Best Towplane for glider club
Paul Damian Franzon
buy a towplane, and I am looking for suggestions as to what
to get.
Requirements:
- safely and efficiently tow a 1000+ lb Grob 103, as well as lighter gliders,
out of 3700' sea level strip on a hot summers day
- good climb rate for fast turn-around
- inexpensive to buy, as it will be 100% financed through loans
from members
- inexpensive to operate
- 2+ seater
- reasonable to insure (it will be used by low-time pilots and
possibly used for power rating instruction of club members)
- preferably, a fun and interesting aircraft, so members will use
it for other purposes besides towing
- VFR only
Possible candidates so far (with my personal comments):
180+ HP planes:
- Ralleye, Varga Kachina (`interesting' and reasonably priced)
- Cessna 182 or upengined 172 (`dull' and 182s are expensive to buy)
- Decathalon (expensive to buy + insurance might be too high)
150-160 HP planes (will these have enough power?)
- Varga Kachina
- Cessna 172 with climb prop (`dull' but a stalwart)
- Citabria, Super Cub (insurance effect? + super cubs are expensive)
We are researching these but I was wondering what the net.opinion
was as to these, and other alternatives. e.g. other planes to
consider; traps to watch out for; any homebuilts we could consider
(or will insurance hurt too much on an experimental?); experiences
you would like to share, etc.
Your thoughts are welcome.
Paul
Doug Haluza
'pa...@eos.ncsu.edu (Paul Damian Franzon)' wrote:
>Our club (North Carolina Soaring Association) is looking to
>buy a towplane, and I am looking for suggestions as to what
>to get.
Our club uses a 150hp Super Cub and a 235hp Pawnee. The Pawnee is a good
towplane, but it's only got one seat. The Super Cub 150 is a marginal tow
plane. Forget about towing a G103 with it unless you are towing out of a
WW-II bomber field. (We have 4500 foot runways at 80 feet MSL, and we will
not tow our 2-32 with it).
One option would be to train in a rented Citabria, and tow with a Pawnee.
The L-19 also makes a good tow plane, but it is probably too expensive for
a club to operate. It does have two seats though.
Doug Haluza
Ken Kochanski
little too) running at 2700rpm. We tow a Grob 103 out of 2500' strip
with two people, but we usually start right at the back, and we are very
careful on hot/high alt density days. I can usually drag the Grob up at
300 fpm average on a flat day ... a bit better if I can work lift. So,
you can do it, but I don,t recommend it.
Kilo Kilo
Ken Kochanski
look into upgrading to a 180Hp for our Citabria. The last time this was
looked at, the cost increase for the job was in the $2,000 range ...
which is cheap for the extra performance. Buying a cheap high time
Citabria and putting a 180 on it may be a good way to go.
Tyler Paradis
lb) and a fully loaded Blanik on a hot day, I could easily get 800 - 900
fpm climb, and in a good thermal top 2000.
Another option is a Bellanca Scout. 180hp. 2 seat. usually found used
around 55k. good solid A/C, about 500 fpm with two people in the glider
behind it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tyler Paradis
Carleton University
Email address: tpar...@chat.carleton.ca
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hans Trautenberg t2466
A club in our nighborhood has one, and it's a great tow plane.
Stephen Bell
: >buy a towplane, and I am looking for suggestions as to what
: >to get.
: --
: Our club uses a 150hp Super Cub and a 235hp Pawnee. The Pawnee is a good
: towplane, but it's only got one seat. The Super Cub 150 is a marginal tow
: plane. Forget about towing a G103 with it unless you are towing out of a
: WW-II bomber field. (We have 4500 foot runways at 80 feet MSL, and we will
: not tow our 2-32 with it).
--
Given the experience some of our local clubs have with the 150hp super cub
I'd give the cub a little more credit than that. It is possible to convert
the 150hp engine to 160hp (same engine but modified for higher compression
ratio), it is also possible to fit a 180hp O360 , the 180hp conversion
is quite common in NZ .
The 150-160 cubs would appear to offer economical towing for a small club
we have local clubs using them to tow G103,Blanik & JANUS C gliders, normal
operations are from a large Sea Level strip , with summertime operation
from a high-country strip (1500' amsl) at a guess the strips would be
no more than 3000-4000' long .
The 150-160 cubs do become marginal when towing heavily loaded gliders
(fully ballasted open class gliders), wet/long grass performance can
also become a problem.
The 180hp cubs are very good.
Given the original posters reqirements the only area where I think the 150
cub would have problems is with fast turn around time (I suspect 10-15min
tows would be normal).
I agree that the pawnee is a good towplane, we use dual tows
(2 gliders at a time), to keep the cost down & turn around up
for long tows. (20-50km tows from our coastal site into the mountains)
The pawnee performance is reassuring in difficult conditions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Stephen Bell |
Lincoln University, \--------------------(*)--------------------/
Canterbury,
New Zealand. NIMBUS II - Driver XX
E-Mail: S.B...@ono.lincoln.ac.nz
David Wetmore
a year for many years. The Group's 150 has STOL equipment installed. The
plane is easy to fly and inexpensive. It will tow an L-13 at 450 fpm and a
2-33 at 400 fpm. David Wetmore Cumberland Md.
Bill King
it is sometimes hard to find tow pilots with tail dragger time. Personally
I prefer to ride up behind a tail dragger as the prop wash is deflected down
on inital take off. The prop wash problem can be decreased if you add a little more
length to the tow rope say 220' vs 200'.
Regards,
Bill
Ville Hakanen
> I agree that the pawnee is a good towplane, we use dual tows
> (2 gliders at a time), to keep the cost down & turn around up
> for long tows. (20-50km tows from our coastal site into the mountains)
How do you do that? Have you got two hooks in pawnee and a
short rope and a very long or what? Is it safe? Not for beginners I
guess.
.ville
Guenther Seemann
>How do you do that? Have you got two hooks in pawnee and a
>short rope and a very long or what? Is it safe? Not for beginners I
>guess.
For those who are interested in pictures of a double tow:
http://www-mtq.wzl.rwth-aachen.de/~see/phot_e01.html
Double tow and even triple two are feasable. As far as I remember the Poles
did a world record of about 7 sail planes behind an An-2.
In Germany double tow is done occasionally for training and/or air shows.
It is surely not for beginners (in the term of student) but the average
trained sail plane pilot should be able to learn this. The tug remains the
normal tow hook. Two ropes of different length are joined so that they can be
attached to the hook on the tug like the normal rope. The length difference
has to be a bit longer then the length of the sail plane. It is safe if it is
done carefully.
There was an accident in Germany two years ago. A Wilga was going to tow a
Bocian and a Pirat. The Bocian was piloted by an instructor, who was familiar
with the double tow, and a student in the front. The Pirat was piloted by a
double tow novice who should receive double tow training. Shortly after take
off (about 10m/30ft altitude) the rop fell off the tug. Both sail planes
turned outside with the rope unreleased. When the rope became tight both
planes were forced to yaw back, stalled and impacted. The three sail plane
pilots died.
As a result of the accident examination the German Aero Club published a
regulation for carrying out double tows.
- Guenther
-------------------------------------------
Guenther Seemann ---+---
|
-----------(.)-----------
LS6-a, D-0616, HG
e-mail: S...@WZL-MTQ1.WZL.RWTH-AACHEN.DE
Jeffry Stetson
>
>In article <4afhem$a...@rrzs3.uni-regensburg.de> c4140@rphs45 (Hans Trautenberg t2466) writes:
>>From: c4140@rphs45 (Hans Trautenberg t2466)
>>Subject: Re: Best Towplane for glider club
>>Date: 10 Dec 1995 20:54:46 GMT
>
>>What about a Husky? (Build by the same people that build the Pits S2)
>>A club in our nighborhood has one, and it's a great tow plane.
>
>
Because they are kind of heavy, being 4 place airplanes. Also, one
not only has to haul those extra seats aloft with every tow, one
has to insure them as well.
--
Jeffry Stetson ... Comm ASEL, Pvt SES & Glider, Instrument Airplane
EAA, SSA, AOPA, IAC, MAPA
Mooney M20E "Superduper 21"
Salto H-101 "Shiva - The Cosmic Dancer"
Guenther Seemann
>From: c4140@rphs45 (Hans Trautenberg t2466)
>Subject: Re: Best Towplane for glider club
>Date: 10 Dec 1995 20:54:46 GMT
>What about a Husky? (Build by the same people that build the Pits S2)
>A club in our nighborhood has one, and it's a great tow plane.
Husky is not bad, but how about a well powered Maule?
- Guenther
Hans Trautenberg t2466
: Husky is not bad, but how about a well powered Maule?
Have you ever seen a Maule with a littel bit of wind not directly on the
runway and a pilot that hat not a lot of experience in a maule. It's
a fancinating spectaculum, if
-- nobody get hurt and
-- you don't have to pay for the repair of the maule.
So much for the maule as a tow vehicle.
--
=============================================================================
Dipl. Phys. Hans L. Trautenberg Universitaet Regensburg
Institut fuer Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik
phone (49) 941 943 2466 Polymerphysik
fax (49) 941 943 3196 D-93040 Regensburg
e-mail hans.tra...@physik.uni-regensburg.de Germany
privat
phone (49) 941 949211 Flurstr. 14
fax (49) 941 930792 D-92348 Berg
Germany
=============================================================================
J.L.M. Gordon
: http://www-mtq.wzl.rwth-aachen.de/~see/phot_e01.html
: - Guenther
: -------------------------------------------
: Guenther Seemann ---+---
: |
: -----------(.)-----------
: LS6-a, D-0616, HG
: e-mail: S...@WZL-MTQ1.WZL.RWTH-AACHEN.DE
--
_________________________________________________________________________
( ) _
(___) ( ) James Gordon
___ (___) jl...@cus.cam.ac.uk
_____|_____
O ______This message uses 100% recycled electrons____________
Dave Springford
are better tow planes, but the citabria is no slouch either. It's turn
around time to 2000 ft is less than a minute longer than the pawnees.
The 180 hp (Lycoming O-360) powered citabria will out-tow most other
towplanes. It is better than a scout with the same engine mainly because
it has a lighter airframe. It's cheaper than a scout and a lot cheaper
than an L-19.
regards, Dave
==========================================================
Schizophrenic male seeks schizophrenic female for intimate foursome
==========================================================
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< original signed by >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
_________
|
|_____________________< >______________________|
0
Capt Dave Springford (S1) "Nothing by Chance"
Royal Military College of Canada
e-mail: spring...@rmc.ca
Stephen Bell
: In Germany double tow is done occasionally for training and/or air shows.
: It is surely not for beginners (in the term of student) but the average
: trained sail plane pilot should be able to learn this. The tug remains the
: normal tow hook. Two ropes of different length are joined so that they can be
: attached to the hook on the tug like the normal rope. The length difference
: has to be a bit longer then the length of the sail plane. It is safe if it is
: done carefully.
In NZ we use dual tows for re positioning/ferrying club gliders to other
sites, X/C pilots use dual tows to tow inland to better soaring conditions
when the local soaring conditions are not very good (due to local sea breezes).
minimum Pilot experience is in the order of 100-200hrs pilot in command
There is a set training program which covers safe operating technique &
handling of emergencies. In our club the tow pilot (tug) must recieve
dual tow training as well. And on the day there is normally a briefing to
discuss each launch (includes the 3 pilots & 2 wing runners, and normally covers
radio frequencies, weather/wind conditions, glider ballast ,and procedures ).
There was an accident in Germany two years ago. A Wilga was going to tow a
: Bocian and a Pirat. The Bocian was piloted by an instructor, who was familiar
: with the double tow, and a student in the front. The Pirat was piloted by a
: double tow novice who should receive double tow training. Shortly after take
: off (about 10m/30ft altitude) the rop fell off the tug. Both sail planes
: turned outside with the rope unreleased. When the rope became tight both
: planes were forced to yaw back, stalled and impacted. The three sail plane
: pilots died.
: As a result of the accident examination the German Aero Club published a
: regulation for carrying out double tows.
I'd be interested to know what the german regulations are now.
In the last eight years our club has had one dual tow accident with
minor damage to the two gliders and no pilot injury.
Our tow ropes are the same configuration as described above but are
separate and are joined at the towplane end by linking the rings together
(one rope has a single medium sized ring, the other has a large ring and
a small ring, when the ropes are connected to the towplane the small ring
on the second rope is passed through the single ring and connected to the
towplane in the normal way, if the ropes are dropped by the tug they
simply unlink)
Steve
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Stephen Bell |
Lincoln University, \--------------------(*)--------------------/
Canterbury,
New Zealand. NIMBUS II - Driver XX
Jeffrey M. Matthews
Doug Haluza <dha...@nyc.pipeline.com> wrote:
>On Dec 09, 1995 21:52:02 in article <Best Towplane for glider club>,
>'pa...@eos.ncsu.edu (Paul Damian Franzon)' wrote:
>
>
>>buy a towplane, and I am looking for suggestions as to what
>>to get.
>--
>Our club uses a 150hp Super Cub and a 235hp Pawnee. The Pawnee is a good
>towplane, but it's only got one seat. The Super Cub 150 is a marginal tow
>plane. Forget about towing a G103 with it unless you are towing out of a
>WW-II bomber field. (We have 4500 foot runways at 80 feet MSL, and we will
>not tow our 2-32 with it).
>
I'd be for looking into the engine on that Cub. We used to tow our '32
off a 3000 foot grass strip with a 150 hp Citabria. We didn't do it
without a bit of forethought, but it wasn't all that scary if it was
approached with a bit of respect. I've towed a G-103 off a 3400 foot
strip with a 150 hp Citabria, too. Again, one wanted to be careful,
but it could be done safely.
Later on we had two Scouts, one fixed pitch and one constant speed. The
advantage was slight, but the fixed pitch airplane seemed to go up about
fifty feet per minute faster, though turning about 150 rpm slower. I
suspect the reason is that the constant speed prop is about four inches
smaller in diameter than the fixed pitch, and the higher disc loading
reduces the efficiency of the combo. Since one is not usually after a
high cruise speed in a tug, the constant speed prop is an expensive op-
tion.
Jeff Matthews
David H Noyes
>jl...@cus.cam.ac.uk (J.L.M. Gordon) wrote:
>>Guenther Seemann (S...@WZL-MTQ1.WZL.RWTH-AACHEN.DE) wrote:
>>
>>: For those who are interested in pictures of a double tow:
>>
>Do NOT underestimate the potential for major problems. This is not for
>beginners, and only experienced pilots should be allowed to train for
>dual tows.
I have done a few double tows on the shorter rope. It is helpful to have
a rag tied in the middle of the long rope so that the pilot on the short
rope can see (and avoid) the other rope more easily.
Dave NL
Mike Cohler
>Guenther Seemann (S...@WZL-MTQ1.WZL.RWTH-AACHEN.DE) wrote:
>: In article <4akisj$3...@nntp.hut.fi> vil...@vipunen.hut.fi (Ville Hakanen) writes:
>
>: >short rope and a very long or what? Is it safe? Not for beginners I
>: >guess.
>
>
>
>: Double tow and even triple two are feasable. As far as I remember the Poles
>: did a world record of about 7 sail planes behind an An-2.
>
>: It is surely not for beginners (in the term of student) but the average
>: trained sail plane pilot should be able to learn this. The tug remains the
>: normal tow hook. Two ropes of different length are joined so that they
We used to do double tows behind our Pawnee for getting gliders into wave
with maximum efficiency. The rope we used was a 250 foot rope and a
150 foot rope spliced at the tug end so that a single set of rings was
attached to the tug end of the combined rope,and then onto the tug. You
need to have experienced pilots flying both the tug and the gliders. The
glider on the short rope required the more experienced of the two glider
pilots. The gliders are displaced laterally on take-off, and with the
glider on the short rope to the left, and the one on the long rope to the
right (for example) the wing holders must ensure that the gliders do not
move towards the centre line on the ground run. There is often a
tendency for the tug to swing on the initial ground run because of the
different rope angles to each glider, and a cross wind makes things
worse. You cannot do this from a short airfield. Once the combination
is moving and all aircraft have full control, then the gliders maintain
lateral separation with as smooth control movements as possible so that
violent swings do not occur. Once the combination has reached a safe
height, such as 400 to 500 feet, then the glider on the long rope moves
in line behind the tug and goes into the LOW tow position, whilst the
glider on the short rope moves into line in NORMAL tow position. If
there are any problems maintaining station during the tow then the glider
will release and turn away from the combination... ie in this case the
glider on the short rope turns left and the long rope turns right.
The release is staged. Initially the glider on the short rope releases
and climc to the left whilst the other two continue on a straight line.
Once the first glider is clear, then the glider on the long rope moves
into normal tow position and then releases in the normal fashion, and the
tug then makes a straight ahead descent (to avoid the two ropes twisting
together too much on a steep turn ). The tug pilot now has to remember
he has a longer than normal rope when landing, and must avoid getting the
two ropes tangled in hedges etc. Usually the ropes are released before
landing.
Often it takes time to untangle the two ropes and if another dual tow is
required soon after the first it is better to have a second dual rope
already laid out for attaching.
Do NOT underestimate the potential for major problems. This is not for
beginners, and only experienced pilots should be allowed to train for
dual tows. We have not tried triple tows, because the potential for
accidents as much greater still.
Mike Cohler
Ian Spence
>
>What about a Husky? (Build by the same people that build the Pits S2)
>A club in our nighborhood has one, and it's a great tow plane.
What about a Pitts? In fact, I was towed by Chris Eaves in his Pitts
a couple of times about 15 years ago (I had a Std. Jantar 2 then). If
I recollect correctly the tow was at about 90 kts and 1100 fpm. One of
the tows was after a landout (at an airport) and Chris towed me to about
5000 feet so I could make the glide home. The whole tow was over in
less than 5 minutes!!
Ian Spence ("WW" ASW-24)
Jeffrey M. Matthews
My dual-towing experience is limited to only a few flights, as that
sort of thing isn't real common in this land of cheap gasoline. I've
found that we lucked in to some procedures used elsewhere--or were we
really that clever?
We used two separate ropes, as we had one for short-field retrieves al-
ready and we needed a new long rope, so we cut it about twenty feet lon-
ger than standard. That should have had the gliders nearly fifty feet
apart, nose to tail. The otherwise clunky Schweizer hitch accomodated
the two rings nicely, though the second ring probably put a bit of an
"up" load on the keeper. We figured that with experienced pilots, the
loads should be small.
It stands to reason that the rearmost glider would stay low to keep the
lead glider in sight. LK-10's, and maybe other WWII trainers had rudder
trim, which gets me to wondering whether they normally flew side-by-side.
Since they didn't get much military use, maybe the question never came
up.
As I recall, (this was about 20 years ago), towing a 2-33 and a 1-26
(because that's what we had, is why) with a Scout was a lot like towing
a 2-33 with a Scout.
Jeff Matthews
Kevin Renshaw
at East Stroudsburg, PA. The towplane in use was a 450HP Stearman,
which could probably haul 2 of any kind of gliders off the ground (that
thing looked like it could tow the Space Shuttle!!).
The only time I actually saw the dual tow used was for an airshow. Karl
Nassauer and another ex-Luftwaffe fighter pilot (I think it as Kurt
Rupke, not sure) did a dual tow with two 1-26s, and then gave a demo of
air-to-air combat in gliders. Quite a sight.
Kevin Renshaw
1-26 #217
Doug Haluza
'jmma...@apgea.army.mil (Jeffrey M. Matthews)' wrote:
>In article <4adf2q$f...@pipe1.nyc.pipeline.com>,
>Doug Haluza <dha...@nyc.pipeline.com> wrote:
>>On Dec 09, 1995 21:52:02 in article <Best Towplane for glider club>,
>>'pa...@eos.ncsu.edu (Paul Damian Franzon)' wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Our club (North Carolina Soaring Association) is looking to
>>>buy a towplane, and I am looking for suggestions as to what
>>>to get.
>>--
>>Our club uses a 150hp Super Cub and a 235hp Pawnee. The Pawnee is a good
>>towplane, but it's only got one seat. The Super Cub 150 is a marginal tow
>>plane. Forget about towing a G103 with it unless you are towing out of a
>>WW-II bomber field. (We have 4500 foot runways at 80 feet MSL, and we
will
>>not tow our 2-32 with it).
>>
>
>I'd be for looking into the engine on that Cub. We used to tow our '32
>off a 3000 foot grass strip with a 150 hp Citabria. We didn't do it
>without a bit of forethought, but it wasn't all that scary if it was
>approached with a bit of respect. I've towed a G-103 off a 3400 foot
>strip with a 150 hp Citabria, too. Again, one wanted to be careful,
>but it could be done safely.
>
The engine on the Super Cub was rebuilt by Mattituck after a prop strike.
It runs fine, but it's marginal for towing a heavy two place glider. We
only get 200-300 fpm climb. That puts you on the other side of the airport
fence before you get to 200 feet. There's nothing but trees and houses on
all approaches to our field, so we need to be extra careful. The Citabria
may be a better towplane, or you may have more confidence. BTW our club
used to tow the 2-32 out of a smaller grass strip with the Super Cub many
years ago. Our confidence may just have have slipped. (We didn't have a
Pawnee then).
--
Doug Haluza
GPowell126
'Soaring Safaris' at a desert airport called Ocotillo Wells. His 2-33 and
1-26 were based at Brown Field, south of San Diego which is some 30 to 40
air miles away from the Ocotillo Wells airstrip. Ted would double tow his
gliders to and from these events.
In spite of some pretty bumpy rides over the mountains, the double
towing was safely executed. We had no rope breaks, no tangled tow lines,
and no collisions. Crews, wives, and girl friends stayed at the Ironwood
Motel, a remote establishment in the middle of the desert several miles
away from the Ocotillo Wells airstrip.
Late one Sunday afternoon Ted was towing his gliders home. As he flew
over the motel, he saw a group of people standing around the pool, looking
up and waving to him. Being a friendly chap, Ted rocked the wings of the
tow plane to say "Hi". Both glider pilots immediately released and landed
shortly thereafter in a remote dry river bed. The retrieve took two
weeks.
You'd have to ask Ted what kind of a tow plane he was flying.
George Powell
1-26 S/N 198
Stephen Bell
: We used to do double tows behind our Pawnee for getting gliders into wave
: with maximum efficiency.
Snap.
: need to have experienced pilots flying both the tug and the gliders. The
: glider on the short rope required the more experienced of the two glider
: pilots.
With pilots of different experience we usually put the more experienced
pilots on the long rope. The reasoning being that the back pilot needs
to be able to react quickly to problems that may make the launch
unsafe, such as the front glider getting out of position & releasing or
just inadvertently releasing. Or the decision to get off the rope during
takeoff when operating in marginal conditions. (Ferry flights in less
than ideal weather [wet?] off a shortish strip?? long grass? cross/nil
wind )
: The gliders are displaced laterally on take-off, and with the
: glider on the short rope to the left, and the one on the long rope to the
: right (for example) the wing holders must ensure that the gliders do not
: move towards the centre line on the ground run. There is often a
: tendency for the tug to swing on the initial ground run because of the
: different rope angles to each glider, and a cross wind makes things
: worse. You cannot do this from a short airfield. Once the combination
If there is any crosswind we place the glider on the short rope on the
upwind side so that the tendancy to weathercock into wind is countered by
the tension on the rope yawing the glider towards the centreline. The
gliders are placed so that the angles on the ropes are about equal,
( the glider on the short rope will be closer to the centreline. )
In an emergency each glider turns towards the side they were positioned
on for the launch.
: violent swings do not occur. Once the combination has reached a safe
: height, such as 400 to 500 feet, then the glider on the long rope moves
: in line behind the tug and goes into the LOW tow position, whilst the
: glider on the short rope moves into line in NORMAL tow position. If
We set up the low tow/ normal tow positioning during liftoff & climbout
: The release is staged. Initially the glider on the short rope releases
We use the same procedure
: together too much on a steep turn ). The tug pilot now has to remember
: he has a longer than normal rope when landing, and must avoid getting the
: two ropes tangled in hedges etc. Usually the ropes are released before
: landing.
When towing over ridges/passes the tow pilot also needs to remember
that the glider on the long rope is 50' lower to avoid tangling him
in hedges etc.... :)
: Do NOT underestimate the potential for major problems. This is not for
: beginners, and only experienced pilots should be allowed to train for
: dual tows.
I agree.
In our club pilots are normally proficient at cross-country flying before
training for dual tow ( a DT rating would typically be obtained at about
the "gold C" level of X/C flying )
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Stephen Bell |
Lincoln University, \--------------------(*)--------------------/
Canterbury,
New Zealand. NIMBUS II - Driver XX
E-Mail: St...@discus.lincoln.ac.nz
S. Steve Adkins
Haluza) writes:
Minnesota Gliding Club, MSC, uses a 150 hsp Supercub. On an 85 degree
day, we have launched an ASK-21 glass ship with two aboard each weighing
225 pounds and two people in the Cub (one very large being trained for
tow operations). We made it over the corn out of a 2500 foot grass
strip. The tow pilot thought the flight was solo; otherwise, he
wouldn't have launched ... the second glider pilot jumped in at the last
second. Normally, we do not find the Supercub as marginal as indicated
above.
A recent Soaring article indicated the need to disconnect if you aren't
getting the performance during takeoff.
On a flight late this summer, we had an engine failure at 100 feet (hit
the tank selector instead of trim?) on a demo flight. Both pilots
disconnected. The tow pilot landed in a bean field and the glider pilot
landed in a clover field. Both planes were wheeled backa to the airport
without diassembly on the local roads.
S. Steve Adkins