Tow Bar

[N95334]

Getting older has some drawbacks in life. I am having difficulties putting the Taylorcraft back into the hanger after flying. She lives on a grass strip and the hanger has a concrete slab with about a 4 to 5 inch incline over a 3 foot span but still it is hard to push-pull her inside. Now I did change the tail spring recently after the old one broke. With the new tail spring the tail wheel now breaks backward a lot easier. This is due to the angle of the vertical pivot of the tail wheel being slightly forward at the bottom compared to the top of the tail wheel. It is only a slight slant forward relative to the vertical tail post. But my question is, besides paying over $1000.00 for an elec. tow thing does anyone have a cheaper solution for us older guys.

[Robert Lees]

Re: Tow Bar

Make sure the tyres are at the correct pressure, this reduced rolling friction (and might help a bit).

[Ed O'Brien]

Re: Tow Bar

I've got an electric tow bar. I bought it for a twin. It's too heavy for my T-Craft... and difficult to arrange on a most TW aircraft because the TW on a Taylorcraft remains directly under the tail and not raised much as it is on a Cessna 180 for instance. SO...

GO to Home Depot and buy a hand-crank-winch and some rope. Lug the crank to the hangar's mainframe vertical support - center it -- lash the tailwheel -- crank it in. It's like reeling in a boat on to a trailer.
I used this method for years moving a Twin Beech. The whole kit and kabootle should be about $50-75.00. The toughest issue is getting it centered in the hangar and stable enough to crank hard on without messing up your hangars walls. In most metal hangars there are load bearing walls that will work... if not you'll have to bury it like a driveway basketball goal.
Goodluck and with regards; ED OBRIEN

[M Jones]

Re: Tow Bar

Mount a manual, racheting "come along", at a low, center attachment point inside your hangar. Hook the cable to the tail wheel or spring (carefully of course) and use it to get the tiers past the incline so you can easily push it back. A manual crank type of winch like those on a small boat trailer might work also. I understand your thoughts on doing this also by the way. It's not as easy as it use to be...

Rob,
tires = tyres
center = centre

[lfries]

Re: Tow Bar

A former hangar neighbor bought an electric winch. He pivoted 90 deg at the
right point and hooked up the cable and let the winch do the work. He flew
a Stinson 108-3.

[fearofpavement]

Re: Tow Bar

an average size lawn tractor will also work as a tug to drag the plane in backwards. These can be found rather inexpensively with a worn out mower deck. Take that off and pitch it in the scrap metal pile and just use the remainder. You may need to ballast it a bit to keep the tires from spinning. When I sit on mine it is pretty well weighted down... Also be sure if you are pulling it with a rope that you don't get enough speed on the aircraft that it will roll into the tractor when you stop. I would recommend placing some chocks (wide enough so you don't miss) to stop the plane where desired. Also, pulling it while backing up the tractor will place more weight on the rear tires and keep you from popping a wheelie. (you may have to do some rigging to get a suitable attach point on the front of an average cheapo unit.) I would suggest to use your lawn tractor or borrow one to ensure it will be suitable for your situation before spending money... I do know that a lawn tractor will not do well pulling a Beech Baron if the ground is ice covered but seeing that a T-craft is about 1/4th the weight I think that would work out spiffy. (of course the winch thing works well too and we sank an anchor in the center of our hangar floor for that)

[Ed O'Brien]

Re: Tow Bar

I recommend a hand-crank winch for the following reasons.
1. Plenty of pulling power without worrying about electrical power supply. My hangar would occasionally get wet floors when ice dams built up on the roof. I didn't want an electrical supply connected to power and the floor.
2. If the plane's tail is slightly misaligned when you take up slack or pull -- the plane will rock left and right until it becomes evenly aligned. This makes for a bit of whipping in the take-up line connecting the plane to the winch and,
the tail/elevator moving too. I had a tight fit for both the wings and the tail and didn't want to have any loss of control on the take-up. Of course you can by a universal variable speed winch... but you're talking more money for little or no convenience and a bit more anxiety as the plane
rolls right and left trying to even itself into alignment.
This wobbling can be disconcerting and easily cause hangar rash. BUT, of course do what you like.
With regards;
ED OBRIEN

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Tow Bar

Hand crank winches and cheap block and tackle sets from Harbor Freight work great. Just be careful with an electric or manual winch. If something hangs up (like a main tire) you can put a MIGHTY load into the plane without realizing you are doing it. Might want to use a "weak link" somewhere or anchor the end on some concrete block that will slide before the rope (or plane) breaks, and DON'T use nylon rope! It stretches and when it snaps it is like a big rubber band. It will blow a hole in the fabric (or you) in a heart beat.
Hank

Had to put a Cessna 337 in and out of a hangar for a couple of years with an up slope to the door that took 3 men to push. Using the cheap Harbor Freight sheet metal block system, I pulled it in all by myself. Only had about a hundred pound limit on the rope and that 337 was a HEAVY mother.

[1938BF50]

Re: Tow Bar

You can mount a large sheave/pulley in the back of the hanger and run a rope out to your vehicle. Attached to the tailwheel, thru the pulley and then to the front of your vehicle, you can very comfortably, slowly and safely back up (facing the plane ) to put it to bed for the night. Knot the rope to act as a fixed stop as well. Seen it done for years by an "old timer"

[astjp2]

Re: Tow Bar

Get a 12v atv winch and use rope, it has a remote with it and you can guide the airplane in at a slow enough rate to prevent hanger rash. I would never just hook my airplane up to my vehicle and use a pulley to drag it in, too many things to go wrong. Most people that have a bifold door in their hanger have enough power to charge the battery. Tim

[Ron Coleman]

Re: Tow Bar

Hi Dennis
I have to drag my bird up a grade and over a door guide to get it back into the hanger. It is tough when the grass is high, it is muddy, or there is snow on the ground. The rest of the time it just hard on my back. I have tried several solutions. First I use the sears mower. I tie a short rope to the tail wheel spring and UNDER the rear axel of the mower (mower deck is long gone). If the rope is tied below the axel the mower is not likely to turn over backwards. I put a towbar on it, on which the eye for the rope is lower than the axel. This system really makes a mess in the hanger in muddy weather and does not work in snow.
The best solution that I found is a 12V winch with a remote. I got one from Harbor Freight for $35.00. I powered it with a used car battery and kept it charged with a battery maintainer for a motorcycle. I put a 2 x 6 on the back wall and screwed the winch bracket to that. This system proved to be a pain because the remote cord was only about 15' long and I had to bo out and adjust the tail to keep the plane in line with the rope. The cable and rope needed to be about 45' long to reach from the back wall out to the tail of the airplane. Most winches will not hold 45' of cable so I had to add rope each time I wanted to pull the bird back.
Finally I got a solution. Get a radio controlled remote for the winch, get a winch large enough for the amount of cable you have to use and use a solar cell to keep your battery topped off. Use a short length of rope at the end of the cable to the tail wheel. That should do it. When you have to pull the plane in you pull the cable out to the plane, tie it on and then use the remote to pull the plane while you walk along side steering the tail. If you don't steer it, it will swing wildly from side to side.

good luck
RonC

[tawadc95]

Re: Tow Bar

go to the gym?

[Ron Coleman]

Re: Tow Bar

I don't think the T-Craft will go through the door of our gym and still be able to fly.

RonC

[wlas]

Re: Tow Bar

Here's the tow bar I build and it works great, not only will it pull tail draggers but I towed a Cessna 310 in the hangar the other day, using a four wheeler.

[Larry Lyons]

Re: Tow Bar

Nice towbar! Back in the old days Dad had a Cabin model WACO that had to go up hill in to a dirt floor hanger. He had a trough (2"X8" with 2"X2" nailed on each side) for the tail wheel to guide it in straight. As the tail wheel aproched the guide he would have to fuss a little but from there on no problem. Actualy I believe most of the hangers there at that time had a similer arrangment. There is no electricity on the field anymore so now we fight them in by hand.
Larry