"Tim Ward" wrote in message
...

"Bill Daniels" wrote in message
news:kaVgd.278275$wV.24225@attbi_s54...

"Olfert Cleveringa" wrote in message
.com...
Thanks all for the replies.

The reason I asked this, is that in some European contries, Diesel is
much, much cheaper than AVgas or Mogas. "Red" diesel is untaxed and
illegal for road use, but a towplane doesn't operate from roads.
Besides, diesel engines also run on Jet A-1, which here has tax
advantages, at least at the time.

Our club actually has a winch (most clubs in Holland do), but we
cannot
use it during airport operation (=thermal) hours since we operate on a
busy, narrow airstrip with powerd aircraft operations. As AVGas is
getting very expensive (not only here, I guess...), the usual
Robin/Husky/... tow planes become more and more uneconomical. We now
use
a Super Dimona (Katana Xtreme) to tow even our Janus C and ASH-25 from
the grass strip, but in heavy crosswind we sometimes can see the cars
too near below us. This motorglider however seems to be the only way
to
keep our tow costs reasonably down.

At least for this part of Europe, I think a Diesel in a Robin-like
airframe would be a very nice replacement. Let's see what the near
future brings.

Olfert
Hornet A7

I agree with Olfert.

The world needs a purpose-designed towplane and, if the designer choose
one
of the new diesels, that would be a very good thing. It would probably
look
something like a Super Dimona but with taller landing gear and bigger
prop.
With good aerodynamics, 135 HP would handle the heaviest gliders.

Bill Daniels


Yep, and it should have "ferry tips" that shorten the span, to make it a
little faster to move from place to place. They should fit inside the
airplane. Then when you get there, swap tips back for the higher AR climb
configuration.

Tim Ward

Removable tips would let it reside in a standard T-hangar.

Bill Daniels