just dont see this
as a problem. The replacement that was cited was a
Husky 180HP...I just dont see the reasoning of such
a switch...I surely would rather two a heavier two
place with a proven performer with 235 hp vs a 180...

What say you? Discuss...should we scrap the Pawnee
in favor of a Husky?

Beach