Roy wrote:
Our operation has started the hunt for a new towplane.
The main criteria is that from our 2200ft strip at sea level we need
to have a two seater (janus) "over the fence" at 300ft in still air.

What would you recommend?
Dont dwell on purchase cost but rather performance/running costs

We would consider
a) Used
b) New
c) Experimental/anything else.

Thanks for your thorts.

If performance is your only criteria, the following should be
considered. A 450 Steerman, a 650 Steerman or a 400 or turbine Piper
Brave. These are all crop dusters so you have to be careful what you
buy. The wings time out on the Brave and require major repair at that
time. The performance is directly proportional to the cost of operation
in just about the following order turbine Brave, 650, 450 and 400
Brave. The 650 Steerman with full power at sea level will make you
think you are on a winch. There are a lot of Braves available at
reasonable cost but see previous.