Anyone towed behind a Cessna BirdDog before?

A good friend is considering buying a BirdDog for personal use and
have the ability to tow. Anyone know just how strong a bird dog is as
a towplane?

Is it just as good as a pawnee?


What was the rate of climb you had on tow and what type of ship were
you in?

Thanks!

Look at the Soar Hawaii website.
L-19 BirdDog is the main towplane.

I think there is a club at Sterling Massachusetts that has a Bird Dog.

Bird Dog has two seats, Pawnee, 1.
For a personal plane that is a good thing, for training new tow pilots that
is a good thing.
For Club Ownership.. they cost about twice the price of a good Pawnee and
the insurance cost reflects.

I know a NV Club that had a BirdDog and sold it for both reasons.
BT

"Scott Alexander" wrote in message
...
A good friend is considering buying a BirdDog for personal use and
have the ability to tow. Anyone know just how strong a bird dog is as
a towplane?

Is it just as good as a pawnee?


What was the rate of climb you had on tow and what type of ship were
you in?

Thanks!

On Oct 17, 8:21*pm, Scott Alexander
wrote:
A good friend is considering buying a BirdDog for personal use and
have the ability to tow. *Anyone know just how strong a bird dog is as
a towplane?

Is it just as good as a pawnee?

What was the rate of climb you had on tow and what type of ship were
you in?

Thanks!

Pretty sure I towed behind one several times at Sugarbush, VT in the
early 80's. As I recall it climbed far better than a SuperCub. As best
as I can compare across the years it climbed at least as well as a
Pawnee. I was flying an LS-3 - usually full of water.

The L-19 that ran out of gas right after I broke ground on takeoff
didn't climb at all well.

9B

The L-19 that ran out of gas right after I broke ground on takeoff
didn't climb at all well.

9B

Why not? Was it overdeveloped that day? That's too funny!

On Oct 17, 10:21*pm, Scott Alexander
wrote:
A good friend is considering buying a BirdDog for personal use and
have the ability to tow. *Anyone know just how strong a bird dog is as
a towplane?

Is it just as good as a pawnee?

What was the rate of climb you had on tow and what type of ship were
you in?

Thanks!

Texas Soaring Association used L-19s for many years but replaced them
with Pawnees, which are stronger. But the Bird Dogs were popular with
the towpilots for their nice handling, had two seats, good for
training new towpilots, but could have used more power with heavy
gliders on hot Texas days. I don't fly the front end of the rope
myself, but I liked being towed by the Bird Dogs. There is a neat way
to stay in just the right position on tow: line up the horizontal
stabilizer in the "X" made by the wing struts and landing gear, and
you're right where you should be.

p.

On Oct 17, 11:21*pm, Scott Alexander
wrote:
A good friend is considering buying a BirdDog for personal use and
have the ability to tow. *Anyone know just how strong a bird dog is as
a towplane?

Is it just as good as a pawnee?

What was the rate of climb you had on tow and what type of ship were
you in?

Thanks!

Excellent towplane.
Easy to fly.
Will pull anything- maybe not like 260 Pawnee, but plenty good.
Parts can be hard to get.
Becoming valuable as warbird so insurance prices are high.
Would be a good dual purpose plane for someone that wanted both
warbird and tug.

UH

On Oct 18, 9:13*am, wrote:
On Oct 17, 11:21*pm, Scott Alexander
wrote:

A good friend is considering buying a BirdDog for personal use and
have the ability to tow. *Anyone know just how strong a bird dog is as
a towplane?

Is it just as good as a pawnee?

What was the rate of climb you had on tow and what type of ship were
you in?

Thanks!

Excellent towplane.
Easy to fly.
Will pull anything- maybe not like 260 Pawnee, but plenty good.
Parts can be hard to get.
Becoming valuable as warbird so insurance prices are high.
Would be a good dual purpose plane for someone that wanted both
warbird and tug.

UH

Montreal Soaring Council in Canada operates 3 L-19's. Scroll down to
the bottom of http://www.flymsc.org/AG/CLUB/CLUBFLEET.htm to see
them. The club came in second in the Canadian OLC with about 55,000
km of cross-country. Dropping them an e-mail might get you some great
info. Good tows, with water in hot/humid conditions.

2D

On Oct 17, 11:21*pm, Scott Alexander
wrote:
A good friend is considering buying a BirdDog for personal use and
have the ability to tow. *Anyone know just how strong a bird dog is as
a towplane?

Is it just as good as a pawnee?

What was the rate of climb you had on tow and what type of ship were
you in?

Thanks!

Climb rate approx 150-200fpm better than a Pawnee in any type ship

luv2glide wrote:

Climb rate approx 150-200fpm better than a Pawnee in any type ship

The descent rate is better, too. The L-19 has more effective flaps.