Calculate the CG on the one axle airport truck
- Thread starter mikea
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Areeda
Pattern Altitude
Wow!!
Wouldn't think you could cause havoc just by throwing something heavy in the truck bed? One average football player?
Areeda
Pattern Altitude
Besides the obvious answer "because you can" why would you do this? Is there any advantage besides insignificantly reducing weight?
I'm thinking they have the "trailer" welded on the front as a massive towbar.
This way they don't have to worry about backing up with a trailer and jackknifing.
You'd think it would be easier on the front anyway, even with two axles.
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Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe
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Light and Sporty Guy
I assume it is a lot easier to maneuver in tight corners.
It appears that the "truck" and "trailer" are permanently connected, so the CG must fall between the axles.
Areeda
Pattern Altitude
fgcason
En-Route
They have to go order a tug of some kind. What kind? how big? how small? how much? When will it be delivered? and on and on and on.
Of course they just happen to have a welder and the necessary hardware to build a tow bar and an old truck sitting around behind the hangar that got rear ended a while back with a perfectly good front end and engine that's going to waste.
Any self respecting farmer type or someone with that same creative mindset would convert the truck without thinking twice about it.
rmciottijr
Line Up and Wait
so that why they made 4 wheel drive
Sure. And 2 airports just happened to have pick up trucks with smashed back ends. The word is that Reston has at least one other truck like that because that one isn't the one they caught on the web cam.
Methinks the word got out in the seaplane base community how to handle hard to tow seaplanes.
Tom-D
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Kenmore float division has 2 and Seaplanes Northwest has 2 also, At Renton. They make them special for recovery of the Beaver and other straight float aircraft, (but they can recover anphibs also) The trucks are able to drive far enough into lake Washington to recover any float equipped aircraft,
They start with a 4X4 truck and cut frame at the rear of the cab, and weld the frame extentions and trailer axels to the truck frame. (it is rigid) then they place bed rails on the frame extentions, (like a boat trailer) which raise and lower, which picks up the aircraft by the spreader bars on the floats. Now the driver can see the whole aircraft while it is being recovered and placed in the hangar.
It steers by use of the front axel of the 4X4 truck. and can pivot on one wheel of the trailer axel. but you must remember when pushing the aircraft in the hangar you must turn the steering wheel to the right to go left.
I have seen a twin otter on the truck, pluss several cessna turbine carivans.
2 of my customers aircraft are parked just out of view to the righ (south) of the hangar in the first picture. (the Boeing flkying club parking)
That picture is of the north side of the hangar, Boeing's club parking is on the south side. the picture is looking east. that funny looking yellow building in the back ground is the 737 factory at RTN
They start with a 4X4 truck and cut frame at the rear of the cab, and weld the frame extentions and trailer axels to the truck frame. (it is rigid) then they place bed rails on the frame extentions, (like a boat trailer) which raise and lower, which picks up the aircraft by the spreader bars on the floats. Now the driver can see the whole aircraft while it is being recovered and placed in the hangar.
It steers by use of the front axel of the 4X4 truck. and can pivot on one wheel of the trailer axel. but you must remember when pushing the aircraft in the hangar you must turn the steering wheel to the right to go left.
I have seen a twin otter on the truck, pluss several cessna turbine carivans.
2 of my customers aircraft are parked just out of view to the righ (south) of the hangar in the first picture. (the Boeing flkying club parking)
That picture is of the north side of the hangar, Boeing's club parking is on the south side. the picture is looking east. that funny looking yellow building in the back ground is the 737 factory at RTN
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Tom-D
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Nope, that frame is solid 6"channel iron from the rear of the truck to the front of the aircraft carry portion of the vehicle.
Tom-D
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Tom-D
actually they get cash for the clunker end of it.
Tom-D
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Tom-D
Handling big aircraft into tight spaces, like the beaver into a hangar.
there are no less than 8 beavers in the hangar posted, It is a huge nested "T" hangar on the east side of RTN
Do the google maps thing and you'll see the hangar is a little south of the seaplane port on the north end of the airport. (it is full of beavers)
fgcason
En-Route
There could be any one of thousands of reasons to have a spare truck sitting around or available for such use.