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Don?t get marooned

Aviaman

Well Known Member
What are the likeliest reasons you will be forced to stay somewhere overnight (not including WX)? IMO the 2 biggest causes are flat tires and dead batteries. Can we carry items that give us self sufficiency, where we can fix things quickly?
My idea is to carry a spare wheel assembly, so that no splitting of the existing wheel is required. That greatly simplifies the fix. A jacking method is still required. Jacking on a windy ramp is problematic, so if you carry jacking items, you may still need to move inside of an FBO hangar for an hour. The jacking equipment might be too bulky to carry, and the assistance of an FBO might be needed.
What about the battery? An external power port allowing jump starting will fix the dead battery problem. On my previous RV-6, I fashioned a welding cable and connected it to the battery in the battery box. It was protected with grommets and terminated with a trailer connector. The cable was a few feet long and kept coiled on the floor with a protective boot to preclude a short. A mating cable was also fashioned to connect to a jump starting battery source. Any other ideas or better way to deal with this, or other, out of town problems ?
 
Battery booster pack

I bought one of those little battery booster packs that I carry with me. My engine has no primer system so it really helps on cold days. I also installed connections to the battery to make it workable.

I realize there is some risk of fire from those high energy batteries which could be really bad in flight.

I carry a spare main tube. I'm considering enlarging the tow bar holes in my nosewheel fairing so that my plane can be more easily dragged off a busy runway by a tug in case of a flat. It happened to me once and we had to use a dolly and rig my tow bar to get my plane out of the way. Thankfully my towbar held on.

My Trutrak EFIS is no longer available so I bought a used backup. Believe it or not, I carry the spare EFIS and a little MGL engine monitor in case my engine module or EFIS fails. I can quickly install either instrument in a pinch because the wiring and sensors are in place.

A spare fuel cap and fuel drain valve can also save your bacon. John
 
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So far, I've seen one flat tire. It actually happened to a friend of mine as he waited to leave a back-country airstrip, and it went flat while we were talking. Now that was a disconcerting experience. We fixed that with the aid of a local resident who had a ranch and some tools like a jack.

I've had no dead batteries.

I've also had one or two dead spark plugs and one spark plug lead - that took an FBO as I didn't then carry a spare.

And I've had one broken tailwheel spring, but not in an RV. That required leaving the plane tied down in the desert, a six-week delay, hitchhiking across the country in someone's airplane, etc. That was at one of the Utah desert airstrips, Needles Outpost, now no longer active, I think.

Down in Baja, at a dirt strip, I had a leaking fuel drain. Quite annoying since I couldn't stop it and didn't have much spare fuel right then. The strip didn't have fuel (yeah, I do tend to go to places like that), but a friend noticed me standing there with my thumb on the drain and whittled a plug from a stick. We duct taped it in place and that got me back to Colorado.

For spares, I carry a small bottle jack, a jackpad adapter, a tire pump and an inner tube. Plus a couple spark plugs and a spare lead, brake pad linings and rivets and the rivet set tool. There's a small selected set of wrenches and a torque wrench, as well as spare fuel drains. Also I think I have a small knee pad too. Let's not forget maybe 8 oz. of hydraulic fluid for the brakes in a small bottle and some safety wire and appropriate tools for that. I'm not including the flashlight since that's part of the regular stuff in the glove box. While I don't fly at night, I do camp by the plane.

The most important back-up is to have a friend in another airplane, or at least a means of summoning one. In the back-country, one thing that I can count on is that the phone won't work. This tends to complicate matters.

The kit is pretty heavy and I certainly wouldn't suggest it for a typical RV. But for the places I've gone and have had trouble at, it's filled the need.

Dave
RV-3B building
Cessna 180 flying
 
Battery

There are a variety of very lightweight compact batteries available for jump starting. I believe Sportys and Spruce both have them. There are other considerations regarding charging the primary battery once the engine is started. One possibility is leaving the jumper battery connected.
Jacking depends on the landing gear configuration. With hollow axles a vey simple jack can be easily fabricated that only weighs a couple of pounds.
On the round gear, by removing the brake caliper a lightweight scissors jack will fit under the inboard end of the axles. The jack can be adapted so that a 3/8 drive ratchet and socket may be used, perhaps saving a bit of weight. I have a variety of jacks that I use at home, my favorite is a scissors jack from a 1999 Toyota Camry. Many smaller cars have similar jacks that are probably a bit lighter.
Back to the homemade jack, a 4130 tube of at least .065 wall that is a snug fit into a hollow axle. Telescoping tubes with a threaded rod at least 1/2" diameter and a matching nut. The telescoping tubes should be square. If 4130 is used the square tubes can be relatively thin wall. Some sort of base for the outer square tube. The nut is welded to the top of the smaller square tube. This is just a general concept. Look for car jacks that jack the car from the side to work out the details.
 
I carry a spare tube, and have been thinking about buying an Aluminum Audi Jack. I would have to adapt is somehow, but I believe it only weighs 2 lbs.

Also thinking about carrying a CO2 tire inflator like bicyclists use.
 
I recently got a new car, and it has no spare. Instead, there?s a device for injecting some kind of sealing compound, and a small compressor. Any idea if something like this would work on an airplane tube-type tire? Just to get home, of course.
 
Buy a C-130 and have it follow you everywhere like the Blue Angels. You really want to fly with a jump started battery? What if you run electronic ignition, a bad alternator and battery will really cut your trip short.
I agree with carrying a spare tube but if you are having battery problems after a overnight stop, you are not maintaining your aircraft properly.
 
Buy a C-130 and have it follow you everywhere like the Blue Angels. You really want to fly with a jump started battery? What if you run electronic ignition, a bad alternator and battery will really cut your trip short.
I agree with carrying a spare tube but if you are having battery problems after a overnight stop, you are not maintaining your aircraft properly.

Over the years I've flown quite a few airplanes that had to be jump started, usually in the winter, but sometimes after the last guy forgot to turn off the master on a rental.

If it's a mag ignition, what's the big deal?
 
Our front tube on A models is not standard, so I carry one in the plane. The other's should be readily available with a little begging at most airports.

You can pick up the wing with your back pushing up on the spar. You can pick up the nose wheel by laying your weight across the fuselage in front of the rudder.

You can hand prop with a dead battery and fly to help unless you are fuel injected.

The best way of not getting stuck is VAF. I have seen countless posts on here of people stuck, and help arrived in short order.
 
The lithium jump starters are relatively light and cheap. The one I have will start the RV-3, power my ipad or iPhone or act as a flashlight. A few tools certainly come in handy.
 
pa38112;1309582 You can hand prop with a dead battery and fly to help unless you are fuel injected [/QUOTE said:
My brother left his master on while parked at OSH one year. I hand propped to it to get it started. It was SO dead it wouldn't even excite the alternator. He killed it, and jump started it off of a guy's pickup, and it started charging just fine.
 
I have had two flat tires in 20 years. One was a HUGE pain due to it happening at an airport where there was nobody around with a jack or air compressor. I had to call a buddy to fly in a jack, a dolly to roll the airplane with off the taxiway, and an air compressor. It all fit in his Cessna 190.

On long trips I carry a very lightweight aluminum scissor jack out of a Porsche 911. I believe it weighs less than 2 lbs. This, a spare tube, axle tube, and a very small bicycle pump.

In my rocket I've permanently mounted the jack on a rib under the baggage compartment which is accessible thru a hinged door in the baggage compartment.
 
Scissor Jack, Tube and Lithium Jump Start

I used to take my RV4 annually back and forth between Seattle and Tucson and really did not want to get stuck out. I second most of the opinions I have seen in this thread. I also went with a scissor jack as it is the lightest and also modified it so I could use a 3/8 ratchet rather than the standard crank, but I have to also carry the Vans gear leg attachment to jack which requires removal of the wheel pant. With a complete flat or blow out, the wheel pant is sitting on the ground so the assistant lifting the wing under the spar with his back has been necessary. I considered carrying a full wheel but after evaluating weight and cost went with Tube only.
#2 son gave me a lithium jump start unit last Christmas. (600A Peak Portable Car Jump Starter) I carry it my RV and my car. I will not use a Lithium battery in the aircraft yet due to fire concerns but that seems to occur only during charging problems, have not seen any problem with the jump starter just sitting there.
I also take an assortment of spare fuses, screws etc as well as a tool kit.
 
Stranded

The lithium jump starters are relatively light and cheap. The one I have will start the RV-3, power my ipad or iPhone or act as a flashlight. A few tools certainly come in handy.

I've flown single engine in very remote places all over North America and the RV is a challenge because of the weight. I once propped a C182 twice a day for a week in Mexico working on the Baja, starter quit. I think the O-360 is almost impossible to prop. I'm planning a trip to Alaska in the spring, do you carry a spare, battery, starter, alternator, tubes and a front tire? It's pretty easy to get heavy in a hurry.

I followed a bald eagle from Casper, Wy. To the Artic Circle in a Citabria with just gas cans and a catalytic heater, but I was 40 years younger and dumber.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
One tool I've found invaluable is the Knipex Plier Wrench. Cheapest source is almost always Chad's Tool Box in Alaska. Get the 7.25" (170mm) size - it's perfect for our little airplanes and even opens large enough for that big axle nut.

https://chadstoolbox.com/86-03-180-knipex-7-25-inch-pliers-wrench/

With respect to fuel drains, if you have one of the traditional CAV-110 fuel drains, just carry a spare that's already gooped up with pipe thread sealant, or carry a small tube of pipe thread sealant. You would be quite surprised how little fuel is lost in changing a fuel drain if one is prepared. Yeah, it's messy but I'd bet you can change one without losing more than a quart of fuel. Have done it a couple of times. The last time, with two of us, I doubt we lost more than a few tablespoons of gas, thanks to having a thumb quickly available to plug the hole while the new valve was moved into place.

Another thing I haven't seen here is mention of duct tape. ALWAYS have duct tape on hand. Either take a partial roll and flatten the cardboard roll or wind a few feet of it around a stick-style (e.x. Papermate) pen. The other thing I carry that's in the same vein is a part-tube of JB-Weld.

Last but not least, always have a good assortment of zip ties in your tool box. With zip ties, duct tape, JB-Weld and safety wire one can fix a broad array of minor aircraft issues.
 
In the past 46 years the wife an I have owned 21 different planes (for pleasure) and flown them collectively about 8500 hours. We have had 2 blow outs on touch down and 2 tires loose air pressure in flight. Have never had much trouble making repairs and not enough of a problem so far that I would contemplate carrying a spare.

I have had as many problems with exhaust system problems as tire problems, those usually caused delays waiting on parts to arrive.
 
Never had a tire problem when I was flying, two when I was working on them way back when. There is a limit on items to carry as back up where do you stop? Spare mag, plugs, tire, tube, battery, alternator? I think the best thing is for a battery problem install the proper aircraft style plug and have the adaptor with you. For a tire get one of those pressurized cans of goop that will inflate your tire and repair it. Beyond that just enjoy flying and look around to see how well things work without all of the spare parts.

Or get a surplus C130 like the other fellow said.
 
Never had a tire problem when I was flying, two when I was working on them way back when. There is a limit on items to carry as back up where do you stop? Spare mag, plugs, tire, tube, battery, alternator? I think the best thing is for a battery problem install the proper aircraft style plug and have the adaptor with you. For a tire get one of those pressurized cans of goop that will inflate your tire and repair it. Beyond that just enjoy flying and look around to see how well things work without all of the spare parts.

Or get a surplus C130 like the other fellow said.
 
Never had a tire problem when I was flying, two when I was working on them way back when. There is a limit on items to carry as back up where do you stop? Spare mag, plugs, tire, tube, battery, alternator? I think the best thing is for a battery problem install the proper aircraft style plug and have the adaptor with you. For a tire get one of those pressurized cans of goop that will inflate your tire and repair it. Beyond that just enjoy flying and look around to see how well things work without all of the spare parts.

Or get a surplus C130 like the other fellow said.

Don't forget...you'll need the spare parts for the C130, too :)
 
portable jump start power packs

Several of you mentioned the portable power suppliers for jump starting your airplanes. They are rated about 600amp peak. So what does the wiring look like? I have one of those boost power packs for jump starting and the wire is 12 AWG and with a SAE plug. This is good for trickle charging maintenance, but is it sufficient for jump starting? I think 8 AWG would be sufficient but you don't see that size wire on any of these boost packs they sell. So what's going on with the portable power jump start packs? Is it the reality that you are going to get only about 3 seconds of boost before the pack runs dead and so heat won't build up? But 3 seconds is probably enough.

So my question is really what female connector should I put on a couple of 8 AWG leads from the battery in order to use it for jump starting and trickle charging? I'm thinking run a couple 4 foot 8 AWG cables from battery to cockpit and then just splice a couple 10 AWG SAE connectors to the end of longer 8 AWG cables that could accept power from a portable pack. Is that what others are doing successfully?
 
Buy a C-130 and have it follow you everywhere like the Blue Angels. You really want to fly with a jump started battery? What if you run electronic ignition, a bad alternator and battery will really cut your trip short.
I agree with carrying a spare tube but if you are having battery problems after a overnight stop, you are not maintaining your aircraft properly.

I?m going to agree with Tommy, if you spend the time/money to properly maintain your airplane there is no reason to carry spares cross country in the US. Tools to disassemble and diagnose are different, carrying xtra parts for a suspected problem is just good sense.
 
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