Tow plane ideas

On Sunday, May 30, 2021 at 11:15:08 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Hi all, These are great ideas and I will be discussing them with the board and membership of the club . If there are more ideas, please keep them coming!
What do you think about this? Our club is selling one of our winches, we have two. Our TOST double winch is for sale. It's on a International truck flat bed so it can be driven to location's on the airport.

On Tuesday, June 1, 2021 at 7:35:52 AM UTC-4, Glenn Betzoldt wrote:
Our club is selling one of our winches, we have two. Our TOST double winch is for sale. It's on a International truck flat bed so it can be driven to location's on the airport.

Three cheers for this idea!

FWIW
Parowan Ut tow pilot John Templeton owned a Maule. He didn't like it- he said it was difficult to land.
I took a BFR with him in that aircraft and he wouldn't let me even attempt to land it.
Nick
T

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 10:31:42 AM UTC-4, wrote:
FWIW
Parowan Ut tow pilot John Templeton owned a Maule. He didn't like it- he said it was difficult to land.
I took a BFR with him in that aircraft and he wouldn't let me even attempt to land it.
Nick
T
Interesting BFR concept.

Anyway, I haven't seen the Cherokees mentioned. Hollister has been using 235hp for some time and a 180hp was used successfully by a club in Puerto Rico years ago.

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 10:31:42 AM UTC-4, wrote:
FWIW
Parowan Ut tow pilot John Templeton owned a Maule. He didn't like it- he said it was difficult to land.
I took a BFR with him in that aircraft and he wouldn't let me even attempt to land it.
Nick
T
I have towed in a Pawnee, L-19, C-182 (straight tail) and a 235 HP Maule. All get the job done from a 2,000 ft grass strip. The Maule is NOT difficult to fly or land, and I have quite a few hours in IFR conditions in a 180 HP Maule. In my opinion it is not the best tow plane since it has relatively short wings, and is close coupled in all directions. Performance is more than adequate, but pilot work load is higher than the other tow planes.

The Pawnee (PA-25 235 and 260 HP) is an ideal tow plane. It is EASY to fly and has great performance. Availability and TP training are the biggest issues. The L-19 is my all-time favorite to fly. It is a joy in the air, and we use it to train new TPs. Cost, parts availability and age are the big issues along with limited performance in hot weather (90+ F) from a short grass strip.

Tow aircraft are going to be a real issue in the years to come!

Skip

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 1:40:00 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 10:31:42 AM UTC-4, wrote:
FWIW
Parowan Ut tow pilot John Templeton owned a Maule. He didn't like it- he said it was difficult to land.
I took a BFR with him in that aircraft and he wouldn't let me even attempt to land it.
Nick
T
I have towed in a Pawnee, L-19, C-182 (straight tail) and a 235 HP Maule. All get the job done from a 2,000 ft grass strip. The Maule is NOT difficult to fly or land, and I have quite a few hours in IFR conditions in a 180 HP Maule. In my opinion it is not the best tow plane since it has relatively short wings, and is close coupled in all directions. Performance is more than adequate, but pilot work load is higher than the other tow planes.

The Pawnee (PA-25 235 and 260 HP) is an ideal tow plane. It is EASY to fly and has great performance. Availability and TP training are the biggest issues. The L-19 is my all-time favorite to fly. It is a joy in the air, and we use it to train new TPs. Cost, parts availability and age are the big issues along with limited performance in hot weather (90+ F) from a short grass strip.

Tow aircraft are going to be a real issue in the years to come!

Skip
The tow plane issue is becoming a bigger issue that ever before, cost and availability are the two main factors. Forget the Maule, we tried that back in the seventies, didn't work then and wont work well now. In the 180 hp category the Pawnee and the Super Cub are probably the best options. Moving up in HP the Pawnee and the straight tail 182 are very good tow planes. The Pawnee is becoming harder to find and more expensive to maintain, I think even much more than the 182. The Husky 180 hp is not bad, much like a Super Cub, but doesn't fly as well. The Callair does a good job of towing but they are becoming hard to find as well.
I guess I will keep the Pawnee flying as long as possible, or else the only option would be to buy one of those useless motor gliders. The Purist, Old Bob

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 10:31:42 AM UTC-4, wrote:
FWIW
Parowan Ut tow pilot John Templeton owned a Maule. He didn't like it- he said it was difficult to land.
I took a BFR with him in that aircraft and he wouldn't let me even attempt to land it.
Nick
T


I had two 235 Maules. I didn't think they were difficult to land, either. However on both, the rivets inboard inboard on both wings on the upper surface "ovaled" from the stress / vibration due to full power climbs.