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Avgas shortage, so much for gliders being immune

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MJG

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 2, 2003
Posts
580
Anyone else's clubs being affected by a supposed "worldwide" avgas shortage this summer?

We used up the last of our stored 100LL in our Pawnee last weekend. BP won't deliver to non-retail operations until the begining of August. So for the next two weeks it's low tows and lots of fuel runs to the nearest airport, which is probably a 20 minute round trip not including ground time. Needless to say this is going to put a serious crimp in our operations for a while.
 
When the local flying club I was at ran out of avgas and didn't get deliveries, I was sent on a mission to a nearby commercial airport with a trailer behind my little car, and four empty barrels on it...I drove down the runway after the tower had closed for the day....and fueled up. Got caught by the fire department on site, so I didn't get all the fuel I wanned ("you're too young to be driving this fireball..." yada yada). I was 18, with a wet driver's license.
Next week the club president acquired a giant military truck, we loaded it up with 14 barrels, and had the fire department open up the ramp access gate allowing us to buy fuel. It kept our operation running for about two weeks.
 
I think our club is still pretty cheap at $17 for a 2000' and $22 for a 3000' tow.
 
Wellington, Ohio (67D). Fun Country Soaring.

But with this fuel mess it's probably going up. Last I heard we were looking for 55gal barrels...............
 
MJG said:
Wellington, Ohio (67D). Fun Country Soaring.

But with this fuel mess it's probably going up. Last I heard we were looking for 55gal barrels...............
Click to expand...

Trucking it in yourself sounds a lot cheaper then flying out for it. Good luck to you.
 
Steve said:
Are winch launches used much in the US? I've never seen one myself, but know they are very popular in Europe. How high do they get you up?
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They are very popular in Europe, and I think that's because AVGAS is so expensive over there. I've never seen one here in North America either, but I'm a big fan of them. I think a good winch could get you up to 2000', although I'd have to do a little more research. Maybe someone could invent a super winch that gets up to like 4000'. That would be sweet! But by then I bet the cable would be so heavy that it would be impractical. I think the thing is they need to find a lighter material for the cable to allow higher winch launches. Right now I think that the winch has to be right by some decent "house" lift in order to be really usable. Pretty much all my soaring experience is in the powered launch category.

Anyway, it's a thought for the future. I don't really ever see myself flying piston airplanes as a hobby, but soaring, on the other hand, is something that I'd like to see prosper. I guess I just feel that we need to break our addiction to the tow plane in order to do it.

-Goose
 
Goose Egg said:
They are very popular in Europe, and I think that's because AVGAS is so expensive over there. I've never seen one here in North America either, but I'm a big fan of them. I think a good winch could get you up to 2000', although I'd have to do a little more research. Maybe someone could invent a super winch that gets up to like 4000'. That would be sweet! But by then I bet the cable would be so heavy that it would be impractical. I think the thing is they need to find a lighter material for the cable to allow higher winch launches. Right now I think that the winch has to be right by some decent "house" lift in order to be really usable. Pretty much all my soaring experience is in the powered launch category.

Anyway, it's a thought for the future. I don't really ever see myself flying piston airplanes as a hobby, but soaring, on the other hand, is something that I'd like to see prosper. I guess I just feel that we need to break our addiction to the tow plane in order to do it.

-Goose
Click to expand...

I've seen a few winches for sale in www.wingsandwheels.com over the years. Pretty pricey though. A few were on the back of old tow trucks with a 350 chevy or 454 on back with some kind of gearing and a drum with cable. Looked pretty home made to me.

How about ground launching by towing with a car? Ive heard of that being used in Europe also but never seen it here. Anyone done it before?
 
Roger that about the "house lift". I wish we had that luxury. Unfortunately we don't. Heck even just a small ridge nearby would help alot. But most of Ohio, with the exception of the southeastern part, is completely flat. Oh well.

Maybe a diesel powered engine for the Pawnee, hmmm.......there's an idea.
 
2000' is on the high end of typical winch launch release altitudes. Where I saw them in use, 400-600 meter was typical, much depending on pilot technique. Oh btw, thats 1300-1900 feet....

Winch is perfect for the beginning pilot learning to land before the first solo. And at a quarter of the price too.... $8 bucks for a winch tow would be a typical price in Europe.

Noise impact on the community can be reduced to well, silence..., but plenty of emergency landing space must be available...mm.

Edit: with a quick ground crew and very long landing strip, a glider can do "touch and go's" almost as quick as a powered aircraft.
 
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I think ours will get around 15 or so in before stopping to fill up. I've never seen them fill up more than twice in a day. All depends on the height that people want. Luckily the Pawnee will haul everything we've got up in a jiffy so the tows to 3000' never take more than 10 minutes.

As a side note to this story we did manage to find a gentleman with a tank on the back of his truck, complete with fuel filter and pump. He agreed to haul some fuel for us for the next couple of weeks. Should be enough to get us through these next couple months. This way our tow plane won't have to leave and go get gas at one of the nearby FBOs. However I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later this year as our club did go ahead and raise tow fees a couple bucks for all tows. Now paying $25 for a 3000 footer. Still cheaper by a long ways than renting a 172 these days. In addition we've all been "encouraged" to get off the tow early if we're in good lift.

Now normally when I try that it ends in a very brief sled ride back to the ground. However yesterday I managed a bargain when I gambled and got off at 1600' AGL on my second flight of the day in a SGS 1-26. So that tow only cost me $15 bucks. I turned that $15 dollar tow into a 90 minute soaring flight reaching 4900' AGL at the highest point. 4900' AGL being exactly 500' below the bases of course. :)

I only came down because I just couldn't "hold it" any longer and I hadn't drank all my water yet, and there's no way to dump anything out of a 1-26 that I know of.
 
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Steve said:
How about ground launching by towing with a car? Ive heard of that being used in Europe also but never seen it here. Anyone done it before?
Click to expand...

I remember seeing Karl Striedieck being launched by Jeep tow before that world record setting out-and-back Appalachian ridge run he did back in the late '70s/early 80's. There was a picture of the launch in National Geographic, if you can find the issue.


EDIT: Here's a scan:

http://home.comcast.net/~johan.larson/soaring/thousand-mile-glide.html
 
Heyas,

FWIW, you can buy 100LL AVGAS from the Exxon station out in Weston in South Florida. It comes right out of a normal pump like the regular unleaded.

When I asked about it, it turns out that there are more than enough airboats (which use AC engines) to justify it.

The numbers on the Pawnee are just about right. About 15 tows per tank, and the thing pulls a ton. Ours had been refurbed, and never used as a spray plane since. Without all the spray gear, there was enough room for a retractable tow rope, which is the bees knees.

I think the local club, which ran a Supercub, was charging $12 for a 2000' tow, but you had to be a member. I forget what we charged, but the time between a 2000' and a 3000' tow in the Pawnee was not significant.

I loved the Pawnee. Lazy days flying tow, napping under the wing, and catching 1 hour Blanik flights at the peak of the thermals are some of my favorite GA memories.

Nu
 
Goose Egg said:
They are very popular in Europe, and I think that's because AVGAS is so expensive over there. I've never seen one here in North America either, but I'm a big fan of them. I think a good winch could get you up to 2000', although I'd have to do a little more research. Maybe someone could invent a super winch that gets up to like 4000'. That would be sweet! But by then I bet the cable would be so heavy that it would be impractical. I think the thing is they need to find a lighter material for the cable to allow higher winch launches. Right now I think that the winch has to be right by some decent "house" lift in order to be really usable. Pretty much all my soaring experience is in the powered launch category.

Anyway, it's a thought for the future. I don't really ever see myself flying piston airplanes as a hobby, but soaring, on the other hand, is something that I'd like to see prosper. I guess I just feel that we need to break our addiction to the tow plane in order to do it.

-Goose
Click to expand...

There was something in 'Soaring' magazine about a year or year and a half ago about some of the new winches. As I recall launches over 3000' is possible i think because they use some sort of different type of cable that doesn't break as much and the winches can sense when to speed up and slow down automatically (but don't quote me on that).

The purchase price of these new super winches is really high though, especially for your typical US based club operating 1-26's on a shoe string budget. Guess those Euro clubs that can afford new Schleichers are in better shape to buy these high end winches.
 

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