Already proving its ability to climb at a great rate on its own, the Siemens-powered Extra 330LE towed an LS-8 sailplane to 600 meters (1.968 feet) in a mere 76 seconds. This alone could be a gift to soaring. Sitting at the controls of a sailplane being towed aloft behind a conventionally-powered tow plane proves taxing, for the many minutes it takes to gain a release height of 2,000 or 3,000 feet can seem somewhat endless. It’s also expensive for the gliding club or commercial operation. The soaring club in which your editor was a member calculated the average tow for a Piper Pawnee or Cessna AgWagon consumed around 2.7 gallons to 3.0 gallons of $5.00 a gallon avgas. Twenty or thirty tows a day make for significant operational costs. It’s also the most dangerous part of the flight. A wrong move by a student (or experienced pilot) on tow can put two airplanes and their occupants into the dirt. …
