Just one question, Gary.....
do you ever leave your hangar unlocked when you're not around?

HotRod: I never locked my hanger before, but now I do...

As age creeps on, it's getting harder to get the plane into the hangar, especially on skis. Cause I'm cheap and somewhat inventive, I came up with this. Don't laugh, I didn't want to paint it till I knew it was going to work. I may still not paint it, pretty is not real high on the list. It's the back half of a snowblower, and a lawn tractor starter motor for power...Since I did the video, I moved the battery back behind the axel, and straightened out the handle bars. Easier to handle now. Jim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN2A5Mz9lZY

Works great on everything up to a 185. The big model works on Beavers.

tcj wrote:I made a "tail wheel scoop" from a long handle scoop shovel to move my kitfox on the gravel driveway into my shop. When the wings are folded the tail wheel weighs 175 pounds. I can fold the wings then just scoop up the tail. The tail wheel just sits in the shovel and the scoop will turn 90 degrees under it to push or pull the tail wherever I want it. The wheels are cheap harbout fleight. http://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-pneu ... 69385.html

My inner McGyer gets a kick out of this kind of ingenuity. Could you post up another pic or two please while I run out to the local hardware store for a suitable shovel.

One of my friends saw mine and built one on a trenching shovel. I like his better. Mine is just a long handle scoop shovel. The D handle is off an old worn out snow shovel I had. As you can see in the photo, I need the long handle because the wings extend about three feet past the rudder and elevators when folded back.

I have an STC for use on Certified aircraft. You will have to send me $25 if you want to use it on an FAA certified aircraft. No permission required for use on a kitfox.

Goodyear, just got my AC Trachtech tug in Jan. Bad hip so no more bending over for straps etc and wife has no more issues. No switching pins for moving Husky or C210. Easily moves Husky on 31s. Expensive; but definitely worth it.
Jack

A timely post! Just yesterday I decided I needed a tail dragger PUSHER, not a dragger. When I roll the S-7S out of the hangar on the tires and then onto the 20' concrete slab, that's the easy part. Even if the slab is icy, as I can get a little speed up while still in the hangar. but then I get off the slab and onto the compacted snow that is my pre launch staging area. This last 8' of level area is where I put the Datum skis down, and that is where the problem lies. If I don't have the grunt to push it far enough, I can't close the HydroSwing door, which means I can't start the engine unless i want to direct the prop blast directly into the heated hangar (ain't going to happen), plus I need the door down to rig my tail release to. It holds the plane while I start and do a run up, once ready to roll (slide I mean) I pull the release and slide forward the last couple feet and then the mountain's slope means i'm going flying.

I can't put planks or plywood down, tried it, as then the skis end up on them. Plus on coming back up the ramp they could be blown around by prop blast. Or they get snowed over or blown away. I don't want to plow the area, as I need it to stay snow covered as long as possible, that's why I purposely compact it with my tractor (and a better tractor implement to do that is the next thing....), so a pusher of some sort to make that last 8' doable without rupturing myself is needed.

3:30 yesterday afternoon this first popped into my head, and for the first couple minutes of cogitating while sitting in the hangar I was thinking along the lines of something like AvidFlyer2 so ingeniously rigged up, thinking of geared 24 VDC permanent magnet motors, reversing switches, 2 12 volt batteries in series, and so on and so forth. Then all of a sudden I had a Homer Simpson moment , parked on the other side of the plane, stored for the winter, was my 2 year old Honda Rancher ATV! Instantly everything fell into place, all I had to do was devise a push bar that would quickly engage the tail of the plane, that would end in a hitch to engage the 4 wheeler's tow ball. What followed was a perfect synchronistic 2 hours of simultaneously designing what I needed, and then scrounging the shop and outbuilding to see if I had the needed material on hand, or close enough, (part of the fun is changing the design mid fab to make use of what you have, getting what you want in town is cheating) and then finding I did indeed have it. Some parts came out of the shop's scrap metal barrel, that's especially gratifying for some reason.The project quickly went from "I'll figure out what I need and can pick it up in town tomorrow" (20 miles away), to "I can nearly finish this," to "it's done," total elapsed time 2:30 hours, total expense, $0.00. Video of first time use to follow.

Karmutzen wrote:Boxing week sale, found a P-handle utility truck with 10" pneumatic tires for $30. Cut a "U" out of the center steel plate and attached a couple of aluminium angles using three AN3 bolts on each side. Cut another small "U" in the end of the angle to pick up the tailwheel axle bolt on both sides.

I'm liking the big wheels to reduce the rolling resistance of the small tail wheel. Now I just need to accommodate the tail ski some how and I'll be good to go.

Having a T-3 tailspring AND a tail ski like I do, this is working well for me. I made it to push but it would obviously work equally well to pull. I used a 1" x 12" piece of 1" chrome moly tube I had laying around, (didn't even have to cut it for length, meant to be used here) with a big washer welded on one side of the fuselage, (the tube, not the fuselage) and after it's slipped into the built in hole/gap in the T-3, another larger washer is slipped on and a pip pin keeps the tube properly located. I had first thought I'd remove it every flight, but decided I'll just leave it for the winter, it'll come out when my skis comes off, saving me crawling under the plane to insert it every time I fly.

The two arms plug into the 1" tube, (no crawling under the plane involved) and then 1 bolt ties them together at the rear, and the bolt doesn't require a wrench as I welded a T handle on top. It takes less than a minute to attach it, easy peasy. Sure I COULD taxi up someplace, with the still attached/forgot to take it off push bracket still on.....but quite unlikely as when I rig the release line it will remind me. Worse comes to worse, it won't get in the way of full rudder action anyway so I'd just look stupid, not in danger.

Once I push it out the hangar (the easy part) and across the slab outside (if it's icy still kinda easy as I have momentum still) and then hit the snow covered area, I stop and hook up the Honda, then its just a straight push about 6' into the snow, the force put on the plane is right under the tail spring bolt so super solid and not torquing on anything. Then I have the needed room to close the hangar door, after putting the ATV away, and I transition to the skis and then hook up my tail release, which I re-designed this year to stay on the hangar door, instead of being built on the plane. Now I can get in, fire it up, and not start down the slope until I am fully ready, without the release as soon as I start it will slide off the ramp, that's why I have it.

The release is triggered by a length of paracord, out an open window, and the paracord also stays on the ground. I at first thought to rig the main release rope to a ring in the tail, so once released it'd pull free and then stay on the ground, but I was was afraid (concerned...) it might whip around and foul the rudder cables or damage them. Then I realised that just trailing a 10' length of rope behind in flight wouldn't hurt a damn thing and was safer. This was also an excuse to finally rig up a front hitch on the ATV , and to buy a new battery for it, an EarthX of course.
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