Tow plane ideas

On Wednesday, June 9, 2021 at 2:52:50 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Monday, June 7, 2021 at 8:34:01 PM UTC-4, 2G wrote:
On Monday, June 7, 2021 at 10:36:02 AM UTC-7, wrote:
I would scour the Earth to find a suitable Pawnee before I would accept a substitute tow plane. The club in which I belong too operates 2 of them. We also have a 180HP Super Cub. I have towed behind other tow planes in other locations which always left me unimpressed. Pawnees are still out there. Lots of them are still farm fresh though. In my opinion they should be stripped and the ferrous items evaluated and epoxy primered. Those chemicals that the spayers use are extremely caustic.
The real issue is......what’s your budget? You can spend $50-60K on a “working� Pawnee, then another 70-80K having it restored to make a good tow plane. Then you will have roughly $125K in a great tow plane that could fetch you $90K should you choose to sell it.
Other than these financial pit falls, I feel the Pawnee is the best tow plane by far. Extremely durable, great visibility, relatively easy to get parts (though sometimes you have to get them from Argentina—-which is painful). Very easy to fly. And there are enough of us out there maintaining these things that the knowledge base is still really strong.
Are 2 pawnees have been completely gone through, epoxy coated and new Ceconite covered. I wouldn’t consider parting with them as long as we are pulling gliders around. Once you get a good one you will keep it as long as your club is operating. Good Luck!
The original poster was/is looking for alternatives to Pawnees, so I assume that he already knows about the merits/demerits of Pawnees.

Tom
Andy, the more you post the confirmation of my opinion of you goes to a higher bar. Here you are a motorglider guy trying to tell the purist community that a 100 hp Rotax is a good alternative for a towplane. Please bring one of those pimp mobiles to Florida so that I may tie it to the tow line at the end of my Pawnee and drag it through the sky. The Purist, Old Bob
Racist comments are unwelcome on RAS, Bobby.

If you want a cool tow plane, not cheap, but way cool, try one of these

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X0YqA8byOg