H9 33% Pawnee Tug Conversion

[lenb]

Some more photos of the strut attachment upgrade and the bent upper LG strut bolts

[lenb]

Hi Pete,
The Pawnee is an excellent tug, as we know from the Horizon events. A 120cc is a much better choice with more power for the 30lb + models.
Either way, the airframe is a pleasure to tow with.
The tow release area is the turtle deck, behind the canopy. I will post pictures here of the mods I did to mine. The landing gear upper shock bolts and plywood they go through will fail. They should be upgraded to a larger size with smooth shank where the fitting passes through.
Upgraded springs would be great, except we have sold out of them a while back. I did give some to Peter G, he may have them if he never installed them in the tug.
At the recent Cumberland event, a 100cc Pawnee was towing and did well, until it came to the larger planes. With expert flying skills a 100cc Pawnee is fine with larger ships, however when the sailplanes get larger, the skill level and experience must get larger too.

The stock wheels are way too soft for continuous operation, they'll peel off quickly.
The Doors to the cabin must be reinforced on the inside or they'll blow off in flight ( been there, seen that )
The stock tail wheel is also a fail point over a short time frame.



Above is the inside of the turtle deck viewed from below,
I used an old socket and heated it up to melt the foam where I wanted the release



Plywood angles were epoxied into place to provide some strength to the turtle deck and the release was attached to the new bulkhead




Added the servo and rod.

[JimD]

Very timely questions Pete, I am getting ready to do one of these too. Mine will have a DA-120 and canisters so I have some additional questions.

[Xroadie]

This is not a new idea obviously.....but all our other threads about it are gone......for now!

I just started working on a commission to build a H9 33% Pawnee for aerotowing. The model will have a DA100, with the standard pitts mufflers. The customer also supplied a tow release mechanism for the tug. Is there anything that needs to be modified or upgraded on the Pawnee for aerotowing? I plan to go with as big a gas tank as possible...100 oz...if it will fit! What about the landing gear...do the springs need to be upgraded?

Thanks for any input!
Pete