"John Smith" wrote in message
...
Bill Daniels wrote:

I don't think any tow plane ever pays for itself once all 'hidden' costs
are considered.

A club which wants to survive *must* charge tows at full cost. At my club,
the tow plane *does* pay for itself. Which means that tows aren't exactly
cheap.

"Not exactly cheap" tows leads to an activity called "assembly practice".
This is where a pilot drives to the gliderport, assembles his glider but
then decides the conditions aren't worth the cost of a tow so he de-rigs
without flying.

When you see "assembly practice" or pilots driving to the gliderport without
flying, it's a sign your aero tow operation is verging on an economic death
spiral. You'll reach a point where tow costs are so high that you can't do
enough tows to pay the fixed overhead which, in turn, requires still further
increases in tow costs.

At $5 - $10 for a winch launch, you'll never see "assembly practice". At
$15/launch, a winch can not only support itself, it can support that tug and
some nice glub gliders. Even if you will never take a winch launch, get one
anyway just for the revenue stream.

Bill Daniels