This was on the lawn of Chemical Abstracts, a research firm immediately to the north of the Ohio State campus. It’s a huge, manicured lawn about 40-60 acres in size, on the west bank of the Olentangy River less than a mile north of Ohio Stadium. It’s large enough to host outdoor symphony concerts during the summer.
Map the intersection of Dodridge Street and Olengtangy River Road if you wish to view on a aerial map - the CA campus is in the southeast quadrant of the intersection.
I have to think that the pilots who fly this duty ( there are several of them on all OSU home football dates) plan to utilize this area as their first resort of an emergency.
It seemed obvious to me the plane was having engine troubles. I assume the woman was the pilot and does not actually have an engine, unless that’s what they’re calling it now.
LOOK what I found today at my little local airport. It’s the airplane in question. (Sorry I can’t seem to get it to display in the forum). Sorry only had my phone with me, if it’s there tomorrow I’ll take more pictures.
Notice the tail? C150 with 180hp. I used to tow banners in one of those, it climbed and pulled like an ape.
Interesting find. Back in the day, banner towing here at the Jersey shore was the preferred method for accumulating paid flight hours.
There were traffic jams in the skies over the beaches every weekend during the summer months with some very interesting antique aircraft participating at times.
One of the preferred places for picking up and dropping off banners was in the median along a southern section of the Garden State Parkway. The rubber-neckers and gapers lead to some extreme waits to pass that section of the highway.
I noticed the same thing, and was told it was due to the cost of “liability” going through the roof making it almost cost prohibitive to be a profit making biz.
It’s also due to the paranoia of the TSA. From what I read a few months ago, they don’t allow banners to be flown over highly desirable areas such as major sports gatherings, Disneyland, etc.
It’s still as popular as ever all along the busy areas of the east coast. From Long Island NY, the Jersey Shore, Ocean City Maryland, Myrtle Beach, and Florida beaches there’s plenty of banner business to be had. I know a bunch of guys who used to tow, and a few who still do.
I know this guy
He admits the quotes they used make him sound like a real idiot, what with thinking about his iPod after the engine quit.
I was in my local tower about a month ago when an out of town banner tow plane came in to advertise for a politician (who subsequently lost). It was cool to see him pick up his banner. The tower asigned him a code on their radar (ie BNR) so they could keep an eye on him. They had to move him around as a Boeing test flight came through, otherwise he was free to do his thing. I later talked to the guy when he was fueling next to me.
I wonder what would be the ultimate tow plane (low cost). Maybe that Fisher Cub ultralight?
No way, not enough power. Those banners weigh a lot, and they cause a ton of drag. The planes fly at low airspeed (optimising ad time) so they are flown at high angles of attack and high power settings, uncreasing the drag even more. You need an airplane that can fly slow with a lot of power. That’s why pawnees, super cubs, and the like make great tow airplanes.
The Wilga has always been my favorite “tow” plane, though its radial doesn’t make it a good banner tow airplane. It’d use too much fuel. It makes a great sailplane towplane though. Check out this photo of a Wilga towing 3 gliders at the same time! airliners.net/open.file/0680378/M/
I have no idea how this can be done safely. Before you joke, they’re in Germany, but it is a Polish airplane.