Banner Towing: Experiences and Stories

[IfIHadABoat]

I am looking for any advice/cautions/stories/etc. about banner towing that you guys have. Is is generally safe? Is it worthwhile? Recommend or don't recommend? I found a page with some companies but now I want to see what others have experienced with it. Any info is very welcomed.

Thanks,
Boat

 

[LR25]

It as safe as you make it.

I have towed for about 8 years or so, and I can tell you a few stories that did get my attention.

I reccomend banner flying, it will make you a better pilot, and its alot of fun.

What not to do.

As you progress in the art of banner flying, you become more comfotable with it, and what tends to happen is that you develope some bad habits. These bad habits can end up killing you.

These bad habits are as different as each pilot and different to each situation. Jump into a different airplane for the weekend and then the thing you always do wont work in that particular airplane. Its a bad site when an airplane goes straight into the ground from about 80-100 ft.

Like I said from the begining, banner flying is as safe as you make it. You want to leave yourself an out whenever possible. Some fields I have flown at, there really wasnt much you could do if you had a problem with the pickup, except go between the big trees.

But for the most part, banner flying a great way to make money flying, and to have alot of fun.

 

[PA-44Typed]

Don't F#$KING pay for a Banner Job!!!!! If they are willing to pay for your training then OK, but don't pay for a job period!!!!
-sorry had to vent

 

[stillaboo]

There's a company in Daytona Beach that you DON'T want to work for, one know for ripping off pilots AND its PFT!

Look for them in the NTSB accident reports (yeah, not incidents, accidents)That's all I'm gonna' say.

Banner towing is great experience, lots of fun mixing it up with blimps, but there's some real shady ops mixed in too.

-Boo!

 

[HAZ-MAT]

i had a CFII student that didnt want to instruct, and he went and paid about 1500 dollars for banner towing, and became one of those people you see flying up and down the beach in slowflight... well a couple of weeks later, while entering the traffic pattern to drop off the banner, the aileron cable broke and he spun into the ground, killing himself... later investigation found out that the airplane was tampered with prior to flight, and it might have been vandalized from a prior incident a few months back but maintence never found it... a 23 year old with so much future ahead, dead.. so i dont have to much to say about banner towers, quite frankly, it scares me.

 

[Wang Chung]

I’ve towed for 3 different operators (one shady and dangerous, the other two were good). It’s great fun – I completely loved it. You’ll definitely hone your stick-and-rudder flying and your tailwheel skills.

Advice and cautions? Yeah – research the company cuz there’s bad ones out there. My first flying job was banner towing, but I quit after about 2 months (in the middle of the season) because of safety problems and I don’t regret it. That was my wakeup call to the aviation industry. At least one guy who stayed now has an accident on his record now. Be prepared to stand up for yourself and look out for your own safety and certificate – nobody else will watch your back for you (well, that’s true of any flying job in my experience). Preflight the plane like your life depends on it – the harder you look, the more stuff you find. Don’t get complacent and develop bad habits. Don’t pay for a training program, BUT you’ll need tailwheel time because it’s the only way to get into the business.

Lots of banner towing happens over the beaches, and it’s summer seasonal work. Great fun droning over the beach at 400’ scoping the beaches and BS’ing with friends on the radio. Also used to be lots of towing over major events, but not so much after 9/11 (nothing like circling a football stadium with 12 or more planes all towing banners).

IMHO, a great way to build time and have fun. Some people think that it’s boring flying, but somehow I never really got bored with it.

Wang

 

[IfIHadABoat]

Could you guys tell me the names of the shady businesses? I have a huge list that I am going to go through and call to get info and would like to eliminate a few. Also, what is wrong with PFT? That's a joke.

Thanks,
Boat

 

[stillaboo]

aerial messaging

 

[crash-proof]

Question for you rag-draggers...

Can you guys still hear? I mean, from the ground those things are loooouuuuud!!!! I guess it's the way those little bangers are tuned. Did you use headsets?

They use open-cowling cubs and pawnees here in FL (Aerial Sign, seems like real professional bunch). I bet those pawnees get real hot in there in the summer!

 

[LR25]

Definitely use a headset, with any flying.

The reason there load when you hear them go over is becuase most airplanes that tow have a bigger engine than what was originally installed, and there are at about 85-100% power, just depends on how much gas you have on board and the size of the banner.

If it was during the middle of the summer, heavy banner, full gas, you sometimes may be climbing at -100 fpm!

 

[Wang Chung]

They aren't that loud, really. I've flown modified Cubs/Supercubs with the "open cowling" hood setup, with doors and windows removed and it's not bad. If you've got a small banner and you're towing real slowly, your power is sometimes below 2000 rpm.

I removed both windows on the Pawnee when I flew it and it was comfy...windows ON in the summer is another story!

heavy banner, full gas, you sometimes may be climbing at -100 fpm!

There have been times when I was afraid my banner wouldn't clear trees and powerlines, so I would be "climbing" while looking back at the banner with my hand on the release...

Plus you learn to do catch thermals like a glider to gain some lift (i.e. flying over a big hot asphalt parking lot will buy you 100-200' of altitude sometimes).

Wang

 

[Wang Chung]

If it was during the middle of the summer, heavy banner, full gas, you sometimes may be climbing at -100 fpm!

Hey LR25, replace the word "banner" with "freight" and you're talking about the DC-3, right!

Just kidding....not sure about the "3" but is sure does sound like the Convair 240!

Wang.

 

[LR25]

Wang, I never really had that probem with the "3", but I sure did the same thing as you, flying the banner looking aft, with one hand on the throttle pushing as hard as I can, and another hand on the release, man those hot summer days!

I remember pulling over the ATL speedway at a Nascar race, I had just re-hooked and refueled flying a SuperCub. It felt like I picked up the van instead of a banner, this thing seemed like about 45 letters. All I remember was the tail flag just barely wiggling over roofs of cars out in that immense parking lot, sweet talking the airplane for altitude(with a few choice words also). I must have made a complete circuit around the track before I made 500ft, I was far outside the track to, out over the pines, while all the time my hand on the release.

I must have a million of those kinds of stories, maybe we should collaborate on a book.

"THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A BANNER TOWER"

 

[BannerTowPilot]

Banner towing is great, it's the most fun flying I ever had. I never instructed, I started towing when I had about 300 hours, I towed for 2 years and about 1500 hours, I have almost 4,000 now. The only danger in towing banners is not checking your hook. Take a look at the accident reports, most of the fatal accidents are from picking up the banner with the hook rope caught around the rudder horn.
I learned the hard way and picked up with the rope caught around my tailwheel and I was lucky the 180 horse Super Cub I was in had the balls to climb and I turned around and landed a little crooked with my banner still hooked up to the tailwheel.

Disregard the two previous post's, a Super Cub in July in Florida will still climb like nuts even with a 30 by 90 panel, I have towed a panel 65' high and 30' long in July, as long as you're in a Super Cub you'll be fine.
Just CHECK YOUR HOOK.

Semper Fi

 

[ms6073]

aerial messaging

Or any other banner tow/aviation company in which Tim Pacini is the Chief Pilot!

 

[corky]

I towed for about 800 hours. It is very safe as long as the equipment you are flying is well maintained and the ground crew does their job right. THe pickup is fun. The drop is fun. The 3 to 6 hours of sitting an airplane at 45mph up and down the beach all day long nearly drove me nutts. I was the most boaring flying I've ever done but a great way to build lots of time fast.

 

[U-I pilot]

guys that worked for good operations and like their job: what are the names of your companies, where are they located, and what are their min's?
-thanx

 

[race#53]

We towed in Chicago in the 90's with a 1950 Pacer for $85/hr. We compared it with a stol coverted 150hp C150 and the stock 150hp Pacer would do just as well and had 36gals of fuel also.
Those were the most exciting times of flying.
We had a thunderstorm hit Chi while over Wrigley and dropped the banner off Meigs and just made it on the ground in time.
We had the hook bounce completely around the elev and stab and could not release and made it back.
I watched and then tried to find the C150 after it picked up the billboard banner and never got 50 ft off the deck, he released just before he hit the ground off the airport and flipped inverted just short of a pile of concrete.
The FL guys had the big Cub down to help out but it still had the long breather pipe on it and it froze over and pushed all the oil overboard to a forced landing.
You probably get the idea by now that lots can go wrong, and the insur co finally put an end to it for us.

 

[crash-proof]

i forgot that the guys here in FL got a cub with a 250 lycoming 6-banger. I saw it take off and climb once....wow, what a rush! They use those monsters for towing building-size banners. You don't see it fly that often.

They also seem to be using pawnees a lot lately.

http://www.aerialsign.com

 

[LR25]

Bannertowpilot, A billboard is alot easier to tow than any letter banner.

I pulled with 180HP SuperCubs, and a long letter banner with all the afformentioned conditions will be considerably more difficult than a billboard, especially on the pickup.

There all fun though, I once pulled a Subway sandwich billboard, it was the same dimentions as one of there bags they stuff the sandwitch in, that thing unraveled for a minute it seemed like, it flew pretty good, it had some length to it.