Glider Tugging

[squirrelysquirrel]

Hi,

Currently I am a season tug pilot for a large gliding club in the South of England. I am also studying for my ATPL theory examinations, and am due to sit my final exams at the start of June. Although the flying is good, it is very infrequent at the moment, and I am getting less than ten hours per week. As I already have the funds in place to carry out my CPL ME/IR, I am in two minds whether to carry on with this all summer with the chance of getting some free SEP time, or to start my CPL asap and stake my claim on the job market. Im just not sure if the SEP hours from here will really be that valuable, or should I just get the higher licence and focus on paid employment ??

[Mercenary Pilot]

If you decide to get your CPL/IR soon, make sure you leave the gliding club on good terms and "keep the door open". It's certainly not easy to find that first job (especially at the moment) so you need to keep flying and racking up the logbook hours, it's really important even if it is SEP.

[jayteeto]

Agreed, any free hours are gold dust. Try to do both if you can......

[cats_five]

It's early May and the weather hasn't been very good so far. Hopefully it will pick up by the time you've done your exams - until then I would have thought not too much flying is good as it makes room for studying.

[tom_ace]

any flying is good experience as long as you keep your standards up

[Yarpy]

Aaaahhhhh . . . Tugging !

Probably the best actual flying you will ever experience and it will stand you in surprisingly goos stead. Mark my words. I never enjoyed anything so much as mucking around in an old Rollason Condor. It's certainly more fun than five hours through a sunday night to Tenerife.

Enjoy it whilst is lasts laddie. The commercial world is not all it's cracked up to be.

[pheeel]

hang in there mate, I've had only 3 hours in 3 weeks!

lots of grasscutting - which is what they pay me for I guess

if you do leave, let me know which club it is - i'd be well up for 10hrs a week!
cheers,pheeel

[squirrelysquirrel]

I understand where you guys are coming from. I think its just that I have had to move here and am miles and miles away from home and everything and everyone. Once ive done my exams I guess it will be easier to cope with. Chin up.

[MIKECR]

I would stick with the tugging just now and leave the cpl/ir for a bit later. The job market is seriously drying up just now. Take advantage of the free hours and build up the sep time for the timebeing. As for the hours being valuable or not, it certainly didnt do me any harm. I got most of my hour building from towing and it didnt cost a penny! Whether its instructing, para dropping or tugging, its just sep time as far as the cv go's.

[MartinCh]

I'd like to do tugging. Especially with, say barter swapping 'earnings' for glider rental :-D It's nice to be important/useful part of a club as well.
Can't think of nicer way of 'hour building'

I still have long time (couple years) till I'd be rated in FW and proficient enough to do tugging, but from what I've read, there are some requirements in FAA ie glider towing rating and min TT.

How does that compare with UK CAA/JAA regs? Haven't read about such rating in Europe, maybe some training in safety and min hours PIC or something. I'll try to find it in here.

[MIKECR]

Martin, there is no official tuggy rating in this country. Basically a PPL is all that is required.

Individual clubs will set their own minimum requirements however. That may range from just a ppl, to ppl with gliding instructor rating and x amount of hours power time as well as gliding time. Most clubs however tend to sit somewhere in the middle of that ie. ppl and 'some' gliding experience, and possibly a tailwheel rating depending on the aircraft. The most common tugs are Pawnee's, Super Cubs and Chipmunks(converted). There are some tricycle types too such as Robins and Rallye's.

In saying all that, there are some countries in Europe where there is an official tuggy rating. Your ppl will require to be endorsed by the local CAA.

[chileconcarne27]

Trust me the hours will go up! I have a feeling you're at the club i used to fly at and we're only at the beginning of the gliding season! If i am right, you are at probably the 'premier' gliding site in the UK with some seriously active members who will very soon be needing a tug pilot so they can complete their 500km flights!

You'll also have 3 or 4 comps to do during the next few months and you'll be racking up the hours then, launching 120 odd gliders in just over an hour is an amaziing site and, even if that doesn't give you much time in your logbook it'll be some of the best flying you'll ever do!

I'd keep going with the SEP stuff for the moment and the CPL/IR will fall into place.

[squirrelysquirrel]

That sounds about right. My only worry was that I may miss the bandwagon for jobs, but it doesn't sound too promising at the moment by the sounds of other threads anyway. Thanks for the advice guys, I think that I shall stay put for the time being.

[MartinCh]

thanks MIKECR.

I did my PPRuNe research in private flying forum. I also posted in some, envious, naturally. You're also poster in all of them so you know which ones I mean.

Naturally, FAA or ICAO PPL (If things go well, do my PPL in Argentina on taildraggers mostly next year or so) wouldn't be enough. But then, less exams to do to get JAA PPL :-)

After checking out other aerotow threads, it made me even more gliding hungry. I MUST do some gliding in the US as well. UK gliding scene ain't that bad either. Definitely easier to stay airborne than paragliding.

One club in Oregon does FAA glider tugging rating in their two seater Pawnee. Naturally, with about the same reqs as in here, 100 TT PPL.
I also don't think it takes so long to get to Silver badge according to the requirements I've read. (Lasham reqs for prospective tuggie).

Now I'm bit torn. Doing taildragger flying (and some C150 and C172) in Argentina next year or summer of gliding.. (Argentina is great not just for reasonable cost of flying) Having PPL would help when getting gliding training..
Another thing is if I'd be willing to do tuggie if there's such nice weather that day :-/ (for my own free flying)

Life's hard, full of decisions, innit?
----
But then, I could do some gliding training in Argentina as well. Just that European summer is Argentinian winter, ie not very good for thermals.. AAH.

[Capt. Spock]

Hello,

Any leads for glider tugging positions anywhere in Europe? I was suppose to start towing gliders in Northern Europe but it seems that the local CAA is unable to progress the required ratings before autumn.

I hold a UK issued JAA PPL with 165h total time, 25h on multi / high performance, tailwheel endorsement, 10h on gliders.

Thanks!

[MIKECR]

Try www.gliderpilot.net for vacancies.

Through the grapevine I believe Bidford are looking for a seasonal tuggy. You better be VERY quick though!!

Oh and just remembered - theres a vacancy I believe at Husbands Bosworth too with the Gliding centre. 3 Supermunks.

Try www.gliding.co.uk for contact details

[Capt. Spock]

Thank you for the leads, Mike!

[MIKECR]

No problem. You had better chase things up quickly though as I know both clubs were looking last week and may found someone already. Best of luck though.

[pheeel]

Bidford have found someone - well fast - within a week! makes me feel a bit better having had to leave them!