The Pegasus Story

This is a brief overview of the origins and evolution of the Pegasus as researched and reported to the
author.

Conception
Simply put in the days of the fledgling large scale soaring movement (1994-96) there was a dearth of
suitable towing platforms. In the U.S., Few manufacturers made large or rugged enough scale planes to
use as tugs. The evolution of the Pegasus tug in the U.S. began with some interesting circumstances.
First, most of the few scale soaring enthusiasts at the time didn't have much experience with power
flying, and many eschewed the idea of noisy, complicated gas models. However they quickly realized
that it was necessary to have tugs if you wanted to fly 4 meter and larger scale ships anywhere but on a
big slope. Of course Robin Lehman was the pioneer, and much of what transpired and evolved in the
serious effort to popularize aerotowing in the U.S. was through his vision.

Robin was driven to get a larger acceptance for Aerotowing, importing all manner of sailplanes and tugs
from Europe. The European stuff was exotic in our eyes at that time, and expensive for all but a few. The
early generic tow planes were Senior Telemasters and many of you know the history of that first tug.

But the problem soon became one of scale, and as the pioneers moved from 4 meter ships to 5 and 6
meter sailplanes, the generic easy to fly Telemaster soon became unsuitable. Too much lift, slow to get
to altitude and slower to get back down. Windy weather was its nemesis. The scale towplane scene at
the time was centered around the Frisch 1/4 scale wilga, and another popular model was the Sig 1/3
scale Spacewalker. Many others contended and some were also successful. But for day in day out
towing in less than ideal weather conditions and in the hands of our fellow non experienced sailplane
drivers, these planes were either tricky to fly or tended to be a little fragile.

Enter The 8-Ball Special

Another factor that drove the quest for a generic tug that was easy to fly and adaptable to varied wind
conditions, was the development of the Elmira Aerotow. In fact it is impossible to separate the concept
of the Pegasus and the event as they were symbiotic in a sense. One probably would not have happened
without the other. The Pegasus answered a basic need for a tow plane that could be handed to an
experienced power pilot and teach him to tow in three flights, This in fact is exactly what happened at
several of the Elmira Aerotow events. Not only was there a lack of suitable tow aircraft in these days,
they always were suffering from too few experienced tow pilots at the first few Elmira events.

By the time they had one Elmira Aerotow under their belt (held at the local L/D club field in 1996), it was
apparent that there was a need for a more powerful towplane with forgiving flight characteristics to
replace Telemasters. After looking around at what was available and cheap, It was decided to build a
club tug from a Reid's Model Products 8-Ball special. The Eight Ball Was built for Elmira Aerotow duty in
1997*. The only modifications were reinforced gear components with 1/3 Dubro Cub wheels and more
tail bracing. Power was a Brison 3.2 gas motor. This relatively small tug 84" span, could tow 30 pound
sailplanes. The only problem apparently being visibility at extreme altitudes. The 8 Ball normally has a
cowl and wheel pants, but were omitted for tow duty. The 8-Ball was the first tug in the air at that
event, it was to be a trial by fire for it and its pilot. The wind was blowing steadily at about 15MPH from
the East, the wrong direction for the Harris Hill slope to work. A line of German guests started to form,
towing had to begin, the pressure was on. The ceiling was about 500'AGL to add to the drama. the 8-Ball
was fired up, and hooked up. the rest is a matter of record. IT towed into the wind essentially hovering
to altitude. The technique evolved into flying until the tug disappeared into the overcast, whereby the
glider would be strongly advised to release. upon release tow pilots would perform a split S and
descend.

Bigger is Better
Glider guys kept showing up with bigger and bigger sailplanes at Elmira. About the same time the 8-Ball
was built by the Pegasus designer, I am told he acquired a Carden 33% Extra. It was his first large
aerobatic plane, He immediately saw some desirable flight characteristics for use in a tow plane. they
included maneuverability, go where you point it, and POWER! To make a long story short, without an
engineering background, but a good sense of what an airplane should be, the 8-Ball and the Extra were
combined into one airframe. It was a gamble, and using shear guesswork, a concept was merged from
two seemingly divergent aircraft.

Pegasus is Born
The basic moments, overall size, and areas were kept from the Extra. The simple construction, wing
planform and chord kept from the 8-Ball, but with zero dihedral, and 0/0 incidence. The concept was to
make it simple and cheap, using materials at hand for the prototype. With a large piece of Vellum a
pencil, and a big eraser, I started plotting. No CAD it those days, any inclination to make it pretty was
thrown out, this was to be a functional workhorse. It was drawn and prototyped it in about a months'
time. Dennis at Carden Aircraft was an immense help, the story goes. Sharing his basic wing construction
advice and techniques. the first Pegasus wings were foam covered in Obeche skins, the idea was to
eliminate the need for covering the wings with film, Obeche was also familiar from glider building
experience. Two or three were built this way before changing to 3/32 Balsa covered wings using
Polyurethane adhesive technology, far superior and lighter than Obeche epoxied to foam.

The prototype borrowed the wing joiner tube from the Extra and did not use any wing receiver tube!
the tube merely extended into the sub rib. a Brison 6.4 from Gary Allison was put on the front. this was
a conscious decision to use a meat and potatoes engine with a mechanical spark advance. this motor
was a workhorse and a perfect match for the Pegasus. Simple rugged and reliable. It provided nearly
unlimited vertical performance on the Pegasus.

When the prototype was first flown, no one had any idea what to expect, and it was actually quite
surprising it flew so well, the CG was so far forward the plane would not stall, it just went into a kind of
Harrier and mushed along. The problem with this was that the elevator became ineffective at low
speeds so some changes were made to alleviate this problem. When introduced to our small group of
flyers, it was an immediate success at towing, Robin's comment was typically to the point "you got lucky.
Well after that, and its successful debut at the 1998 Elmira Aerotow, people started to ask about getting
one of these tugs, There was no intention of manufacturing tow planes, but initially plans were offered
and instructions to those who inquired. The Pegasus actually went through about 4-5 incarnations
culminating with the Pegasus II which incorporated plug in wings. The last change was to make the tail
surfaces from built up 3/8" balsa with 1/16" balsa sheeting using 8 tail braces for strength. These were
fabricated from light weight braided steel cable. Along the way, people started asking about kits, so that
was apparently the beginning..Initially rough kits with cores and wood were sold, sheeted wing kits, and
eventually ARC kits followed. At least 100 were sold, but it is not known exactly the number.

No Magic
There is no magic or secret formula to the Pegasus. It is simply a strongly built overpowered good flying
model plane. After the fact aerodynamic analysis by some guys in the Aerospace industry yielded some
interesting information about why it may have flown so well, but it is not important as the facts speak
for themselves. As aerotowing progressed and skilled aerobatic pilots got involved in aerotowing they
were equally impressed by its flying characteristics. This was all the kudos any designer needs,
recognition from fellow pilots in model aviation.

Today there are so many choices for tow planes the Pegasus has been eclipsed by excellent scale tow
plane platforms. Pilot skills have improved, and towing techniques honed. Its' day, like the designers,
has passed, but it seems amusing that the Pegasus has achieved some sort of legendary status among
enthusiasts. It's a testament to its' solid linage and some good luck!

* This year, the event was held for the first time at Harris Hill glider field.
Towing with the Pegasus
My technique for towing

Power up , hook up, ask the glider guider his choice of fast or slow tow if he had a smaller model.

Ease on full throttle no flaps.( flaps were never needed on the Pegasus, but some guys asked for them so
I incorporated them into the design). They did have some use if one had a desire to land short on a
windless day.

Fly straight out managing airspeed with angle of attack. Generally that meant Climb! Establish a turn at
about 75-100 feet. Most tows with 1/4- 1/3 scale ships could be executed in one circuit of the pattern or
two. glider release, then chop throttle and literally dive for the end of the runway with NO flaps. there is
no need to fear, you can't break an airplane with a near vertical downline at 0 throttle and a 27 inch
prop disc in front! at about 100 feet lessen the dive and listen to the engine unwind. at threshold begin
to flair. flaps if needed or desired, touch down at beginning of the runway, stop at center and hook up
the next glider. no need to turn around. small 1/4 scale ships were fun to tow nearly vertical, not scale
like but very efficient.

Other Erata (and Myth Busters)

We never had a need for header tanks and complicated fuel systems. We used 64 oz. Nyglene water
bottles from Bennett Bros., installed our own nipples,(3 line system) arrange them and the clunk so it
would travel from the front to the back of the tank at various angle of attacks. simple and effective.
never had a flame out.

Skylite aluminum wheels with 3/16" or 1/4" grade 8 bolts with nylon lock nuts for axels, low bounce and
indestructible. The landing gear was made by several suppliers over time. eventually I used a local
fellow who understood our purpose. We used 1/4" 6061-T6 aluminum. T6 is just a heat treatment, once
you bend it, it loses its temper. My friend had the knowledge to "re-harden" the bends. It was nearly
unbendable, but durable.

The original prototype never crashed. It performed an ungodly number of tows, into the 1000's. The
only sign of wear and tear was the loosening of the aileron hinge points. Finally it was just retired and
stuck in a corner somewhere to rest.

The Pegasus had at least 3 different airfoils over time due to changes in manufacturing methods. none
of them is important. 17-18%thick semi symmetrical(about 1.5 degrees camber), blunt LE and squared
off TE. No rocket science. An airfoil this thick is in no way critical, and because it is thick, the sub-rib spar
system combined with a stressed skin outer membrane makes an extremely stout wing.

The Pegasus was heavy, it was meant to be. the weight helped when towing 40-50 pound sailplanes,
there was less tendency to pull the tug around with the glider. later editions were lighter and weighed
as little as 26 pounds. I was amused by some guys who spent lots of money and effort to use carbon
fiber and kevlar to make a super light Peg. It made no difference.

The fuselage was manufactured like a cheap kitchen cabinet. luan ply medium CA, thixotropic epoxy
glue, and an air driven brad nailer. I could frame a fuse in one hour. The latter balsa covered wings were
built two sets(4 panels) at a time. I used a shop made clamping table with cauls and pipe clamps. It was
faster cleaner and more efficient than air bagging.

Some Specifications
Original plane

 span: 109"
 Area: 1770 sq. in.
 length 70"
 flying weight +- 30 lbs.

Pegasus II

the first Pegasus II simply used two wing panels of the same length as the PI, hence add 7" fuse width
and the resulting span was 116". Production planes had a span of 114.5"

 Wingspan: 114 1/2"

 Length: 78"
 Airfoil: semi-symmetrical
 Chord: 16"
 Weight: 26 to 30
 Wing area: 1720 sq. inches (increased span, reduced area)
 Wing joiner: 1 1/2"x42" T6 alum.

This section from the original plan set was a tracing of a sheeted wing not a Compufoil plot.