Tow Costs

that explains it.. Europe$$.. and I fear we are quickly heading that
way..... your tow might last 5-7 minutes.. are you counting the return time?

our average tow in good weather is about 2K AGL, at 500fpm climb rate,
that's about 4 minutes.. plus the time to get back (2 min ?).. then the turn
time getting the next glider staged and rolling, we operate off a paved
runway, cannot stage gliders side by side and ready to roll.. some
experienced pilots will stage from the side of the run way and get pulled
out by the tow. Avgr.. 4-5 tows per hour.. that's 12-15 min turn times

BT

"Stefan" wrote in message
...
BTIZ wrote:

4.40 per minute = $264 per hour

Face it, that's what it costs to operate an airplane in Europe. We charter
the same plane for 180 an hour, and brake more or less even with that. (I
think we calculate our costs at 150 an hour, but I'm not sure. Of course,
we're calculating the full cost of operation.)

on an average of 4-5 tows per hour on a busy day,
that's 264/5 = 52 per average tow...

Wrong calculation. An average tow lasts about 5 to 7 minutes on our field
with average weather. When we have to tow further away, it gets expensive.

no wonder you're making money.

Well, we're making money in our own pockets. Same discussion as above:
Somehow we must pay for our modern fleet. (Two LS8s, two LS7s, three LS4s,
two double seaters... with no hourly fees.)

Your 180HP Husky burns just a tad less fuel than a 235HP IO540.

But at approximately four times the price.

Stefan