The first $100 tow...

At my local FBO (Mt. Valley Airport ,California) it cost $68 for a
4,000 ft. to the top of
the mountain. With the price of AV Gas going up I wonder when/who
will be the first
FBO with a $100 4,000 ft. tow?

Any comments?

Oscar.

For cross country flying...I will pay whatever the
going rate becomes. I figure a day's soaring in Colorado
is worth it. For training flights, I think this is
going to hurt. I don't see to many tow operations
getting rich, and they will get squeezed. I suppose
those with deep pockets can go to self-launching, but
not sure if that is really saving money in the long
run. The long drives many of us do to get to our soaring
spots are going to take a bigger bite as well.

On the flip side....when I hear a pilot with a $85k
glider being towed by a $50k SUV...bitching about tow
rates...I take it with a grain of salt

Stewart,
100% concurrence about guys in expensive gliders complaining about
cost of a tow. Especially since a round of golf costs this and isn't
nearly as much fun!

Dean

Stewart Kissel wrote:

I don't see to many tow operations
getting rich, and they will get squeezed. I suppose
those with deep pockets can go to self-launching, but
not sure if that is really saving money in the long
run.

It does take deep pockets to afford an 18 meter self-launcher, but most
of the cost is the very fine glider you are buying. There are 13 meter
and 15 meter self-launchers that cost less than that 50:1 18 meter
glider(even if the 18 m glider doesn't have engine). So, cost is not
necessarily an obstacle.

The long drives many of us do to get to our soaring
spots are going to take a bigger bite as well.

A self-launcher may let you avoid that drive entirely, if you can soar
from your local airport. I do that, and it saves a 220 mile round trip
to the gliderport. Alternatively, you may be able to motor to the good
soaring, even if the local airport is a sink hole. "Traveling" in a
motorglider is relatively cheap, even in my ASH 26 E. I've made several
150+ mile retrieves (no soaring), using about 2 gallons in the process.
This is a lot less fuel than my mini-van would use for the ~400 mile
round-trip retrieve.

Of course, there are other good reasons to own a self-launcher,
regardless which way the finances figure out.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Eric Greenwell wrote:

A self-launcher may let you avoid that drive entirely, if you can soar
from your local airport. I do that, and it saves a 220 mile round trip
to the gliderport. Alternatively, you may be able to motor to the good
soaring, even if the local airport is a sink hole. "Traveling" in a
motorglider is relatively cheap, even in my ASH 26 E. I've made several
150+ mile retrieves (no soaring), using about 2 gallons in the process.
This is a lot less fuel than my mini-van would use for the ~400 mile
round-trip retrieve.

Speaking of traveling in an ASH-26E, have you ever seen how much stuff
Kempton manages to cram into his?

He'll fly around the Great Basin for a few seemingly using only what's
in the aircraft.

Jeremy

Jeremy Zawodny wrote:

Speaking of traveling in an ASH-26E, have you ever seen how much stuff
Kempton manages to cram into his?

He'll fly around the Great Basin for a few seemingly using only what's
in the aircraft.

Kempton was one of the pilots I had in mind, though he is an extreme
case of using the glider to travel to soaring. I admire his efforts, but
haven't persuaded myself to emulate them! The two ASH 26 E pilots that
fly out of Ramona (near San Diego) for soaring in the Warner Springs
area are probably a better model for most pilots.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

I used to figure the operating cost of my Tahoe at 75c per mile. Now,
it is more like 85-90c per mile, making the round trip to the nearest
glider port cost about $200. On top of that meals and, perhaps, a motel
room.

But that is not the worst part, which is the best soaring weather often
does not happen on the weekends. I can leave my office and be airborne
in under an hour. This accounts for about half of my flying this year.

Tom

Support Bill Daniels

GET THE WINCHES OUT!

Ok it may not get you to the top of the mountain but
with a long runway 3000 feet is easily achieveable
at a fraction of the cost!


Just a thought..........

At 15:30 31 August 2005, Oscar S Alonso wrote:

At my local FBO (Mt. Valley Airport ,California) it
cost $68 for a
4,000 ft. to the top of
the mountain. With the price of AV Gas going up I
wonder when/who
will be the first
FBO with a $100 4,000 ft. tow?

Any comments?

Oscar.

Oscar S Alonso wrote:

At my local FBO (Mt. Valley Airport ,California) it cost $68 for a 4,000
ft. to the top of
the mountain. With the price of AV Gas going up I wonder when/who will
be the first
FBO with a $100 4,000 ft. tow?

Any comments?

We've almost had that in Hollister for the last year. A 4,000 foot tow
(at $2.10/hundred) plus the $5 hookup cost clocks in at $89.

Jeremy

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


"Jeremy Zawodny" wrote in message
...
Oscar S Alonso wrote:

At my local FBO (Mt. Valley Airport ,California) it cost $68 for a 4,000
ft. to the top of
the mountain. With the price of AV Gas going up I wonder when/who will
be the first
FBO with a $100 4,000 ft. tow?

Any comments?

We've almost had that in Hollister for the last year. A 4,000 foot tow
(at $2.10/hundred) plus the $5 hookup cost clocks in at $89.

Jeremy