What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Aircraft Tug-or how to salvage an old Murray

Sam Buchanan

been here awhile
Even though the paved ramp outside my hangar is nearly level, the RV-6 just seems to be getting more difficult each year to pull into the hangar.....the plane must be getting heavier..... :confused:

In order to avoid straining high-mileage body parts I decided to replace the soft tissue tug with something more substantial. There was a thread on VAF some time back about how to repurpose various means of locomotion so they would move an aircraft into a hangar.

The father of one our VAFers has a yard-full of lawn mowers that is in a constant state of flux as he buys, trades, swaps with the community. He loaded an old, ugly derelict Murray riding mower of 1993 vintage on my truck and I proceeded to resurrect it as an RV tug. After some minor refreshening of the engine, tubes in the dry-rotted tires and a complete tear-down for cleaning and paint after throwing away everything that didn't look like a tug, I have a rig that effortlessly pulls the RV-6 up the ramp and into the hangar. My regular towbar attaches to a drawbar on the front of the tug and it backs the RV-6 into place. My back and knees will live to fly another year. :)

aircraft-tug-small.jpg
 
Last edited:
If you slap a blade on the front, you will be ready for the once a year snow you guys get! I have seen snowblowers made into tugs but not a lawnmower. Nice work.
 
Any chance we can get some photos and or video of the tug in action?

Gary, I don't have any at this time, but all it does is sound like a 12hp Briggs as it, uh, tugs the RV-6 back into the hangar....pretty uneventful. :)

It would probably pull a small Citation without breaking a sweat as long as the tires didn't spin. I was careful to pick out a donor mower with a manual transmission instead of hydro-static drive. Reverse gear is rather low and quite the stump puller. The tug is loafing so much I even disabled the governor.
 
Last edited:
I have seen Sam's restored mower/tug, and yes, it is as neat as the photo appears. I visited his hangar a few weeks ago as I had heard that he had completed this project. I have a similar old Murray that came down through my wife's family, and I intend to convert mine to a similar tug. Should be fun.
 
I did the same with an old Sears rider a few years back------just used my Bogie bar, tied a Larks Head around the handle with some 6mm kernmantle and used a carabiener to hook it to the tractor.

Worked fine with the 10, until the transaxle locked up------but then what do you expect from a free junk tractor?:D
 
Sam --- Saw the picture before reading the post.... Thought you were getting ready for the spring and lawn mower racing season.

Doug
 
Sam --- Saw the picture before reading the post.... Thought you were getting ready for the spring and lawn mower racing season.

Doug

I've had a couple of visitors ask me if I was into the tractor pulling scene!

Tell you what happened....I removed all the safety switches and stuff (brake switch, deadman's seat switch, etc) when I reassembled the tug. First startup at the shop I wasn't completely sure of the shift pattern and how the beast was geared. Apparently it was in high gear when the old belt/pulley engaged suddenly for the first time in who knows how many years. The front wheels jumped about 18" off the ground and the pilot nearly became a spectator sitting on the ground. If he had fallen off there was nothing to slow down the runaway tug until it tried to climb the neighbor's fence. A video of the pilot's expression while getting back in the seat and regaining control would have gone viral. ;)
 
Last edited:
Do you happen to have a pic of how your towbar attaches? I'd love to get a tug but new ones are way too expensive. Heck I could buy a brand new riding lawnmower for half what a decent aircraft tug goes for.
 
Nose gear tug

We have my old lawn tractor (not quite as cleaned up) in our group hangar with a simple hook on the front bumper for backing up to pull aircraft over the hangar door tracks when needed (no second hands nearby or a little ice outside the door sometimes). But its a weak steering arrangement for the nose gear aircraft. Do you have more pictures of the linkage/attachment you use?

(I want to design a simple nose gear lifting arrangement like the bigger commercial tugs have. Something that RVers could build. But other jobs keep that project on the back burner.)
 
We have my old lawn tractor (not quite as cleaned up) in our group hangar with a simple hook on the front bumper for backing up to pull aircraft over the hangar door tracks when needed (no second hands nearby or a little ice outside the door sometimes). But its a weak steering arrangement for the nose gear aircraft. Do you have more pictures of the linkage/attachment you use?

(I want to design a simple nose gear lifting arrangement like the bigger commercial tugs have. Something that RVers could build. But other jobs keep that project on the back burner.)

My hangar-mate has an RV8A and has fabricated a custom towbar to use in conjunction with a lawn tractor to push the airplane back into the hangar. Much as I hate to admit it, this solution doesn't work worth a hoot. The steering traction of the tractor is far less than the sideways force applied by the airplane when a main wheel hits something other than perfectly smooth ground. It kinda looks like the tail wagging the dog. Hit something with a main wheel and it caused the aircraft to pivot, pulling the tug sideways.

As a result of our negative experience with the lawn tractor I've obtained a compact tractor for which I will fabricate a nosewheel lifting device attached directly to the tractor frame. With the nosewheel completely off the ground the airplane will be fully under the control of the tractor's steering. I think this should be the ultimate solution, particularly on ice and snow-covered ramps where the 4wd and hydrostatic transmission will move airplanes with precision and authority.
 
We have my old lawn tractor (not quite as cleaned up) in our group hangar with a simple hook on the front bumper for backing up to pull aircraft over the hangar door tracks when needed (no second hands nearby or a little ice outside the door sometimes). But its a weak steering arrangement for the nose gear aircraft. Do you have more pictures of the linkage/attachment you use?

(I want to design a simple nose gear lifting arrangement like the bigger commercial tugs have. Something that RVers could build. But other jobs keep that project on the back burner.)

Pushing a nose-dragger would be more involved than pulling a tail-dragger. I suspect you would have better results with backing the tug verses having it nose-to-nose with the aircraft. This would put more weight on the end of the tug where the tow-bar is attached.

Even when backing up the tug while pulling a tail-dragger some technique has to be learned (I'm still in the learning curve). Turn the steering wheel left and the tail of the plane initially moves right. It is a matter of anticipating the maneuvering required.

I use the same Cessna-type tow-bar that I have used for the soft-tissue tug for 18 years. There is a carabiner on the handle that clips onto an eyebolt on the tug drawbar.
 
Last edited:
Pushing a nose-dragger would be more involved than pulling a tail-dragger. I suspect you would have better results with backing the tug verses having it nose-to-nose with the aircraft. This would put more weight on the end of the tug where the tow-bar is attached.

Even when backing up the tug while pulling a tail-dragger some technique has to be learned (I'm still in the learning curve). Turn the steering wheel left and the tail of the plane initially moves right. It is a matter of anticipating the maneuvering required.

I use the same Cessna-type tow-bar that I have used for the soft-tissue tug for 18 years. There is a carabiner on the handle that clips onto an eyebolt on the tug drawbar.

Nice tug, even the engine shroud glistens!!

So, Sam, what are you using for picking up the tail to flight attitude? Any needs/solution for that? I have been looking at the boat winch jack types. Wood, and metal (tail-mate) styles.
 
4x4 tug

Been using this for three years with good success. Only problem is that when your wife sees how well it works, she is gonna need one, too. :D

 
Nice tug, even the engine shroud glistens!!

So, Sam, what are you using for picking up the tail to flight attitude? Any needs/solution for that? I have been looking at the boat winch jack types. Wood, and metal (tail-mate) styles.

The tail isn't picked up, it rolls and swivels the same way it does when using the towbar manually. [edit: Sorry Bill, I misunderstood your question.]

towbar3.jpg


I initially used a cable to connect the tug to the tailwheel, but steering was real inconsistent as the tailwheel unlocked and swung side-to-side. The towbar works perfectly and keeps the tailwheel tracking as it should. A carabiner was fixed to the towbar handle which clips onto an eyebolt on the tug drawbar. Very simple.

I can carefully push the plane with the same towbar using the tug but a pin-and-eye attachment for the towbar at the tug would be better for pushing.
 
Last edited:
Got to the hangar today and refined the towbar so it will be more suitable for pushing the RV-6. I removed the carabiner and fabricated a pin hitch:

aircraft-tug-2-small.jpg


It is just two steel straps bolted to the Cessna-type towbar handle. This type of hitch should work while pushing or pulling and is what I would use if I had a nose-dragger. The drawbar is fabricated from steel angle and bolts to the brackets that used to attach the front of the mower deck. I don't ever need to push my plane but if I did I would prefer a clamping (Bogart, etc) towbar over the spring-loaded one I use.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top