What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Do you use your towbar?

kevinh

kevinh

Well Known Member
In another thread (RV Tool Kit?) I saw a couple of folks mention they used their towbar quite a bit. This kinda surprised me - but I'm moving my response here to keep things on topic:

gvgoff99 said:
The tow bar is a must.
Click to expand...

Really - do folks really use their tow bar much? I used my towbar back during phase one, but for the last couple hundred hours I've pretty much been moving things by the prop (per the recommendation of all the local nosegear RV fliers). I still keep the towbar in the plane but haven't had it out in a long time

Of course I do this cautiously - check mag switch through window (and check its ground frequently), lean carb to shutdown, and turn prop horizontal and far from TDC with hands outside of arc. Then some light push pull on the prop to move my plane around to tiedows etc...

Is this a bad practice? Do you do it?

It seems that with the castering nosegear it easy to move the plane around on flat paved ground.
 
push vs pull

I can pull the airplane with the prop and/or the tow bar, but putting it back in the hangar up a slight incline, I just can't do it without pushing on the base of the prop while steering with the towbar.
 
I've maybe pushed my 6A back in the hangar once without a tow bar. Think of it as a steering bar. I don't push at all on the tow bar, just use it for steering. I find it too much work to push the castering nose wheel backwards, and simply not worth it. If a main gear hits a little bump, it is impossible to prevent the nose wheel from turning.
 
Tow Bar

I use my tow bar all the time pushing the plane back into the hangar. it is difficult to keep the nose wheel straight with out it. It can be done but much easier with a tow bar
 
Yep, I use mine every time I move the -9 in or out of the hanager.

Click on this picture to see mine in action:

BTW, I have more money in my towbar than I do my "tug".
 
Kevin,

I'll usually push down on the horizontal stab with my forearms to get the nosewheel off the ground and the plane pushes around easily that way. Try to push down on a rivet line so that the skin doesn't crush. So far so good here.
 
YIKES!!

The Hartzell manual says "Never attempt to move the aircraft by pulling on the propeller."
I ocassionally push on the spinner dome at the same time I push on the tow bar to get things moving while backing into the hangar.

Chuck Olsen
RV-7A
TSP
 
Every flight...

We have angle iron on the floor that the doors roll on. Using the bar to get the plane over these has been VERY helpful. Video clip.

b,
dr
 
If you have an A model try moving it around without a towbar. You will soon discover the right response.
 
towbar use

I use the towbar whenever moving my 7A around in the hangar, or to tow it out of the hangar with a garden tractor. I do push on the prop to push back from fuel pump.
 
Use of the Spinner

cbo111 said:
The Hartzell manual says "Never attempt to move the aircraft by pulling on the propeller."
I ocassionally push on the spinner dome at the same time I push on the tow bar to get things moving while backing into the hangar.

Chuck Olsen
RV-7A
TSP
Click to expand...

Chuck, The spinner bulkhead is apt to crack. It is being used as a fulcrum when you are pushing on it. I know the Hartzell warning and cannot argue with them but the prop will probably suffer less damage if the pushing is done at the hub where your hand is next to the spinner. The prop is being used to pull the plane around when the motor is running. It is rugged and made to withstand some load.
If you don't wish to push or pull on the prop you are in conformance with the recommendation of Hartzell but if there is a need to push somewhere up there the spinner is without a doubt more fragile than the prop and pushing on the spinner is probably more risky than the prop. It is possible to push and pull on the tow bar but make sure it is a tight fit and will not slip off as that can and has caused damage to people's nose wheel faring when it slipped off.
 
Never

I for one have never used a tow bar on my 6A. Eight years and counting. Never needed one.
 
Ron Lee said:
If you have an A model try moving it around without a towbar. You will soon discover the right response.
Click to expand...

I'm totally with you on that - I was just checking to make sure I wasn't doing anything dumb. Sounds like it is accepted practice.
 
When backing an RV-*A into a hangar already occupied with an airplane, inches of spacing count bigtime. The towbar (along with a high vis centerline painted on the floor) definitely helps to prevent unnecessary hangar rash and bad feelings by your hangarmate if you accidentally bump into his airplane. :eek:
 
Rick6a said:
When backing an RV-*A into a hangar already occupied with an airplane, inches of spacing count bigtime. The towbar (along with a high vis centerline painted on the floor) definitely helps to prevent unnecessary hangar rash and bad feelings by your hangarmate if you accidentally bump into his airplane. :eek:
Click to expand...

Thats the way it is in my hangar. My wing will just miss a large Pitt's M-12 (Russian radial) if I follow my blue taped lines on the floor. The towbar is what makes the steering precise. Otherwise, the "castoring" nosewheel tends to swivel one way or the other, when being pushed backwards.

L.Adamson -- RV6A
 
Danny, I have no idea which is best but I have used that towbar and will be buying one soon since the old towbar is not very good on the fatter nose wheel pant I installed.
 
Towbar

Here's the "towbar" that I made yesterday. I used it to push my RV-4 out of the hangar, did a 360 with it and then towed it back in by hand. Hopefully, it will work to tow behind my Jeep to the gas pump and back.

Note double thickness of 2x on the cart side - needed to clear tail light.

Barney
RV-3, N90516 (bought flying, restoring)
RV-4, N44LR (bought flying)

[img=http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/3879/rvtowbar01smln5.th.jpg]
[img=http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4530/rvtowbar02smzp2.th.jpg]
[img=http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/3151/rvtowbar05smkn4.th.jpg]
[img=http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/7391/rvtowbar04uf1.th.jpg]
[img=http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9434/rvtowbar03smnh2.th.jpg]
[img=http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/6624/rvtowbar06smhf8.th.jpg]
 
Last edited:
No Tow Bar

RV-6A. Trying to build as fast an airplane as I could I was not about to cut holes in the sides of a fairing who's only function is to reduce drag. I called Van's and asked how do people move the RV-6As without cutting the big holes in the sided of the nose wheel faring. I was told "they move them with the prop like the Grumman pilots have done for years." It takes care and technique but it has worked well for me since way before my first flight in 2004.

Bob Axsom
 
Bob,

The problem with the A's is that you can't push them backwards because the nose wheel turns sidways. Thus you need a towbar to keep the wheel straight and steer it.

As for my taildragger, I use a towbar attached to the tail wheel every time I push the plane in our out of the hangar as I have a hump I have to go over and use an old lawn tractor to push it out and pull it back in.
 
Seems like a pretty site specific deal...if you have to push a plane up an incline to get it in a hangar (or back it down an incline to get it out) like I do, you're making life hard on yourself if you don't use a towbar. When I'm traveling, I don't take a towbar with me, because I don't usually need to push/pull the airplane around on those kind of slopes...so far, so good. BTW, I simply modified a cessna towbar I had laying around and it works perfectly, no slips, no marks.
 
N941WR said:
Bob,

The problem with the A's is that you can't push them backwards because the nose wheel turns sidways. Thus you need a towbar to keep the wheel straight and steer it.

As for my taildragger, I use a towbar attached to the tail wheel every time I push the plane in our out of the hangar as I have a hump I have to go over and use an old lawn tractor to push it out and pull it back in.
Click to expand...

Bob does have a tri-gear. As stated earlier, it all depends on how accurately you need to move your tri-gear backwards. Or, if the ground is uneven, they can be almost impossible to control pushing backwards without a towbar.
 
Winching an "A" model into the hangar

I've thought of anchoring a radio controlled $60 winch from Harbor Freight in the rear of the hangar and pulling my 6A into the hangar by the rear tiedown. Would this cause any undue fuselage stress? Seems like this would be an easy way to pull the plane in a straight line and park it in the same spot consistently.
 
rodeomanny said:
I've thought of anchoring a radio controlled $60 winch from Harbor Freight in the rear of the hangar and pulling my 6A into the hangar by the rear tiedown. Would this cause any undue fuselage stress? Seems like this would be an easy way to pull the plane in a straight line and park it in the same spot consistently.
Click to expand...

If it is the older style, weldment tie down, I don't think it is strong enough in the aft direction. Obviously, you would still need the towbar. I've winched my 6A back into the hangar using a bridle on the boarding steps. The bridle is simply a rope, maybe 10' long, attached at the upper ends of the boarding steps, with the winch pulling on a pulley riding the rope. I extended the control pendant so that I could operate it while controlling the towbar up front. This comes in handy when the ramp is ice.
 
I use my towbar to push back. There's a slight incline in front of my hangar and it's difficult to push it back without the nosegear kicking to the side.

A guy a few hangars down from me has this nifty little remote controlled tug. It's very neat, but pricey at $7000!
 
638RS said:
I use my tow bar all the time pushing the plane back into the hangar. it is difficult to keep the nose wheel straight with out it. It can be done but much easier with a tow bar
Click to expand...

Same here. pushing back into the hangar. I made my towbar from a cheap Cessna bar with a small turnbuckle in the middle to spread to bar to pass around the faring. Also can change out the T-bar with a trailer ball hitch if I have to tow in back to the hangar. Had to do that once.
 
someday........i will set up a winch at the back of the hangar to assist me when putting the plane away. one thing i think is mandatory is an emergency disconnect that automatically takes power from the winch. yea, i know , one in a million but imagine the remote going bad and your tail crunches into something.
 
I had my remote cord tied to the power cord of the winch. If the remote or winch failed "on" I would pull the remote cord which would pull the 110V winch plug out of the receptacle. Just have to make sure your grabbing the slack . I also had a spring load normally off remote switch just incase anything happened to me during the process.
 
Tow bar?

Oh ya! I use one. I have never moved my RV-6A with out it. Why? When the tow bar makes it so easy. I like plane without anymore dents in it. Oh ya my other plane probably doesn't want any dents either. Cause it hasn't even flown yet.
My apron is flat and so is my hangar floor. I don't even have any bumps to go over.
I hardly think a couple holes in the side of a wheel fairing will slow the plane down. Especially if you put a couple of plastic plugs in them.
I like my tow bar. Art
 
Tow-Bar

I use my tow bar most of the time, as in pushing the plane back into the hangar. it is more difficult to keep the nose wheel straight with out it. It can be done but much easier with a tow bar. Thanks, Allan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top