Real banner tow banner pickups

[Amtran618]

Have about 1000 hours doing this, FUN stuff, most fun flying I ever did, banner pickups are awsome, flying down at the pick up poles about 90 knots and pulling the stick all the way back to climb at a 45 degree angle up to 200 feet and level until the banner comes off the ground and climb out and go to the beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQRSziDVdpw&NR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfirx...elated&search=

[lnuss]

Banner towing IS fun. I did some banner towing for a couple of years back in the '70s with a Stearman, and the only worrisome part was making sure the wheels didn't catch the pickup loop (a buddy did that once).

Talk about drag...

[HR]
http://home.comcast.net/~lfn3/Cub_Pix/LarryCub03_s.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~lfn3/Peg_Ab...590Mklfn_s.jpg
Larry N.

[Amtran618]

Some serious drag, best way to climb was to roll into a 45 degree bank and the banner drops strait down and pull up :) fun with those 180 horse cubs, climbs well in a 45 degree bank. I suppose if i'd been towing in a citabria or pawnee I wouldn't have liked it as much, I miss flying those cubs :) The company I towed for didn't use Stearmans but they did have an Ag Cat but I never flew it. I bet the Stearman was a blast too.

I've seen guys get the cub mains caught on the rope, but I never did that, have to get really low for that to happen. I did pick up with my hook rope tangled around my tailwheel once though, that'll teach ya real quick to make sure you a check it WELL before picking up, lucky that super cub had a strong o360 up front and allowed me to keep climbing even with full rudder deflection, probably looked kind of funny but she did it, climbed to about 300' turned around and landed sideways on the runway and ran back and onhooked that banner, those were the days.

[lnuss]

While we sometimes towed with a C-180, usually when the site was out of town, so we could carry the eqpt with us, locally (in ABQ) we used the Stearman, a real attention getter. Even without the banner, that metalized Stearman only climbed a bit over 300 fpm, so you can imagine that we didn't get altitude instantly, especially on a hot day.

Turning was a lot of work, since that drag from the banner didn't want to let us depart from straight ahead, so circling a stadium or a downtown area meant working hard most of the time -- it was a relief to stop turning and go back to the airport.

http://home.comcast.net/~lfn3/Peg_Abq/StmnInFlt2.jpg

[big]4408N with Sandias in the background.[/big]

[HR]
http://home.comcast.net/~lfn3/Cub_Pix/LarryCub03_s.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~lfn3/Peg_Ab...590Mklfn_s.jpg
Larry N.

[Amtran618]

Nice to see a round engine, is that a hook assembly on the back or the rudder hardware?

[Qballbandit]

That was great! And the other vid of the Pilots View was great too!
I never knew or had seen how that was done. Thanks!

Neil :7

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[lnuss]

Yes, that's a tow hook sticking out behind the tailwheel.

[HR]
http://home.comcast.net/~lfn3/Cub_Pix/LarryCub03_s.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~lfn3/Peg_Ab...590Mklfn_s.jpg
Larry N.

[Amtran618]

The pilots view of the pickup was not the same way the other pickups were done, that pilot view video is the trolling method, he leveled off about 15 feet above the ground and trolled into the poles, that's how the girls do it, the other videos are the traditional dive at the poles gaining lots of SPEED and pull up HARD as you pass through the poles method.

[Piper_Pilot]

At my old airport, theres a couple of guys who do banner towing for local events such as races, games etc. It's always fun to watch them hook it up, and then drop it off.