Pawnee 235 vs Cessna Bird Dog vs Maule as towplanes

On Thursday, August 21, 2014 12:41:29 PM UTC-5, kirk.stant wrote:
We're thinking of charging a landing fee for nosedraggers... ;^) Kirk 66

As a friend of mine once said, "Tail-dragger pilot break ground and head into the wind. Nose-dragger pilot break wind and head into the ground!" Good enough to put on a tee shirt?

Steve

Not the rile the conservative feathers of the tow plane experts, but I wonder if anyone in the USA has a scenario where a combination tow plane motor-glider trainer like the Phoenix makes sense? http://www.phoenixairusa.com/Specifications.php

I believe it has a bigger engine option if you need the pull for towing.

I wonder how it compares to the traditional big iron choices if you fairly consider all of the variables. Would it make sense if a club used it as a backup tow plane and otherwise used it for training (including XC training!). You might get some income from renting it by the hour. It might make sense for a private hobby-commercial glider port in a remote area with few customers and an owner with other reasons for owning a commuter plane.

I've towed with all three plus the Ag Wagon, CallAir, 180 Super Cub, and
180 Citabria.

I think the Ag Wagon is the best of what I've used and it uses by far
the most gas, but of the three requested, I'd choose the Pawnee. It's
simple to fly, tows well, and it's very basic so maintenance won't be as
much. The CallAir is extremely heavy on the controls and will wear you
out, but it is also the easiest to land tail dragger I've ever flown
(except for the Stearman). The Maule was no fun at all as a tow plane.
The Bird Dog was a lot of fun but maintenance will be higher.

Dan Marotta

On 8/21/2014 5:02 PM, son_of_flubber wrote:
Not the rile the conservative feathers of the tow plane experts, but I wonder if anyone in the USA has a scenario where a combination tow plane motor-glider trainer like the Phoenix makes sense? http://www.phoenixairusa.com/Specifications.php

I believe it has a bigger engine option if you need the pull for towing.

I wonder how it compares to the traditional big iron choices if you fairly consider all of the variables. Would it make sense if a club used it as a backup tow plane and otherwise used it for training (including XC training!). You might get some income from renting it by the hour. It might make sense for a private hobby-commercial glider port in a remote area with few customers and an owner with other reasons for owning a commuter plane.

On Thursday, August 21, 2014 5:02:41 PM UTC-6, son_of_flubber wrote:
Not the rile the conservative feathers of the tow plane experts, but I wonder if anyone in the USA has a scenario where a combination tow plane motor-glider trainer like the Phoenix makes sense? http://www.phoenixairusa.com/Specifications.php

This makes a lot of sense. The far better aerodynamics and lower weight of a touring motor glider airframe makes up for about half the HP of a Pawnee.

I believe it has a bigger engine option if you need the pull for towing.

Interestingly, a group of pilots visiting the 15m/Open Nationals at Montague told a story they were testing a higher HP version of the ROTAX - they said as much as 140HP. That would make the Phoenix a dandy tug.