To Pawnee or not to Pawnee...that is the question...

On Oct 18, 3:49 am, " wrote:
I concur with Cloudy. Eventually, almost all high volume tow
operations in the USA have ended up with Pawnees. Rugged, inexpensive
to buy and operate

Reason I mentioned "other efficient 180hp tugs" is because at least at
sea-level sites, the likes of SuperCubs and Robin DR400s (guess you
don't have them in the US) tow to height just as fast as a Pawnee, but
use only something like two-thirds of the fuel by virtue of a much
more efficient aerodynamic design. The Robin saves even more on aero-
tow retrieve (it's fast), and is a very popular tug in the UK (moreso
than the Pawnee). In fact we even tried towing with a Rotax Falke -
only 100hp or so, but very efficient. Within its tow limit (600kg)
what it loses in climb to a Pawnee 250 it more than makes up on
descent as it's water-cooled.

The only place a Pawnee shines (at sea-level) is for acceleration on
the ground roll. If you have the room, that's not an issue.


Dan