The first $100 tow...

"HL Falbaum" wrote in message
...
At our site (867ft MSL) in hot, humid Georgia we use about 1.5 gal for
the
average 3000 ft tow. Our 265 hp Pawnee is STC'd for auto gas, which we
have
used for about the past 5 years or so without difficulty. I just bought
some
Avgas for a Mooney at 3.85/gal.
So worst case 4.00/gal, 2 gal for 4000 ft = $8.00
As always, fuel is the least expensive part of operating an airplane
(within
certain limits of use), and the fixed costs are the most expensive.

--
Hartley Falbaum
Mid Georgia Soaring Assn, USA

I'd bet that while 1.5 Gal is what the tow itself consumes, the average
including warm up taxi and descent will be closer to twice that. We
frequently tow for 20 minutes or so to 10 - 12K feet to reach lift over the
Rockies so fuel costs are going to hit us harder.

Mogas is a good solution if your engine/tug combination has a STC and if you
can find it without ethanol. That's getting harder all the time.

But, you are basically right that the fuel quantity consumed per tow is not
all that large. However, the price of crude will impact every item in the
cost of operating an airplane. Over a period of decades, an aero tow has
cost about the same as a barrel of oil. That would suggest $70US is likely
for now with the dreaded $100 tow right round the corner.

Winches are part of the answer. Any winch can do what a tug does for a lot
of training flights like pattern tows for landing practice. A better winch
can get a glider high enough to find thermal lift while consuming only about
a quart of fuel. However, a winch cannot get a glider high into the
mountains where the good lift is - you would have to soar your way there.

BTW, Denise Layton, Editor of Soaring Magazine, needs some good winch photos
to use with a winch article I wrote. If you have any that could be used for
publication, send them to her.

Bill Daniels