I was at some small town airport one day and I saw an Air Tractor taxi up to a hangar that was way too small for it width-wise. It taxied up on to a dolly for the mains parallel to the door and the guy got out and towed it in to the hangar sideways. The tailwheel just swiveled 90 degrees to the fuselage and the hangar was deep enough to handle the wingspan.

I have a need (maybe just a want) to do something similar. I didn't study this guys dolly too much, because at the time it was just a neat trick, and I didn't need it.

Does anyone have any photos of a dolly like this? I'd be doing it with a twin Cessna, so I'd need something for the nose wheel, but if I can make it work quick and easy I may explore making it work on my 185.

Key design criteria
- quick and easy to get the airplane on and off, either taxi on, tow on, or lift somehow.
- One set of fixed casters at one main gear, the rest can swivel to allow for maneuvering, needs a towbar that would be 12-14' from main gear wing tip
- Airplane is 3700#, plus up to 140 gallons of avgas, call it 4600# to make it easy.
- Not sure what else would be useful.

Likely not quite what you're looking for, but I use a set of these occasionally on a high wing
https://www.harborfreight.com/1300-lb-capacity-self-loading-positioning-wheel-dolly-64601.html
Handy for pivoting airplanes around into tight spaces. Wouldn't be too fun to duck under a low wing trying to get a heavy twin main gear up.

Door opening too narrow, rolled in sideways. Easily fabricated. Perhaps a good pattern to replicate and modify per your requirements. The ones pictured belong to the AAHM at Lake Hood. (photo is from 2007)

TR

DreadPirateWill wrote:Likely not quite what you're looking for, but I use a set of these occasionally on a high wing
https://www.harborfreight.com/1300-lb-capacity-self-loading-positioning-wheel-dolly-64601.html
Handy for pivoting airplanes around into tight spaces. Wouldn't be too fun to duck under a low wing trying to get a heavy twin main gear up.

Can that grab an 8.50?

TR wrote:Door opening too narrow, rolled in sideways. Easily fabricated. Perhaps a good pattern to replicate and modify per your requirements. The ones pictured belong to the AAHM at Lake Hood. (photo is from 2007)

TR

I have some dumb ideas engineered on hotel stationary that may use some dollies like those.

Zzz wrote:

DreadPirateWill wrote:Likely not quite what you're looking for, but I use a set of these occasionally on a high wing
https://www.harborfreight.com/1300-lb-capacity-self-loading-positioning-wheel-dolly-64601.html
Handy for pivoting airplanes around into tight spaces. Wouldn't be too fun to duck under a low wing trying to get a heavy twin main gear up.

Can that grab an 8.50?

Yep, I've parked a 185 in a hangar that was cheap, but had an RV parked along one side. Pushed it in as far as we could, then put it on a set of these and slid it in sideways. It was a good temp solution for a few months while we brought it back to life and the owner was finishing up building his hangar at his home strip.

Check it out

DreadPirateWill wrote:Likely not quite what you're looking for, but I use a set of these occasionally on a high wing
https://www.harborfreight.com/1300-lb-capacity-self-loading-positioning-wheel-dolly-64601.html
Handy for pivoting airplanes around into tight spaces. Wouldn't be too fun to duck under a low wing trying to get a heavy twin main gear up.

Yep, these, they work great. Yes, they will grab an 8:50. I have used them for all kinds of airplanes. They work great for cars and trailers, allows you to push the car or trailer around anywhere in the shop forward, backward or sideways. Because of these, we were able to get more airplanes in a hangar for winter storage than should have been possible. 2 Stearman and a Widgeon in a 50x50, also 2 Stearman and a T-6 in a 50x50.

G44 wrote:

DreadPirateWill wrote:Likely not quite what you're looking for, but I use a set of these occasionally on a high wing
https://www.harborfreight.com/1300-lb-capacity-self-loading-positioning-wheel-dolly-64601.html
Handy for pivoting airplanes around into tight spaces. Wouldn't be too fun to duck under a low wing trying to get a heavy twin main gear up.

Yep, these, they work great. Yes, they will grab an 8:50. I have used them for all kinds of airplanes. They work great for cars and trailers, allows you to push the car or trailer around anywhere in the shop forward, backward or sideways. Because of these, we were able to get more airplanes in a hangar for winter storage than should have been possible. 2 Stearman and a Widgeon in a 50x50, also 2 Stearman and a T-6 in a 50x50.

I suspect you weren't honoring the 1300# rating with that T6

Zzz wrote:Can that grab an 8.50?

As mentioned, yep. They'll open to just over 24" wide, and full squeeze *almost* lifts a 6.00-6 off the pavement. With a shim to squeeze a bit moreI bet it would. I've mostly used mine for the 180 on 8.50's and cub on 26's, perfect.

Keep in mind you only want to move with these ratcheting dollies as your tire will take a set in short order and make for a bumpy takeoff.

We usually lift the plane, place a wide 2-by across the jack arms and then set the tire on the wood.

Used a set of the better quality self lifters on a Beaver with no wings and zero fuel that was on 8:50x6 rollers ( ask me how and fotos if you have a need) this winter. Long ago they had been reinforced to use in a float Beaver but really were not up to it. Even on my project they were maxed out. I just used them to move the aircraft, then pulled the rollers and wheels and set the axals on some 4-by blocks get in with my show.


Rocket

AEROPOD wrote:

G44 wrote:

DreadPirateWill wrote:Likely not quite what you're looking for, but I use a set of these occasionally on a high wing
https://www.harborfreight.com/1300-lb-capacity-self-loading-positioning-wheel-dolly-64601.html
Handy for pivoting airplanes around into tight spaces. Wouldn't be too fun to duck under a low wing trying to get a heavy twin main gear up.

Yep, these, they work great. Yes, they will grab an 8:50. I have used them for all kinds of airplanes. They work great for cars and trailers, allows you to push the car or trailer around anywhere in the shop forward, backward or sideways. Because of these, we were able to get more airplanes in a hangar for winter storage than should have been possible. 2 Stearman and a Widgeon in a 50x50, also 2 Stearman and a T-6 in a 50x50.

I suspect you weren't honoring the 1300# rating with that T6

Actually I have a different make of the same type of dolly, its weight rating was higher. Got them from Summitt Racing. No problem with the T-6.

https://youtu.be/8j40zw8lSi8

Eyeballing these for my dumb idea.

If this works well, it opens up the ideal of Wing-X on my wagon. I have ignored that mod forever just because of my 40' hangar door.

AEROPOD wrote:https://youtu.be/8j40zw8lSi8

Eyeballing these for my dumb idea.

If this works well, it opens up the ideal of Wing-X on my wagon. I have ignored that mod forever just because of my 40' hangar door.

Pretty slick. I still worry about just how far it can tighten up for smaller diameter tires. Someone in this thread said the HF one works with 8.50s, but another person I know said no. Maybe that was 8.00s.

It's a Sidewinder. Made by Lyndley Johnson of Johnson Airspray in Argyle, MN.


More pics here
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elliot-seguin_aircrafttug-hydraulics-agriculturalaircraft-activity-7296534702956363776-vQL5

Take care, Rob