Glider Tows at Salida, CO

On Monday, July 7, 2014 6:26:19 PM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:
Everything you need is on this site: http://www.airsafetynet.com/



Good soaring!



Dan Marotta


Thanks. We hope to give them some business this summer.

Bob

On 7/7/2014 4:55 PM, wrote:

On Thursday, June 26, 2014 8:43:19 AM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:

Several friends (old and new) and I just spent eight days at Salida,



Colorado flying in wave and thermals. The flying conditions and scenery



were simply the greatest and I wanted to put in a plug for the airport



and the towing.







First, the airport: The terminal has a pilot room, a couple of couches,



a TV with VHS and DVD (and plenty of movies), a wood burning stove,



continuous weather display, etc. Outside you'll find water (for your



wings), tie down straps, paved parking, etc., all for $3.00/day



($25/month). There are also two(!) airport courtesy cars, and the



airport has a security fence, to which you'll receive the entry code



when you arrive. There's also oxygen available on the field, though



Miguel and I rented a large bottle and filled up everyone who needed it



at no charge.







Towing: Steve Bush provided the tows with a 260 HP Pawnee which is



equipped with a Tost release system. Steve is an experienced tow pilot



who lives within two miles of the airport and he arrived each day around



1100 to see what our daily needs would be and stayed until all who



wished to fly were up and on course. Rates are similar to what we pay



at Moriarty, NM.







The area: Just look it up! Our wives were never bored given all there



is to do in the area. I managed to hike with my wife at altitudes up to



10,000' MSL on two occasions. Fourteen thousand foot plus hikes are



possible, but I'm just not that much into pain...







--



Dan Marotta

How does one contact the tow pilot? Can you provide a phone number? Would you prefer to do so via email?



Bob T.

Maybe not everything you need to know is on that site.
The towplane is owned by a non local. The only tow pilot is a local who has a lot of other interests, does not need to build airtime, and has his own homebuilt RV.
This is an atypical operation. There are only a few locals and we want to keep this going, so please respect the local tow pilot and don't drive him away with expectations of a full time commercial operation, operating at your whim.
We pull out the tow rope, do our own hook ups, run our own wings, try to consolidate when we tow and be the most undemanding glider pilots I have witnessed at other towing venues.
Sorry for the bluntness, but I am one of the local pilots hanging in here by a string.
Randy Cone V9

What Randy said is how we worked it. Sorry for not making that part clear.

I contacted the owner several months before we planned our camp and
Steve (the local tow pilot) contacted me to firm up details. We
maintained contact to ensure that there would be no surprises or
disappointments when we arrived.

We rigged our own gliders and towed them to the takeoff point. Most of
us parked our trailers in the grass to be out of the way. Steve would
come in the morning to determine our needs and would return at an
agreed-to time. One of the glider pilots would climb up on the wing and
retrieve the rope from the nose compartment of the Pawnee and hook it to
the tug while he warmed up. One of us or our crews would hook up the
glider and run the wing. Following the first and subsequent launches,
the tug flew parallel to the runway and dropped the rope next to the
gliders where we retrieved it, hooked it to the tug, and repeated the
process until all were launched. Steve then left for the day.

Visitors should note that the east end of the runway is at the edge of a
steep drop-off and that there can be strong and gusty winds. It can be
quite turbulent and mid field landings were the norm for us. It seemed
most days we had upwards of 15 kt cross winds. One day I had 32 kts at
about 20-30 deg off runway heading at landing! Those of us from
Moriarty had no problem (not bragging, we just get a LOT of practice
with cross winds). Note that there are runway lights that are mounted
on stanchions. These love to eat wingtips leading edges should you lose
directional control on takeoff or landing. I've seen both on previous
trips. It was up to us to clear our ships from the active runway as
quickly as possible to avoid getting in the way of power traffic.

At departure, we received compliments both from Steve and from the
airport manager for our well planned and executed camp.

Dan Marotta

On 7/8/2014 7:56 PM, wrote:
Maybe not everything you need to know is on that site.
The towplane is owned by a non local. The only tow pilot is a local who has a lot of other interests, does not need to build airtime, and has his own homebuilt RV.
This is an atypical operation. There are only a few locals and we want to keep this going, so please respect the local tow pilot and don't drive him away with expectations of a full time commercial operation, operating at your whim.
We pull out the tow rope, do our own hook ups, run our own wings, try to consolidate when we tow and be the most undemanding glider pilots I have witnessed at other towing venues.
Sorry for the bluntness, but I am one of the local pilots hanging in here by a string.
Randy Cone V9