Little Star V Thrust Tugs

David Kagey

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There has been a discussion on this tug in the past, but thought I would start a new thread.
The Little Star V Thrust tug was sold exclusively by I think Sporty's until they went out of business (Little Star).
It's a DeWalt drill driven tug that works great for small aircraft. I have a C172. Mine still works great, as does the drill, but DeWalt has discontinued the drill AND the batteries. Last battery I have has died.
Someone on the other post discussing this said the DeWalt DCD 998 worked for theirs. Got one on Amazon and no luck. The issue is the collar, shown in the middle pic that holds the drill into the tug frame.
Mine says 1 11/16th which appears to be the ID of the inside of the collar. My guess is that if his works with the 998 drill, the tug company must have made different versions with the collar changing as they changed drill models.
Anyone else have one of these tugs? Have you found any solutions to the drill/battery issue?
My last step before spending a couple grand on a new one is to take it to a local machine shop and see if they can cut off the old collar and fashion me a new one that will fit the latest model drills.
Anyone have an easier suggestion? If that doesn't do it, my next step will be buying a new MiniMax tug.
Thanks
 

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Do you have a drill that fits and works?

Here’s another idea
Battery adapter
Thanks, but no, the chuck is also locked open in the original drill. I need a drill that will fit the 1 11/16th shaft collar or get a new collar and have it welded on. I think the latter is going to be my best option.
 
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