hello

How would you attatch it? What method of cutaway would you have?Would the lead plane have an official hook?
We know you can tow something the size of a Beaver with a DC-3 because they did it in WW2.
The issues for me would be how to build in the safety features of quick disconnect. It would seem to me that no matter how much of a pain in the ass it would be to work on a plane in a given spot it would be much more of a pain in the ass to find a plane with a hook, fly it out there, then figure out how to attatch it to the towed plane, rig up a cutaway, and have it safe.
I'm sure somone has done it but I've never heard of it. I've heard of mechanics and parts being flown in and building makeshift hangars out of plastic and 2x4's to work in extreme conditions. I've heard of helicopters hoisting airplanes out at great cost. I've even seen the picture of a Beaver on floats hauling the fuselage of a C-140 on one side with the wings on the other, and apparently it had most of the misc. parts inside. But I've never heard of that one.

I seem to recall reading about someone who rigged a Cessna 150 as a towee (as opposed to tow) plane. I think i was for some sort of testing regarding glide performance. I believe they rigged an eye onto the crankshaft flange. Don't know if they had any kind of release rigged at that end of things.

Eric

I think this is what Eric is referring to: http://cafefoundation.org/v2/research_reports.php see "Propless in California".

It sounds like A LOT of work went into to making sure everything was legal and safe.

It's been done a suprising amount of times, actually. One of the universities (I can't remember exactly which right now, and don't want to dig it out of my paperwork) actually towed a 14-13 Bellanca Cruisair regularly for more than a year, with a glider tow hook attached to the flange on the crank, to do airflow tests on the airframe. I know of a guy in Kansas (and actually have video) that regularly towed 175 Cessna's back to his hangar with one of his "super 175's", to do the 0-470 conversion, following a blown GO-300 engine, or other problems. I even have video of him towing one with a Honda Goldwing, to see how it would handle, before hooking onto it with an airplane. The FAA has been showing a picture of a 150 being towed, attached to the seatbelt attach point on a 182 for years (don't ask me HOW they got that pic...but it was off a beach "down south"...).
As long as there was a standard glider tow hook, I don't really see much problem, if the weight and balance could be kept in the envelope.
JH

I stand quite corrected then and have learned yet another thing from the information super highway!
My question is the method of crank attatchment.

Towing any light aircraft is relatively easy, the devil is in the details.
You will need a glider tug, at least a Super Cub with approved tow hitch, 200 to 250 feet of 3/8 Nylon rope, two weak links, one at the towed aircraft end that is rated at 80 to 200% of it's gross weight, one at the towing aircraft end that is stronger, but not more than 25% stronger than the other link, and an approved glider release attached to the towed aircraft that is "acceptable to the Administrator".

We used to tow propless Cubs cross-country fairly regularly.

That being dealt with, being the pilot of EITHER aircraft requires the same experience as in the relevant glider FAR's. It is also VERY tiring to tow cross-country for more than about a hour in calm air. It means the towed aircraft pilot cannot look away from the towplane for more than about a half second at any time.

I once was towed from Albuquerque, NM, to Aspen, CO in a friend's new glider behind a PA-12, and it was one of the most tiring 4 hours in an aircraft I have ever experienced! Summer thermals in the Rockies sure did NOT help.

One other thing to think about is that low time towers and towees routinely break the weak links from not paying enough attention to the formation skills required. Now you're a glider!

Have fun!

Rocky

I know it was done here once bringing a busted engine Champ home (from the back of beyond). Tow plane was a C-180.

Problem was on landing the 180 was down and taxiing while the Champ was still flying... But it ended up working out. People watching commented that it was the fastest they had ever seen the Champ fly

(I've also seen old military footage of hauling a propless P-47 around)

Can't find the link I read on it now, but in the late 1940s (or thereabouts)
NACA did some tests with a P-51 Mustang that was towed aloft
with no propeller mounted.

I like the idea of "hitching a ride" along in a Champ with someone
else out front footing the gas bill! When we were kids, during the winters,
we'd hook onto car bumpers and sllide along / get a free ride to where
ever it was we were going (which of course was nowhere....).

Anyone else have any "broke down, gitter home however you can"
stories out there? I've heard of a few, but nothing too crazy....

Just to "prime the pump", one of my neighbors told me about a 206
that went over onto it's back in Alaska, and they weren't told the
whole story on it when they were sent to "recover it" and fly it home.
It had broken it's back while getting flipped over, and the fuselage
skins on the tailcone were crumpled beyond "field repair" status.

The recovery guys hammered the skins flat as best they could,
used lengths of 2x4s and dry wall screws (screwed through the skins
into the 2x4s placed inside), screwed the tailcone back onto the airplane
(and affected whatever other repairs were required) and promptly flew
the thing home.

Oh there are LOTS of stories out there about getting home more on prayer than on a wing.

One of my favorites, (again the participants shall remain nameless) is taking a 206 home off a gravel bar where it had busted the nose gear.

The aircraft was loaded with river rocks in sacks aft till it was ready to drop on it's tail. Tail was held in place by a couple guys and in the plane were the pilot and 2 guys in the back to handle the sacks.

Add power and the tail guys ran with it for the first few feet, hold the nose off with power and airflow - rotate and the guys in back started hauling the rock filled sacks forward till CG was a bit more normal for the ferry flight.

Landing back at home base (another nameless AK runway in the valley) lots of folks came out to watch what was going to happen, (amazing how word spreads...) the 206 touched down and the guys started chucking the sacks aft. As the airplane finished its rollout, it gently sat on it's tail.

I know Mike likes these stories

I also liked the one of the guy in the Norseman who hit the bank while departing the floatpond in Rankin Inlet. ripping up the float bottoms. What to do what to do...on the flight down to Churchill he thought about it - radioing ahead with the situation - they rigged a cargo boom with a lifting rig by the dock. He landed in the river, kept the power up as close as possible and came to a stop right next to the dock - they got it hooked up before she sank.

There's a segment called "field repairs" on long rocks big props 2-- a cub suffers some major wing damage but is lashed together (literally!) and flown out. The tail numbers were changed to protect the innocent.

Eric

I can remember "hearing" about a couple of guys that brought a single Otter out with a broken engine mount, by using a bunch of cable and nicopress sleeves....
JH