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In article
, Scott Alexander wrote: Anybody ever used a Cessna 170 for a towplane? If yes, how did it work out? What size engine? Blue Skies, Scott Alexander Hi Scott, A 170 with a 180 hp engine and fixed pitch climb prop would be an OK towplane. Be advised though, guys with the heavily ballasted 18m Cashflugels are not gonna want to tow behind it. Should be good with 235 hp. MGSA used to tow with a C-180 that did a fine job. Not sure about the engine size though. Must have been a 235. It did great right up until the seat slid back on takeoff one day ( in spite of locks on the rails). It ended up on it's side, on fire, and was totally destroyed. No injuries, thankfully. Back in my days with the NCSA, we towed with Ray Galloway's stock 172. We had a 3700 ft paved runway. That 172 was struggling on hot days with the 2-33. The towplane I used to have in a partnership (Tim McGowin's C-175) is pretty close to a 170. It has a 180 hp engine with CS prop and a STOL kit. It is definitely not a Pawnee, but it tows two-seaters just fine at our field with 5000 ft runways. It has also towed 2 seaters at much shorter fields like Chilhowee and Moontown. it will tow a sports class grid almost as efficiently as a Pawnee. However, it doesn't climb very well at the speeds preferred by those flying heavily watered ships. That has cut into it's contest towing. In my opinion, the best towplane for the east, considering towing ability, fuel burn, and maintenance costs is a 150 Pawnee converted to 180 hp. The late and much missed Jeff Cloud had a 150/180 Pawnee. The 150 Pawnee is about 300lbs lighter than the 235 Pawnee so with 180 hp it tows about as well as a 235. A lot of different planes can be reasonably good tugs, depending on the situation. However, having been through the "Pick a Towplane" exercise at multiple clubs, I can say that, when all the facts are weighed, Pawnees ALWAYS come out as the best compromise (in the US). Oh, also consider that the best towplane might not be a towplane. If you have the field length and width, a winch is cheaper and more fun. If you don't need a high launch rate. A pulley on the bumper of an old 8 cylinder automatic trans beater and 4000 ft of dacron (or spectra/dyneema) rope will do as well. |
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