gibbons
En-Route
Anyone here have any experience doing any banner towing?
Make sure Leah buys some insurance on ya first. No reason why she should be financially miserable as well after you're gone.id like to try it!
Make sure Leah buys some insurance on ya first. No reason why she should be financially miserable as well after you're gone.
I've seen plenty of banners towed but never picked up. It's scary enough knowing top cruise is somewhere barely over touchdown speed, about 50 Kts. I don't even want to think about all the stress on that airframe when it grabs the banner. I can't help but picture some scenario where the tail stays behind, the engine keeps on going an the pilot is stuck hanging... for a brief moment in time.
That very thing happened to a Chicago independent banner guy in his 150. I've been told that after he tore the tail off he rolled down the runway, got out when it stopped and dusted himself off. There was nary a report on the incident.
I suppose it helps that not only are you low at pickup, you're going really, really slow.
I saw the 150 with a brand new shiny tail. It's since been painted to match.
Yep. What'd ya wanna know?Anyone here have any experience doing any banner towing?
Anyone here have any experience doing any banner towing?
Here's a suitable topic to pull me out of luker status.
... but that's not important right now.Probably from some sort of hook attached to the aircraft...
Welcome aboard!Here's a suitable topic to pull me out of luker status.
, although not very profitable.
I was living in Michigan at the time, so mostly MSU games and lots of trips to Chicago. I had a few flights around Cleveland and one trip down to the INDY 500.Great! Welcome to POA. Where did you tow?
Ah the master of understatement. I never made a dime. Although it was ok work, I got to look at a lot of bikini babes on the beaches of San Diego, it could get pretty hot, noisy and stuffy in there.
Ah the master of understatement. I never made a dime. Although it was ok work, I got to look at a lot of bikini babes on the beaches of San Diego, it could get pretty hot, noisy and stuffy in there.
In a glider?id like to try it!
Hey, I've seen Tony fly a real plane too!In a glider?
You've dragged gliders with a helicopter?yea occasionally i get over to the dark, powered, side of aviation. even have dragged some stuff around the sky too!
I'd buy a ticket to watch!no, but that sounds like an interesteing way to launch. maybe an airlift via National Guard Chinook. or perhaps we could just wheel the glider into the back of a C17 climb up to 20k feet or so and then just shove it out the back! that'd be exciting!
yea, as Henning says, Tube frame is good if you are towing. SuperDuper Cub all the way. Our 150 hp cub has over 20k hrs on the airframe and most of it is from towing gliders and banners. we joke that its a foot long than it should be but the real important thing is that it HASNT stretched. strong airframe.
I've been considering a Piper Brave (Pawnee w/400hp IO 720) to contract out to towing operations.
400 hp in a pawnee is pretty overkill really for towing gliders. unless you want to pull like 10 big 2 seat schweizers at a time. the 235 hp pawnees are pretty widely used out west at high DA's and are highly sought after. 400 hp pawnee would probably be great for banners. hell i bet you could pull a love letter with that kind of horsepower
I wasn't refering to multiple gliders, rather quicker up and down times. I really wasn't to concerned with glider tows anyway (what do people pay for a tow anyway?) but rather the big billboard banners.i dont know of any places where towing more than one glider at a time is the norm.