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#51
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Tow Signals
Tony Verhulst wrote: SAM 303a wrote: Had one of these 6 weeks ago. Both of us 15-20' off the ground with 1500+ ft of runway ahead and the window popped open on the Pawnee. He shut down...... What am I missing? The window pops open on a Pawnee, big deal - keep going. Tony V. LS6-b "6N" Tony I am not a Tow Pilot but a friend was killed by the opening window on a Pawnee tow plane. If the front hinge mounts are damaged or weak in any way the abrupt wind force can break the hinge point and the window will pivot on the rear hinge and flail in the slipstream, this happened and killed or knocked unconcious the towpilot in flight, we knew this happened in flight because of the stream of blood on the fuse. Unfortunately the canopy handle is at the perfect position to hit the the Temporal artery on the head if it lets go. It has been mandatory to wear a crash helmet when towing in the Pawnee ever since. |
#52
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Tow Signals
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#53
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Tow Signals
"Bruce Greef" wrote in message ... Too many excuses by far. Exactly! I fly with a little Vertex VXA-150 hanging on a light lanyard around my neck like a piece of jewelry. It costs a whole $230.00, weighs a few ounces, runs all day on a charge, and is packed with features, including the weather band. If you can't afford that, you probably should find another hobby. http://www.wingsandwheels.com/page6.htm Vaughn |
#54
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Tow Signals
"Jack" wrote in message ups.com... Radios are great but... Radios DO malfunction... Transmissions DO get walked on... Parachutes sometimes fail to open, but you still see plenty of them around gliderports. And... you don't get too much for $200- in a portable. That being the opinion of someone that does radio for a living. From someone else who does radios for a living, I respectfully disagree. My little $230.00 Vertex ricebox compares well to some of the stuff my employers pays $ thousands for! Why would anybody fly without a radio? Vaughn |
#55
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Tow Signals
Vaughn,
Please don't put words in my mouth... I never would suggest that anyone fly without a radio. Don't tell me now how good your $230- radio is now, tell me 10 years from now. If it's still working and hasn't fallen apart, I'll agree with you. A radio should always be used as primary. It's the safest thing to do. As a backup... know the signals. If you are out working trackside and your handheld radio craps out, you had better know the hand/lantern signals or you might just get run over my the train... or fired... or fined by the FRA... or all of the above... (like the FAA, but for choo choos.) Heck, they even take the slack out. Jack Womack |
#56
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Tow Signals
Jack wrote: A radio should always be used as primary. Yes, a radio should be primary for abnormals and emergencies. Cluttering the frequency with non essential transmissions may make it unavailable when it is really needed. Andy |
#57
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Tow Signals
"Jack" wrote in message oups.com... Vaughn, Please don't put words in my mouth... I don't believe I did, and that certainly was not my intention. My comments were aimed at the group, not you in particular. I never would suggest that anyone fly without a radio. Good. Don't tell me now how good your $230- radio is now, tell me 10 years from now. If it's still working and hasn't fallen apart, I'll agree with you. I have had it for several years. It is showing no signs of "falling apart". Where I work, we pay over $3000,00 for Motorola portable radios and expect them to last 5 to 7 years. By that comparison, anything made by Vertex or Icom looks like a heluva bargain. Vaughn |
#58
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Tow Signals
We bouhgt Motorolas for years. When they got over $2200- each in bulk
of 1000, we switched to Kenwoods. I think we bought over 6000 of them last year. They're running about $720- each for a full kit in the numbers we buy. They don't hold up, but in reality, probably do as well as the Motorolas in the rough service of the railroads. Radio should be used as primary if there's a problem. A sailplane on tow, spoilers open, and not climbing needs to be told if possible. There's no confusion in a transmission that says "check your spoilers!" I don't think that qualifies as cluttering up the airwaves... That situation is the subject of this post, not just casual conversation between friends in the air. Jack Womack |
#59
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Tow Signals
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