The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Hi Gents!

What are your thoughts or considerations for towing a 170 as if it was a trailer (wings off and tail feathers removed) using the tail spring (with an adapter) as the hitch?

Thanks Greg

You mean over the road? How far and how fast?

No problem. I towed a Waco UPF-7 a little over 100 miles. Just make sure the wheel bearings are good and freshly repacked and the tires and tubes are good. I wouldn't do 70 mph for hours on end though. Just stop and check the temperature of the wheel every once in a while.

gin,
If you are towing with the doors still installed be sure and somehow lash them shut. Lots of potential damage if they spring open while being towed backward.

Don't forget the legal/insurance aspect of it. In some locations, if any of the vehicle's wheels are on the road, it must be registered/permitted to be on the road.

If I remember correctly, the horizontal stabilizer is wider than the standard road allowance and a wide load permit would be required if it was not also removed.

One year, about 1986, a young Avid Flyer dealer from Williams lake, B,C., Canada, used his small Chevrolet van to tow his airplane on its main gear, with the wings folded, all the way from his home to Seattle, WN, thence to oshkosh and then return, apparently without problems. I have no idea whether or not he had it licensed to be pulled on the road like a trailer. At Oshkosh he used it to fly demonstration flights from a cow pasture rented by the kit manufacturer.

Several years ago we moved a Howard DGA-15 about 25 miles using the tailwheel as a hitch. A custom mount was bolted to the bed of the tow vehicle. The move was done at 6am on a Sunday with speeds not exceeding 45 mph. A police escort was provided by a friend. Good preparation and planning resulted in an incident free move.

Depends on how far & how fast whether or not you might need to think of checking the wheel alignment ,if its correct to go forward its incorrect to go backward.It will not have a tendancy to follow like a trailer. If it has the correct tow in for forward movement then it will be towed out going backwards & will try to "spread" the wheels/gear & cause lots of tire wear & wandering back & forth as it's towed.

If it has Zero toe-in ... which is correct.... then it'll have Zero toe-out when travelling backward. (It should normally have no toe in or toe out.)

Yeah,figured after I wrote that that it was prolly a case of over thinking which I'm not guilty of very often.Most often guilty of the opposite.

The May 2005 Issue of "Sport Aviation", the magazine of EAA, has an article on how to move your airplane, complete with pics. The article is entitled "This Side Up", by Greg Lasio. You might find a copy, or look at the local library, or purchase a copy from EAA :
http://www.eaa.org/
or 800-564-6322 (800/JOIN-EAA)