towpilotsmanual-apr2011

8/11/2019 TowpilotsManual-Apr2011

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Skyline Soaring Club, Inc.

Tow Pilot Manual

Chief Tow Pilot: Curtis WheelerRevised April 2011


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Table of Contents

Basic Qualifications........................................................................................................................4

Flight Experience ...........................................................................................................................4

Training ..........................................................................................................................................4

Currency .........................................................................................................................................4General Aero Tow Procedures.............................................................................................................4

Preflight. .........................................................................................................................................4u!p starting procedures ................................................................................................................"

Taxi ................................................................................................................................................"

#un$up ............................................................................................................................................"First flight of the day ......................................................................................................................"

Ta%eoff ..........................................................................................................................................."

Cli!& ..............................................................................................................................................'

(escent ...........................................................................................................................................)*anding .........................................................................................................................................+

#efueling ........................................................................................................................................+,eather Considerations .................................................................................................................+-eadwor% te!s .............................................................................................................................+

/ecuring the Aircraft ......................................................................................................................0

The A1iat A$2 -us%y...........................................................................................................................03 speeds in P- A/.....................................................................................................................0

Preflight ..........................................................................................................................................0

Fuel................................................................................................................................................25

6il .................................................................................................................................................25Tires and Bra%es ...........................................................................................................................25

/tarting Procedures ......................................................................................................................25

Engine #un$up .............................................................................................................................25Ta%eoff .........................................................................................................................................22

#elease..........................................................................................................................................22

(escent .........................................................................................................................................22*anding ........................................................................................................................................22

Tow #elease -andle .....................................................................................................................22

#efueling ......................................................................................................................................27-us%y Personal 8se .....................................................................................................................27

The Piper PA$7"$7"5 Pawnee ...........................................................................................................27

3 /peeds in P- A/..................................................................................................................29

Preflight ........................................................................................................................................29

Fuel ...............................................................................................................................................296il .................................................................................................................................................29

Tires and Bra%es ...........................................................................................................................24/tarting Procedures ......................................................................................................................24

Engine #un$up .............................................................................................................................24

Ta%eoff .........................................................................................................................................2"#elease .........................................................................................................................................2"

(escent .........................................................................................................................................2"


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Basic Qualifications

As a minimum, all Skyline Soaring Club (SSC) tow pilots shall be members o SSC an! the Soaring Societyo America (SSA)" hol! a Pri#ate Pilot certiicate or higher with an airplane single$engine lan! rating" ha#e atailwheel en!orsement or ha#e logge! tailwheel light time as per %& C' Part %.*%(i)" ha#e a current Thir!Class me!ical certiicate or higher" an! possess a current 'light e#iew as per Part %.+. A ighPerormance en!orsement or pre#ious e-perience per Part %.*%() is also reuire! or Pawnee operations.

As 'ront oyal airport is within / 0M o the 1CA 23TAC, each tow pilot will ha#e the reuire! A1I4training completion certiicate a#ailable or inspection while ser#ing as an SSC tow pilot.

Flight Experience

A minimum o 5// hours total light time in airplanes, inclu!ing %/ hours as pilot in comman! o single$engine tailwheel airplanes, is reuire! to begin SSC tow pilot training in the usky. As a general rule, eachnew tow pilot will complete a checkout in the usky prior to checkout in the Pawnee.

TrainingAll prospecti#e tow pilots must complete the Soaring Saety 'oun!ation (SS') on$line Tow Pilot Course. eor she must then satisy the reuirements o %& C' Part %.6.

'inal ualiication will inclu!e at least %/ !ual actual gli!er tows. Ater the Chie Tow pilot has insure! thatthe prospecti#e tow pilot has the reuisite knowle!ge, skill, an! e-perience, he will en!orse the new towpilot7s logbook with a statement that he is ualiie! to tow gli!ers per %& C' Part %.6. The Chie Tow pilotwill then make the inal recommen!ation to the 8oar! o 1irectors or the member7s ualiication as an SSCtow pilot.

Currency

SSC ualiie! tow pilots must meet the currency reuirements o %& C' Part %.6.

General Aero Tow Procedures

The ollowing is inten!e! to be a gui!e to SSC$uniue towing proce!ures, an! not an e-hausti#e !escriptiono all towing consi!erations. eer to the 9li!er 'lying an!book, Chapter :, an! Towpilot Manual by 8urtCompton or a!!itional in$!epth towing inormation. 0umerous other te-ts an! websites e-ist.

Preflight.

;pon arri#al at the iel!, the tow pilot must con!uct a thorough prelight o the tow plane. It7s particularlyimportant to inspect the tires or con!ition an! inlation (note< the tailwheel tire shoul! be irm an! withoutsi!ewall bulge), !rain water rom uel tanks an! lines(not while insi!e hangar), an! check the con!ition o thelan!ing gear attachments, tailwheel springs, an! tow hook. Apply engine preheat when ambienttemperatures are below ree=ing. I the uel tanks are not appropriately ille!, reuel beore light operationscommence.


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Jump starting procedures

The towplane shall not be starte! by >umping rom the tow car. The towplane battery may be recharge! byconnection to the towcar, but the towplane shall not be starte! while connecte!.

The Tow Pilot is responsible or the saety an! proper operation o the tow plane an! launch operations. TheTow Pilot shall not lea#e the pilot7s seat while the prop is turning.

Taxi

It is important to hol! the stick properly !uring ta-i. Controls shoul! be set to ?climb into or !i#e away@ romthe win! as reuire!. 8e #igilant or groun! personnel.

Run-up

Perorm run up in accor!ance with the aircrat operating manual. As a minimum, check mags, carb heat,controls or ree!om o mo#ement, brakes, an! uel uantity.

First flight of the day

SSC encourages tow pilots to make a checkout light each towing !ay with a climb to altitu!e (i.e., */// eetA9) to check out the tow plane7s systems an! to re$amiliari=e themsel#es with its han!ling. Perorm astall, check the stall warning system, an! return or lan!ing. I not current or lan!ings within the prece!ing6/ !ays, the tow pilot shall complete three lan!ings prior to the irst tow o the !ay.

Taeoff

Bhen the line crew signals that they are rea!y or you, start up an! ta-i to a position in ront o the gli!er tobe towe!. The line crew may in!icate which gli!er is to be towe! by hol!ing both han!s palms acing each

other, an! mo#ing them back an! orth in the !irection o lineup. They will in!icate the !esire! releasealtitu!e by hol!ing up the appropriate number o ingers. In the e#ent that no in!ication is ma!e, the tow pilotshoul! assume */// eet abo#e groun! le#el (A9). Ater the line crew has attache! the tow line to the towplane, (or e-ten!e! the towline rom the T3ST reel), an! has gi#en the signal to take up slack, ta-i orwar!until the tow line is taut. At ', the tow plane will normally be appro-imately abeam o the #isual gli!eslope in!icators when a 5// oot tow line is ully !eploye!.

1uring lineup, the gli!er pilot shoul! initiate a communications check. I no transmission rom the gli!er ishear!, the tow pilot shoul! initiate a communications check with the gli!er. I the communications check isunsuccessul, insure that the towpilot an! gli!er pilot are in agreement on the tow to be perorme!.

The line crewman will signal when to stop by hol!ing his han!s o#er his hea!. Ater stopping, perorm thetakeo check list an! obser#e the line crew or the ne-t signal.

Bhen the gli!er pilot is rea!y or takeo, he will instruct the wing runner to raise the wing. The signal tostart the takeo is the gli!er pilot anning the gli!er7s ru!!er back an! orth, ollowe! by the wing runnerrotating his arm in the takeo signal. The tow pilot shall acknowle!ge rea!y by waggling the tow plane7sru!!er, make a takeo ra!io call, insure the mi-ture is ull rich, an! a!#ance the throttle smoothly or takeo.

As the gli!er tow hook is well below the center o gra#ity o the gli!er, su!!en tow plane acceleration maycause the tail o the gli!er to bang !own on the groun!. 3n the other han!, accelerating too slowly is notgoo! either. I in !oubt about whether or not you are applying the throttle at the proper rate, ask theinstructor in the gli!er ater he lan!s. In general, gli!ers that rest on a nose ski! nee! a more gentleacceleration rom rest, while some glass ships nee! more aggressi#e acceleration to reach minimum control


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spee! in a cross win!.

1o not hol! the tow plane a ew eet o the groun! as you accelerate an! then =oom up into the air. It ise-tremely !iicult or a new stu!ent to ollow this type o maneu#er. Make your acceleration rom lito spee!to climb spee! while in a shallow climb, a#oi!ing any abrupt changes in your climb angle. Allowing the towplane to !rit slightly !ownwin! !uring the initial climb will acilitate the gli!er7s maneu#ering or a !ownwin!lan!ing, i reuire! (See SSC 3perations Manual, Appen!i- 8, 'igure 8.&).

CAUT!":Tow pilots ha#e been known to start their takeo when they obser#e! the gli!er wagging his ru!!er as parto his takeo checklist an! while the wing was still on the groun!. 3ccasionally, takeos will be ma!e withthe wing o the gli!er resting on the groun!, (unassiste! takeo) but you will be inorme! o this in eachin!i#i!ual case. ;nless you are speciically briee! to !o so ahea! o time, ne#er start your takeo unlessust beore you lea#e, to keep out bir!s. 9i#e theengine as much time as possible to cool prior to installing cowl plugs.

The Aviat A#1 $us%&

The ollowing is inten!e! as a general o#er#iew o usky operations. eer to usky %/%, by e Belch, or!etaile! usky lying techniues.

* speeds in +P% ')(

2s/ *: 2gli!e :* 2a 6&2s% &/ 2e :* 2no %%62- +J %.* 2so &J 2ne %+*

2y :*

Power is supplie! by a ycoming 3$*/$C%9, gi#ing %J/ 8P H 5:// PM. This is a carburete! enginewith a constant spee! propeller.

Ta-iing the usky may reuire S turning on the ta-iway to continuously clear the area ahea! o you. Takespecial care when operating near the groun! crew. 2isibility is an issue in the usky, as it is !iicult to see

un!er the nose !uring ta-i, an! !iicult to see the gli!er !uring takeo an! tow. Moreo#er, it is oten !iicultto eel the gli!er7s release.

Preflight

The usky has three uel !rains. Two are un!er the wings at the roots an! one is un!er the engine irewall.The usky is euippe! with a Schweit=er towhook, reuiring the larger tow ring. The 13 will perorm the!roppable towrope prelight inspection as per the SSC 3perations Manual, paragraph &.*.&.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Fuel

%// octane uel is reuire!. The usky has two uel tanks containing a total o +/ usable gallons. The uelgauges are accurate in le#el light only. 3n the groun!, these sight gauges in!icate the uel to beappro-imately %FJ greater than the actual uel on boar!. Typically uel the airplane to 5+ gallons by uelinguntil the gauges in!icate %FJ o a tank abo#e the K mark. 'ueling to +/ gallons will preclu!e carrying anyback seat passenger or light instructor !ue to weight an! balance limitations.

'uel consumption is appro-imately %/ 9P actual time (J gph tach) or appro-imately 5 gallonsFtow to *///eet A9.

,il

;se Phillips 5/B+/. Ma-imum oil capacity is J uarts" maintain oil le#el between an! J uarts. I the oille#el is oun! below uarts at the start o an operating !ay, the tow pilot shoul! a!! oil.

Tires and Braes

The usky has in!i#i!ual toe brakes, inclu!ing a parking brake pull$tab or each. Main wheel tire pressure is5+ psi" tailwheel pressure is +/ psi.

(tarting Procedures

Prior to engine start, perorm a thorough prelight. Check mags o, mi-ture o, throttle close! an! pull propthrough or %5 bla!es. Prime accor!ing to the temperature< + shots H */' or below" % shot less or each%/' abo#e */' . i.e., & H &/', * H +/', 5 H /', % H :/' an! abo#e. Pulling through another to Jbla!es can urther loosen up the engine oil, !istribute the uel, an! re!uce the starterFbattery loa! !uring thesubseuent start. Apply engine preheat when ambient temperatures are below ree=ing.

Perorm Pre$start cockpit check< Controls ree

Seatbelt astene!

Mi-ture rich

'laps up

8attery master on

Crack throttle open %F& inch

Announce ?CEA P3P@

Engage starter

Ater start, keep PM below %/// while waiting or oil pressure to rise abo#e minimum pressure. Shut !ownthe engine i no oil pressure in!ication is note! within */ secon!s.

Slowly lean the mi-ture to about one inch o sil#er showing on the mi-ture control. ;se this mi-ture positionor all groun! operations e-cept runup, T.3. an! climb. A!#ance mi-ture to ull rich beore a!!ing T.3.power.

Engine Run-up

1;I09 E09I0E ;0$;P, E0S;E TAT D3; 31 TE STICG '; 8ACG A01 TE 8AGES'IM.


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Set %6// PM with mi-ture setting at IC.

Check mags, let an! right, 5+ to %5+ PM !rop.

Check carb heat or %// to %5+ PM !rop.

Check propeller control at %:// PM, cycling three times.

Taeoffito will occur at about +/ MP IAS. 1o not try to orce or pull the aircrat into the air" let it ly itsel o thegroun!. Takeos an! tow in the usky are ma!e 'APS ;P an! at + to :/ MP IAS (!epen!ing on type ogli!er on tow).

The power setting or climb is ull throttle an! 5+// PM. A#oi! partial throttle climbs !ue to the leaning othe mi-ture that occurs !ue to the closing o the carburetor economi=er #al#e.

The Tow Pilot shall operate the transpon!er, inclu!ing Mo!e C euipment, on co!e /%*/ as per thePotomac Tracon Memoran!um o ;n!erstan!ing when towing in the #icinity o ', on 2' co!e %5//, oron the co!e assigne! by ATC, as appropriate.

0ote< Tow pilots shoul! not carry non$member passengers while towing. Members who are prospecti#e Tow

Pilots, Tow Pilots in training, an! intereste! gli!er pilots may ri!e with appro#e! Tow Pilots !uring gli!ertowing operations. 3perational nee!s shoul! inorm the !ecision to carry an a!!itional pilot in the rear seat.

Release

;se stan!ar! release proce!ures.

"escent

A#oi! shock cooling by maintaining suicient power on the engine an!For limiting airspee!. Selecting a lowerpropeller PM (5///) will assist in !escent while maintaining at least 5/@ o maniol! pressure.

#anding

Approaching the traic pattern, perorm the lan!ing checklist. Maintain :/ MP IAS on !ownwin! an! +MP IAS on base leg while gra!ually re!ucing power. 8e careul to not o#erspee! the laps (:* MP IASma-imum).3n short inal, use power as reuire! (#ery little). 'inal approach in the usky is ma!e at / MP IAS withull laps.

To& Release %andle

The tow release han!le is locate! on the loorboar! >ust orwar! o the pilot7s let knee. Bhen !ropping the

tow rope, a pull o less than % poun! is reuire!.

'ull laps are to be use! on e#ery lan!ing to minimi=e the risk o groun! loop. Ater touch!own, keep thestick ull back an! raise the laps. This will help a#oi! nose o#er. A#oi! brake use until reaching the 'mi!iel! ta-iway at ta-i spee!.


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Refueling

Check the uel gauges careully when reueling, as o#erilling is easy to !o.

%usy Personal se

The primary mission o the SSCLs usky is to train tow pilots, to pro#i!e supplemental tow capacity, an! toser#e as a backup towplane or the Pawnee when it is not a#ailable. A!!itionally, the usky may beoperate! or personal use in an aircrat rental$like arrangement or currency, proiciency, an! other local an!cross country lying.SSC ualiie! Tow Pilots an! appro#e! Tow Pilot can!i!ates ha#e the pri#ilege o personal use o the uskyon a not$to$interere basis with normal SSC soaring acti#ities. Personal lying on sche!ule! SSC operating!ays will be limite! to a +/ nm ra!ius o 'ront oyal airport ('). Pilots will monitor the ' CTA'reuency in or!er to respon! to recall reuests rom SSC groun! ops. 3n non$operating !ays, personallights will be con!ucte! so as to ensure usky a#ailability on subseuent SSC operating !ays.

Pilots wishing to ly the usky or personal use shall ensure the Pawnee is a#ailable to support normal SSCsoaring operations an! will check with the sche!ule! 13 to resol#e any other possible tow plane

reuirements.

Sche!uling the usky will be !one #ia the ClubLs 1uty oster in the notes section or the hoursF!ay(s)!esire!. A!!itionally, pilots using the usky shoul! email their lying plans to the Towpilot istser# in or!er tocoor!inate sche!ules an! promote awareness o the location o the usky.

Cross country operations are only authori=e! or SSC ('ull or Probationary Member) pilots who are cleare!to ly the usky as PIC without an Instructor an! are currently !esignate! as SSC tow pilots or tow pilotcan!i!ates. The pilot may con!uct operations or which heFshe an! the aircrat are certiie! an! current toperorm" an e-ception is or hire operations, which are not authori=e!. Pilots shall only lan! at airports thatare in the AirportF'acility 1irectories an!For on 0AC3 Aeronautical Charts. I the pilot lea#es the uskyunatten!e!, heFshe shall secure the light controls an! the airplane with wheel chocks an! tie !owns.

Pilots will be charge! accor!ing to the SSC rate sche!ule per Tach hour or personal use. The pilot will bereimburse! or uel an! oil purchase! at locations other than ' at a rate not to e-cee! the rate charge! at'. I maintenance is reuire! at locations other than ', the pilot shall be eligible or reimbursement oany reasonable maintenance ser#ices purchase!, sub>ect to boar! appro#al. Pilots shall coor!inate suchmaintenance reuirements with an SSC boar! member prior to ha#ing the work perorme!.

Personal time or the usky is to be bille! by use o the aircrat log an! the pink billing slips in the aircrat.Ater personal use, the pilot will pro#i!e notiication o tach time lown, uel purchases, an! reuire!maintenance to the SSC treasurer.

The Piper PA#2'#2'0 Pawnee

The Club7s Pawnee was !esigne! as a crop !uster, thus inten!e! or har! work, with a 5+/ hp ycoming 3$+&/ si- cylin!er engine an! a our$bla!e low$noise oman propeller. The light weight o the Pawnee an! itslarge engine gi#e the aircrat e-cellent towing capability, reliability, an! all aroun! saety. Although thema-imum gross weight o the plane is 56// poun!s, in our operation we typically operate at about 5///poun!s gross weight. The cockpit !esign pro#i!es nearly */ !egrees o #isibility. 'or a number o reasons,the Pawnee is consi!ere! the club7s primary tow plane, an! shoul! be use! accor!ingly when choosingwhether to ly the usky or the Pawnee.

06/J has been euippe! with a pulselight system to enhance collision a#oi!ance. Select the small


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pulselight toggle switch on the subpanel to on, an! select the rate o pulse, ast or slow, with the push buttonas !esire!. Bhen the lan!ing light switch is on, the lan!ing light is on continuously, so the lan!ing lightswitch shoul! be o !uring normal towing operations.

A 8ose noise canceling hea!set is also pro#i!e!. It shoul! remain plugge! in at all times. A!>ust the noisecanceling eature with the han!set. Personal hea!sets may be use! with the >acks pro#i!e!.

The Pawnee7s most unusual eature is its long nose an! the !ownwar! slope o the cowl. This presents a#ery unusual picture to the pilot when in le#el cruise an! in the touch!own phase o lan!ing. Bhile lan!ing,bringing the nose abo#e the hori=on, as with most tail!raggers, may slam the tailwheel !own at touch!own.0ot !esirable. The lan!ing attitu!e or touch!own is >ust the same as #iewe! by the pilot when sitting on thegroun!.

* (peeds in +P% ')(

2s/ / 2gli!e J/ 2a %5/2s% % 2e %/6 2no %5&2- :% %.* 2so :J 2ne %+

2y J*

Preflight

The Pawnee has 'I2E uel !rains. Two are un!er the cockpit at the let wing trailing e!ge, one is un!er eachwing uel tank, an! one is un!er the engine irewall. The Pawnee is euippe! with a Tost reel, an! a Tostrelease or a !roppable tow line, reuiring the smaller Tost ring. The !uty tow pilot will perorm the Tost reeltowrope prelight inspection, e-ten!ing it ully an! remo#ing the right si!e access panel to !o so.

Fuel

1ue to the 5+/ P Supplemental Type Certiicate (STC) con#ersion, auto gas cannot be use!. The Pawneehas two main uel tanks containing a total o * usable gallons. A uel shuto #al#e is locate! at the rightsi!e o the cockpit. It normally remains open (!own) at all times, but shoul! be close! or a orce! lan!ing.

Two un!erbelly !rains reuire prelight action. 3ne is or the hea!er tank an! the other or the #ent line.'rom the Pawnee operating manual, section 5, uel system< ?3ne$way check #al#es are use! in the #entline to pre#ent e-cess uel o#erlow !uring ta-i turns or uncoor!inate! light. These check #al#es ha#e twopressure release holes which bypass the check #al#es an! will allow slight o#erlow !uring thermal e-pan$sion o a ull tank.@ Also, rom section *, prelight checklist< ?1rain tank uel #ent line until all water or uel is!raine! out.@ Thereore, i this uel #ent line !rain is not emptie! !uring prelight inspection, it backs up uelin the e-pansion tank, ills it an! allows it to !rain o#erboar!.'uel consumption is appro-imately %& 9P actual time (%/ 9P tach) or appro-imately * gallonsFtow to

*/// eet.

,il

;se Phillips 5/B+/. Ma-imum oil capacity is %5 uarts" maintain oil le#el between J an! 6 uarts. I the oille#el is oun! below J uarts at the start o an operating !ay, the tow pilot shoul! a!! one uart o oil.


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Tires and Braes

The Pawnee has in!i#i!ual toe brakes, inclu!ing a parking brake pull$tab or each. Main wheel tire pressureis 5+ psi" tailwheel pressure is +/ psi.

(tarting ProceduresThe Pawnee has !ual electric uel pumps in a!!ition to an engine$!ri#en pump. Make sure the uel pumpswitch is on !uring all engine operations. 'uel pressure shoul! be between * an! + psi. Prior to engine start,perorm a thorough prelight. Check mags o, mi-ture o, throttle close! an! pull prop through or %5 bla!es.

Prime accor!ing to the temperature< + shots H */' or below" % shot less or each %/' abo#e */'., i.e., & H&/', * H +/', 5 H /', % H :/' an! abo#e. Pulling through another to J bla!es can urther loosen upthe engine oil, !istribute the uel, an! re!uce the starterFbattery loa! !uring the subseuent start. Applyengine preheat when ambient temperatures all below ree=ing.

Start the Pawnee on the let magneto only. 3nly the let mag has an impulse coupling to ai! starting. ;singthe right mag can lea! to se#ere kickback while attempting start.

Perorm Pre$start cockpit check< Controls ree

Seatbelt astene!

Mi-ture rich

'laps up

et mag only on (ne#er start on both mags)

8attery master on

'uel pump on (note pressure)

Crack throttle open K inch

Announce ?CEA P3P@

Engage starter

A(T)R *TART+ ,) *UR) T$) RG$T -AG * TUR"). !"an! keep PM below %/// while waiting oroil pressure to rise abo#e minimum pressure. Shut !own the engine i no oil pressure in!ication is note!within */ secon!s.

In col! weather, ater starting, it may be necessary to a!! a primer stroke ortwo to keep the engine running. 1o not pump the throttle in an attempt tokeep the engine running, as an in!uction ire may result. 1o not lea#e the primer unlocke! or pulle! out!uring start as this may allow e-cess uel to be sucke! into the engine an! contribute to a ire.

Slowly lean the mi-ture to the ?mark@ on the mi-ture on the control ua!rant. ;se this mi-ture position or allgroun! operations e-cept !uring run$up, T.3. an! climb. A!#ance mi-ture to ull rich beore a!!ing T.3.power. (Ater gli!er release at top o climb, slowly re!uce power in stages to below 5/// PM resetmi-ture to the mark while keeping airspee! no higher than %%/ MP IAS.)

Engine Run-up

1;I09 E09I0E ;0;P, E0S;E TAT D3; 31 TE STICG '; 8ACG A01 TE 8AGES'IM.Set %J// PM with mi-ture setting at IC. Check mags, let an! right, 5+ to %5+ PM !rop. Check carbheat or %// to %5+ PM !rop.


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Taeoff

ito will occur at about / MP IAS. 1o not try to orce or pull the aircrat into the air" let it ly itsel o thegroun!. Takeos an! tow in the Pawnee are ma!e 'APS ;P an! at + to :+ MP IAS (!epen!ing on typeo gli!er on tow).

Release

Ensure that the ma-imum engine PM o 5+:+ is not e-cee!e!. This is uite easy to !o as airspee!increases to J/ MP IAS an! abo#e, as the & bla!e! oman propeller is a ?climb prop@. The Tost retractswitch an! its respecti#e circuit breaker are locate! on the let si!e o the panel. 1o not e-cee! %// MPIAS while retracting the tow line. ope retraction abo#e %// MP can cause the en! o the rope to whipagainst the Pawnee7s ru!!er an! ele#ator.The tow release han!le is >ust orwar! o the throttle ua!rant. Bhen using the tow release han!le, a pull oappro-imately */ poun!s is reuire! to cut the rope. The same han!le is use! to !rop a con#entional towrope when the Tost reel is inoperati#e. In that case, the pull is less than % poun!.

"escent

Maintain suicient PM (minimum o 5///) !uring !escent to pre#ent shock cooling.

#anding

Bhen the airspee! !rops below %// MP on !ownwin!, insure you ha#e retracte! the tow rope onto theT3ST reel. The mirror on the let wing strut can show whether the rope is retracte! or not. Approaching thetraic pattern, perorm the lan!ing checklist. About 5%// PM shoul! hol! le#el light on !ownwin!. MaintainJ/ MP IAS on !ownwin! an! base leg while gra!ually re!ucing power on base an! inal.

Abeam the approach en! o the runway, maintain %J// PM. 3n base leg, maintain %// PM. 3n short

inal approach, use i!le power as !esire!. 'inal approach in the Pawnee is ma!e at :/ to J/ MP IAS withlaps as !esire!. Touch!own shoul! be at about / MP. In strong crosswin!s, hal laps or no laps willaor! more control an! a re!uce! ten!ency or the upwin! wing to rise !uring touch!own.

CAUT!"

towpilotsmanual-apr2011

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