Moving a T-6 in/out of hangar

Jason · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 4:41 am

From my experience, the best tow bar for what you want to do:

1 - attaches to the maingear legs
2 - as has been mentioned, pull the aircraft forwards from the front of the tow vehicle (so the aircraft is front of you), is also WAY easier to push the aircraft backwards in the right direction
3 - have one of the 2 drawbars hinged near the towing point (so the drawbars can be swung in after parking aircraft & disconnecting aircraft from towbar)
4 - weld some non castoring wheels on each drawbar near the aircraft attach point which have a ground clearance of an inch or so when NOT connected to the aircraft. (this is for easier handling of the towbar when not attached to the aircraft)
4 - have a swinging crossbar between the drawbars and near the maingear attach points (in case of gear collapse.. cheap insurance) which also serves another purpose...
5 - if need be, you can swing the crossbar out, connect it back up & drive the towbar around on it's wheels in front of your tug.

As I said, from my experience, this is the best towbar design, especially for one man operations.

Jason

Ollie · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 8:12 am

Here's my set-up.

CCF Harvard Mk.4 C-GBQB by comiquaze, on Flickr

CCF Harvard Mk.4 RCAF20352 C-GBQB by comiquaze, on Flickr

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

You can get receiver style hitches for the front of pickup trucks that work quite well. If you drive one anyhow, that works well! Just plug in your pintle hitch and go.

Here is an example:

http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts/front ... ST_SRC=PPC

The problem with tugs is that they are another motor vehicle to keep maintained. The only thing worse than the airplane battery being dead is if the tug's battery is dead since you can't even get the plane out of the hangar.

mlenoch · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 1:35 pm

My comment would begin with: what kind of hanger will it be stored in? And will you always be towing with wingwalkers?

If in a large hanger, those tow bars suggested are great. These will give strength and direction to moving the aircraft on a large floor. If the floor is painted, the heavier tractor/vehicle will work better without sliding/spinning wheels on the rain splashed floor. In a group hanger, wingwalkers would be helpful to prevent hanger rash to yourself and others.

If it is a T-hanger with 44' or 46' wide door, the towbar will work but VERY carefully, as the side margin for wingtip clearance is small. The T-6 has a 42' wing span. For a T-hanger, might better suggest a tailwheel tow/dolly as this will give more precise control down the center of the hanger floor. And paint the center stripe on the floor inside and outside the hanger for guidance. :wink:

Have fun!
VL

ZRX61 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:16 am **Posts:** 2308

One P51 owner I know has also put a couple of those angled concrete curbs they use in parking lots in his hangar. He drilled the floor for re-bar so they don't move & now he knows when his P51 is in far enough so the hangar door doesn't make expensive noises when it hits the spinner...

rcaf_100 · **Posted:** Tue May 08, 2012 4:10 pm

From moving our Harvards around, all I can suggest is use a tug that has good front tires and has weight on the front end.

We use an old Ferguson tractor, and I've come close to rolling the front tires off the rims a few times from the lateral force of the Harvard tailwheel mechanism.
We also have a Clarkat Tug which steers the planes a lot better but the brakes are shot. :-)

Yours truly on the tractor...

Also, on wet/humid days, it's very hard to get the tail of the a/c to go where you want on slippery hangar floors.
These are some of the reasons why we're fixing up an old Air Canada baggage tractor as our next tug (it weighs 5000+ lbs!)

Getting used to pushing T-6/Harvards takes a little while due to the already-mentioned tailwheel design, but it's a heck of a lot safer than towing them since you're not cranking your neck back and forth.

Hope this helps.

:partyman:

Fearless Tower · **Joined:** Thu May 26, 2011 5:14 pm **Posts:** 365

vlado wrote:

If it is a T-hanger with 44' or 46' wide door, the towbar will work but VERY carefully, as the side margin for wingtip clearance is small. The T-6 has a 42' wing span. For a T-hanger, might better suggest a tailwheel tow/dolly as this will give more precise control down the center of the hanger floor. And paint the center stripe on the floor inside and outside the hanger for guidance. :wink:

Have fun!
VL

That is my big concern with the tug and towbar idea (particularly since I have no personal experience with them). It will be a T-hangar with a 44' wide door. I am leaning toward the tailwheel tow/dolly for the primary reason that I suspect I'll have a little better control during that critical phase of getting the wingstips in and out without scrapes. Rubbin' may be racin' in NASCAR.....but not what I want to do with an aeroplane.

51fixer · **Posted:** Wed May 09, 2012 11:29 am

Fearless Tower wrote:

vlado wrote:

If it is a T-hanger with 44' or 46' wide door, the towbar will work but VERY carefully, as the side margin for wingtip clearance is small. The T-6 has a 42' wing span. For a T-hanger, might better suggest a tailwheel tow/dolly as this will give more precise control down the center of the hanger floor. And paint the center stripe on the floor inside and outside the hanger for guidance. :wink:

Have fun!
VL

That is my big concern with the tug and towbar idea (particularly since I have no personal experience with them). It will be a T-hangar with a 44' wide door. I am leaning toward the tailwheel tow/dolly for the primary reason that I suspect I'll have a little better control during that critical phase of getting the wingstips in and out without scrapes. Rubbin' may be racin' in NASCAR.....but not what I want to do with an aeroplane.

Is there room with the hangar depth for towing from the tail? Your tug device might be trapped and have to stay connected at the back of the hangar.
With using a tug and tow bar n the mains you paint stripes where the wheels need to be and you leave the rear MLG chocks in place all the time. (actually you also paint marks for their location as well)
You always pull straight out and make sure you are aligned so you push straight in. It isn't that big a deal.
If you are a precision pilot in operating your aircraft, being precise in moving it on the ground shouldn't be that different in application. Just a new skill.
Towing from the rear you are further from the wingtips than towing from up front. While you will see the rear of the tip hitting the hangar by towing from the rear if you have measured out and painted stripes for the CL for the tail wheel and stripes for where the main wheels go and have chocks in place on the ground to touch against for when you are all the way in then you can actually see that you have the wheels in alignment with your marks as you push it in so you won't hit the walls with the tips. Towing from the rear you can't see the main wheels and may not be able to see the tail wheel as well unless you lean to the side.
When we were at North East Philly we had P-51s and SNJs in T Hangars built in the 50s.
The P-51 wouldn't fit due to the prop hitting the open door so a ramp was built. As the tail raised the nose lowered to clear the overhead door. The parked position was close to in flight level attitude. You made sure you used big, heavy chocks. The biggest issue I saw was the several times the towbar was hit by the closed door when I walked in on monday morning. One leg typically would be hovering up in the air and the towbar was bent already when I started working for Jim sr.
Weigh all the factors and figure out what works for you. If you need to move it around other than just into and out of the hangar than go with bigger equip for towing. There may be a point where you have to go rescue your broken aircraft from a taxiway or down the ramp too. If you have to borrow a bigger tug or hire the FBO to move it make sure your towing setup that will work there as well.
Don't just trust anyone moving it, even the folks from the FBO. Most hangar rash I've had to deal with is caused by FBO workers. The folks who always move A/C.
Good luck.

mlenoch · **Posted:** Wed May 09, 2012 3:32 pm

Rich is very correct.....you & only you should move the airplane. You would have the greatest concern against hanger rash. Plus painting the stripes is very useful; paint them well outside of the hanger. For a tailwheel tow, use a type of dolly device that has a motor incorporated in it. Using a tractor makes the whole unit too long for a T-hanger.
VL :spit

(for Rich!)

marine air · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 9:06 am

1)The most practical is an electric golf cart. I have seen them tow a Citation II (13,000 lbs), without protest several times at FBO's. Electricity paid for if you rent hgr.
2) The "coolest" tug is a "flat fendered" willy's jeep. Street legal, you can drive to the store to buy beer after flying. Mechanically not as reliable, especially with the Carter YS carb. Easy to resale. Have to keep in 4wd to move a P-51 as jeep only weighs 13-1,500 lbs.
3) vintage farm tractor, hard to turn and steer: smoky and smelly. I hate these. great resale value. we use one to tow a Lear 55 (21,000 lbs.)
4) vintage tugs and tow tractors. Not cheap, no other use for them than towing.Harder to sell.Brakes, and other problems. Junky, all of them are "driven to death" before an FBO will sell them. We have one, and then bought a golf cart to run around the airport.
5) cheapest, put a pintle hitch on your car or trick bumper. What you will spend repairing aircraft damage would have paid for one of the above options! :wink:

Fearless Tower · **Joined:** Thu May 26, 2011 5:14 pm **Posts:** 365

marine air wrote:

5) cheapest, put a pintle hitch on your car or trick bumper. What you will spend repairing aircraft damage would have paid for one of the above options! :wink:

I can just imagine the havoc that would create...especially with only a foot of clearnace on each wing.

51fixer · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 11:19 am

When you have to hook up to a tow bar and you are by yourself anything that won't let you see the pintle is a pain and can be dangerous. I know someone who lost part of a finger due to an injury suffered hooking up a towbar. The car/truck method is least desirable if you are by yourself.
We have a mirror on the tug that lets you look straight down and see the pintle. With the towbar hooked on each gear leg, Drive over the attach loop of the towbar sitting on the ground. Aim to have it inline with the pintle and directly above it while viewing in the mirror. Pop one of the ends out of the lug on the gear leg, hook up the pintle on the tug. Then reconnect to the gear leg and away you go. (make sure you didn't excessively angle the tug to get in the hook up position, pulling away and swinging the tail off to a side unexpectantly will get you attention :shock:

) Often the loop will only be sitting on the pintle lug and you may have to creep forward to get the loop to sit in the right spot to allow you to close the pintle latch.
Also having the steering wheels of the tug closest to the A/C allows you the best ability to maneuver while pushing. You steer the tug opposite the direction you want the A/C to go to start turning when pushing.
Pulling is easy, pushing separates the men from the boys and inadequate vehicles from the rest. The T-6 is pretty light but the T/W has a long distance from the main wheels and reversing direction or making turns puts a large load on the front end of whatever you are using. Thats a bit different than hooking up to a nosewheel.
If you have resale value as a priority up front you have the wrong viewpoint IMHO. Get the best thing you can get/afford to do the job you need done. Keep it maintained and make sure it has a good parking brake. If your usual brakes are weak or go out the E brake will save you. We have this tug as several years ago a flight dept got a bigger jet. Their insurance said they needed a bigger tug as the A/C was heavier.

Stoney · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 1:59 pm

As 51fixer said, but try a 2x4 under the pintle higher the the hitch and drive under it watching in the mirror

Airlift48 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 742

marine air wrote:

The "coolest" tug is a "flat fendered" willy's jeep. Street legal, you can drive to the store to buy beer after flying. Mechanically not as reliable, especially with the Carter YS carb. Easy to resale. Have to keep in 4wd to move a P-51 as jeep only weighs 13-1,500 lbs.

Not to be too nitpicky, but....

Willys flatfenders have a Carter W-O carburetor. Which if set properly, work very well without constant maintenance. Also, my 1943 MB dataplate says 3125lbs.

And yes, a good vehicle for beer runs.

cluvara · **Joined:** Thu Jun 30, 2005 8:19 am **Posts:** 100

51fixer wrote:

We have a mirror on the tug that lets you look straight down and see the pintle. With the towbar hooked on each gear leg, Drive over the attach loop of the towbar sitting on the ground. Aim to have it inline with the pintle and directly above it while viewing in the mirror. Pop one of the ends out of the lug on the gear leg, hook up the pintle on the tug. Then reconnect to the gear leg and away you go. (make sure you didn't excessively angle the tug to get in the hook up position, pulling away and swinging the tail off to a side unexpectantly will get you attention :shock:

) Often the loop will only be sitting on the pintle lug and you may have to creep forward to get the loop to sit in the right spot to allow you to close the pintle latch.

I setup a mirror on our tug to do exactly that, hook up the pintle when no one else is around. (It got difficult to rely on the reflection in the spinner) I usually stick a wheel chock (perfect height) under the towbar and slowly drive forward until I push the wheel chock out of the way, and the towbar falls into place.

The mirror is dual purpose, and can also be swiveled to work as a rear-view mirror.

As you see from this pic... the tug didn't have it's best day, but at least it decided to barf after the airplane was all the way into the hangar.

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Moving a T-6 in/out of hangar

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