Banner Towing: Experiences and Stories

[Wang Chung]

Disregard the two previous post's

I was lucky the 180 horse Super Cub I was in had the balls to climb

Well, please don’t disregard those posts because that’s the reality of banner-towing for many of us. Bannertowpilot, you were lucky enough to have towed billboards in a stripped-down modified 180-hp monster Supercub, with plenty of performance margin to keep you out of trouble. Have you ever towed a billboard (or a long line of letters of letters) in a stock Supercub, or an underpowered Pawnee, or a modified J3 or PA12, or a Citabria, etc. ??

I don’t like to disparage (sp?) any companies, but a couple good names based on what I have seen, heard or experienced are High Exposure and Shoreline (Ocean City, NJ area) and Aerial Signs. Aerial Signs uses Supercubs/Cubs with extreme horsepower. There are many smalltime 1-plane operators around the country that operate in local areas, too.

Again, I think that you probably need some tailwheel time to get into banner-towing. It’s not as common to find an operator that uses nosewheel Cessnas, but they are out there.

Used to be that Trade-A-Plane employment classifieds was a good place to find banner jobs. Also, the usual pilot job websites have banner jobs sometimes too.

Wang.

 

[Skyliner]

Fun to see a number of pilots out of CMI on this thread. A number of your classmates are out towing banners this season, as a matter of fact. I know of at least three on the Atlantic seaboard currently towing, as a summer job, and just spoke to one of our recent grads who is towing down at Panama City.

In regards to the original post, i've heard plenty of secondhand stories. And they cover the whole range, from best job in the world, to most dangerous thing to do in an airplane. I think there's something for everyone out there. I would second the above posts and suggest plenty of research into the company first.