The best towplane in the World? A flight review of Aerospool WT9 Dynamic

[@CAJ1001]

Tolle Videoqualität...und natürlich Monderation - herrlich zum anschaun! DANKE

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Danke für das Lob - freut mich zu hören 😃👍

[@a350fsx7]

We use a Robin DR300/180 (180 hp engine) aswell as the DR400/200 (200hp engine) from the other gliding club at our airfield. On hot days we prefer to use the stronger variant with the 200hp engine for the heavy double seaters!

[@reginaldcrudstump383]

This is a really interesting video Rudi, thank you for posting. I am a tow plane pilot in the UK and my club has a DHC-1 Chipmunk fitted with a Lycoming 180hp, otherwise known as a Supermunk. I love flying the DHC-1 but I would like to have a flight in a Dynamic as I do like the idea of more efficient, lighter airframes for towing. I would like to see some videos of the Dynamic doing some glider towing.

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Hello, thank you for your comment! Yes I plan to do some towing videos too with the Dynamic in the future, so stay tuned 😉

[@swissgliderpilot6871]

The WT9 is awesome! A wonderful plane. We use a classical Robin. A nice tow plane , just the spare parts are very expensive. Cool video!

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Thank you! Robin is also a good tow plane! Thank you for commenting 😃👍

[@operationssoargbsc1309]

Thanks for posting this Rudi! Quiet , Efficient, Safe are the key ingredients for future towing.

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Thank you, yes i completely agree, in particular low noise emissions become more and more important i think

[@jmingog2023]

thanks for showing storage compartment

[@KestrelYI]

Thank you for the video Rudi. We use a Piper Pawnee.

[@heimopertlwieser1133]

Rudi, super gemacht

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Danke Heimo 😃👍

[@ashrafkandiel1091]

Fantastisch gezeigt und gut Englisch ausgestochen.

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Danke Ashraf!

[@Big_Worm141]

We are still using a SF25c with a Rotax912 (100hp) for towing but we are already considering buying an ultralight for that. Of course the WT9 is on top of the list of suitable candidates.

[@tadeksmutek5840]

Thank you very much, Rudi, for this Aerospool WT9 Dynamic presentation. I would like to ask - does the plane pilot have a technical possibility/capability to cut tow cable in emergency situation? In some situations while towing glider it is quite important to have possibility to cut/release tow cable from towing plane too.

[@tadeksmutek5840]

Sorry, disregard my question pls - it was answered by you later in this video:-)

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

@@tadeksmutek5840 fine :-) - i just wanted to answer once again :-) - no problem, thank you for commenting!

[@jme104]

Scary place with all the buildings. I prefer my home airfield in the country side .

[@RoelBaardman]

My club currently has an Aviat Husky. We have looked at WT-9 and similar planes, but due to the short runway (800m) en trees at the end of the runway we aren't sure if the acceleration will be enough for these towplanes with a DuoDiscus XLT/Arcus T behind it.

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Hello Roel, look at this Video which I have made exactly for this reason (sorry it is in german): kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4G2eISFfdeGaJY Here I habe tested the new Dynamic with Rotax 915 engine and it is outstanding regarding towing of a Duo Discus xT

[@OnerousEthic]

Very nice! But I am hoping that the towplane of the future will be an autonomous robot that can take off and land by itself, and that will cost a fraction of this beautiful machine. A wooden, fixed pitch prop? Is that really optimal? I am thinking that a lightweight ceramic hybrid constant-speed would be affordable if the production volume were adequate...

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Hi, i have already heard of drones which should be used for towing in the future - we will see, it is exciting what will come up in the future! It is not a fixed pitch propeller - it is constant speed, via variable pitch. Very good to handle from the cockpit.

[@OnerousEthic]

@@RudisGlidingAdventures constant speed? How did I miss that? I think that is a very important feature…

[@buzzinbritain8222]

Trouble is you can get 3-4 Pawnees for the same money - which is the best and most widely used towplane in the world........and will tow heavy high wing load Open Class gliders that the Dynamic can't safely..........

[@Segler93]

I don't like being towed by a Pawnee. It's very bumpy behind. + of Ultralight: License is easy to get, very low fuel consumption (compared to Pawnee), no expensive licensed parts for maintenance,... I think an Ultralight with the new Rotax 915iS will be the future in aerotow. Even with the 914 you can tow an Arcus. My Club just ordered a Breezer with the 915iS 😉

[@buzzinbritain8222]

@@Segler93 You are probably flying in the wake then - maybe learn how to fly appropriately in either low or normal tow. Guess you fly out of a long, near sea level strip, with no obstacles at the end of the runway and plenty of land out options if the engine should quit or rope go twang? Your grasp of economics is also poor -the depreciation on capital alone of 200-250000 euros will more than make up for any associated costs with a Pawnee, plus insurance will be cheaper........ try flying one of these microlights out of a hot and high airfield with a fully loaded Arcus or JS1C behind - you'll change your tune..... Also a lot of those Rotaxes are having issues in the towing environment............ Don't think you have bought any parts for those Rotaxes either? - I believe they have licensed parts as well....... but if we are talking money no object towplane then I'll take a Zlin Z-137T Turbo Čmelák any day of the week :-) 1000fpm plus with fully loaded Open Class ships on part throttle...........

[@TheSoaringChannel]

What would make it difficult to tow a heavier glider? The climb performance or some other limitation? I have a DG505MB - wing loading is 45kg/m² or 9.5lb/ft² but 1797lbs max in the 20m configuration. I've gotten into a bit of a disagreement with our Pawnee owner who says the DG is simply too heavy to tow with two pilots. At 1650lbs we reached 1000' in 2 minutes. I don't really see an issue with taking it closer to the maximum weight, but he is vehemently opposed and won't even allow me to get another tow pilot to do the task. So I'm stuck self launching with two pilots, or flying single pilot exclusively, and that sucks. We have a 3100' runway at sea level in Florida. No obstacles whatsoever. I can understand him not being comfortable, but he can't give me an actual thing that's unsafe about it. He just says "it's not safe" and says the weight itself is too high. 🤔 There are dozens of clubs towing DG1000/1001/500/505s with two pilots and no issue at all, with lesser tow planes. We have 250 or 260hp, not the 235.

[@soaruk3697]

@@TheSoaringChannel Get rid of the tow pilot, he's obviously talking b/s . Its not the guy that likes upsetting people on ras by the way is it?

[@pete_mitchell]

​@@TheSoaringChannelwe tow DG-1000 with two man crew, usually student+instructor regularly with 180hp o-360. No problem at all.

[@MichaelBruun1561]

Great video! We use a WT9 as a tow plane in our club. I have noticed that the rope end frequently hits the empennage, causing minor damage to the rudder and elevator. In one of your WT9 videos, I saw a rubber tube extension placed under the rudder to prevent damage. Do you know where this product is available for purchase?

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Thank you Michael! I have just responded via Email. This rubber cone is manufactured by TOST too. Available at Aerospool, the manufacturer of the WT9 or directly from TOST I would say. Thank you for your comment!

[@Johan-ex5yj]

Thanks Rudi for another interesting video. 👍 That is a very nice towplane. The retractable tow cable is a great feature. Bigger wheels may be good if you need to go rescue a pilot that did an outlanding?

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Hi Johan, thats an interesting idea :-)! Here in austria it is not allowed to tow from an outlanding field, so i never thought about it 😀

[@Johan-ex5yj]

@@RudisGlidingAdventures Ok, I did not know that it is not allowed in Austria. Here in Australia it is allowed. :-)

[@TheSoaringChannel]

@@Johan-ex5yj plus, they'd never know anyways 😂

[@nicothien488]

Still using a DR400, but it often doesn't seem to climb very well. Especially when hot, but also some tow pilots seem to be better than others. People say the old 2 blade propeller was better than the low-noise 4 blade as well. Like this, it's always sketchy with a heavy Arcus or Duo to get over or around the trees at the end of the runway 🙈

[@nicothien488]

PS: Best towplane in the world is probably the Grob Egrett used for Perlan... or a bit more normal, the Turbo Bravo (with the Allison turbine) in Schänis.

[@buzzinbritain8222]

@@nicothien488 Zlin Z-137T Turbo Čmelák as used in the past in EGU'S and WGC's.

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

ok, Grob Egrett is very special - no problem with towing Arcusses or Duos at all i guess 😅😅

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Turbo Cmelak is also very nice - i did a lot of towing in a glider behind those monsters when flying at the Pribina Cup in Slovakia :-)

[@ArnulfKoch]

Sehr interessanter Beitrag zur Dauer-Diskussion um das beste Schlepp-Flugzeug. Wir haben eine DR400 (Con: Sehr hoher Spritverbrauch, sonst perfekt vereinstauglich) und eine Pipistrel Virus SW (Con: nur 600kg Anhängelast und unser Perkoz hat 610kg MTOW). Wie groß dürfen Piloten in der WT9 sein? Passen da noch 195cm große Piloten bequem rein? Dann wäre es wirklich perfekt.

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Hallo Arnulf, also wir haben im Verein Leute die über 1,90m groß sind und die haben kein Problem. Müsstest mal ausprobieren, aber wir sind wirklich happy mit unserer Dynamic.

[@fytart]

Da hab ich wohl ein bisschen zu früh aufgehört.

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Auf jeden Fall 😃

[@soaruk3697]

Better alternative for most clubs is the Eurofox with 915 - costs half the price of the Dynamic..................... outperforms the Pawnee........

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Do you use the Eurofox with the 915? I know the Eurofox, it is undervalued according to pilots who have flown it. Interesting to hear, that a Eurofox with a Rotax 915 outperforms even a Pawnee!

[@buzzinbritain8222]

@@RudisGlidingAdventures Lot's of clubs in UK use the Eurofox - vastly reduced cost of aerotowing. The original 100 hp Eurofoxes will tow 80% of the fleet most of the time but really struggles with heaver Open Class and two seater gliders. The Eurofox with the 915 which have seen demonstrated quells these fears and easily outperforms the Pawnee -plus very quiet. Much cheaper than the WT9 Dynamic..... and proven airframe..

[@KeithWhittingham]

Look it, not 'on'

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

Thank you Keith, my KZbin Journey includes impoving my english too 😃

[@KeithWhittingham]

@@RudisGlidingAdventures kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHa6kqSLi8aWaa8 "Here's looking at you, kid"

[@Royaye_Mashinbaza]

just VL3

[@RudisGlidingAdventures]

VL3 is not a towplane 😉