In article
,
Scott Alexander wrote:

Anybody ever used a Cessna 170 for a towplane? If yes, how did it
work out? What size engine?

Blue Skies,
Scott Alexander

Hi Scott,

A 170 with a 180 hp engine and fixed pitch climb prop would be an OK
towplane. Be advised though, guys with the heavily ballasted 18m
Cashflugels are not gonna want to tow behind it. Should be good with 235
hp.

MGSA used to tow with a C-180 that did a fine job. Not sure about the
engine size though. Must have been a 235. It did great right up until
the seat slid back on takeoff one day ( in spite of locks on the rails).
It ended up on it's side, on fire, and was totally destroyed. No
injuries, thankfully.

Back in my days with the NCSA, we towed with Ray Galloway's stock 172.
We had a 3700 ft paved runway. That 172 was struggling on hot days with
the 2-33.

The towplane I used to have in a partnership (Tim McGowin's C-175) is
pretty close to a 170. It has a 180 hp engine with CS prop and a STOL
kit. It is definitely not a Pawnee, but it tows two-seaters just fine at
our field with 5000 ft runways. It has also towed 2 seaters at much
shorter fields like Chilhowee and Moontown. it will tow a sports class
grid almost as efficiently as a Pawnee. However, it doesn't climb very
well at the speeds preferred by those flying heavily watered ships. That
has cut into it's contest towing.

In my opinion, the best towplane for the east, considering towing
ability, fuel burn, and maintenance costs is a 150 Pawnee converted to
180 hp. The late and much missed Jeff Cloud had a 150/180 Pawnee. The
150 Pawnee is about 300lbs lighter than the 235 Pawnee so with 180 hp it
tows about as well as a 235.

A lot of different planes can be reasonably good tugs, depending on the
situation. However, having been through the "Pick a Towplane" exercise
at multiple clubs, I can say that, when all the facts are weighed,
Pawnees ALWAYS come out as the best compromise (in the US).

Oh, also consider that the best towplane might not be a towplane. If you
have the field length and width, a winch is cheaper and more fun. If you
don't need a high launch rate. A pulley on the bumper of an old 8
cylinder automatic trans beater and 4000 ft of dacron (or
spectra/dyneema) rope will do as well.