Banner Tow Pick-Up

This is a Piper Pawnee picking up an advertising banner.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Airplane
• Aircraft

[Charon58]

No, unfurling from the air is not safer. It is way too easy to get something hung up in the control surfaces. Remember that the plane cannot be modified in any substantial way (except the tow hook) so you would have to tie the banner to the aircraft. The banner in this case is 15 feet+ tall and has polls at each end so it would have to be tied along the side or bottom of the aircraft and then released....there are a lot of things that could go wrong with that system.

[Charon58]

As you can see, the banner unfurled without touching the ground at all. If there is no wind you have to pull a little harder, but the hard pull up isn't really needed and has some danger at that altitude. When I started banner towing I read a lot of NTSB reports on banner accidents. The pickup is when most of them get killed.

[gilz16]

I would love to do this....seems like fun getting the tailwheel endorsement soon. :)

[Charon58]

@gilz16 I am the pilot in the Pawnee in this video and I give tailwheel endorsements in Austin TX...banner towing is fun for the first couple of hundred hours...

[BobbyJEL101]

why can't they just attach it folded and then deploy it in the air? Much safer -.-

[bullthrush]

Nice to see someone not doing ridiculously steep pickups.

[flatboat70452]

I really love "Should I move?" and from a distant "No," left unsaid - "We're just being safe over here, you are probably ok, I mean you have a bigger chance of hitting the pick-3 lotto than you do of getting killed today, but you wouldn't get a good picture if you tried to be really safe." and thanks for the great video guys!

[b7gwap]

That is cool to watch. Most people don't realize that airplanes don't take off with them attached. Some really precise and dangerous flying is needed! Great job!