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Transport to airport advice

My fuselage is ready to transport to the hanger to start getting the wings attached. It is on the landing gear with the empennage attached. I am thinking of hiring a flatbed car tansport to take it. I have a couple questions though for anyone that has already done this for a 14A.

When loading, do I need to worry about the tail dragging on the ground as gets loaded or unloaded? If so, how did you deal with that?

What is the best way to secure it during transport?

Do I need to secure the prop so it does not spin during transport? If so, what is the best way to do that?

During unloading, how do you steer the nosewheel to keep it coming off straight? Do I need a tow bar?

What other issues do I need to be concerned with?

Thanks
 
I have not transported an "A" model, however I would recommend removing the empennage for transport as it is quite wide and you risk damage from road signs, trees or an oncoming oversize vehicle. It's not that big a deal to remove. Check the flatbed width vs. your wheel track, it will be close. Some flatbed are capable of tilting completely flat for roll on roll off ease. Build a nice set of wheel chocks (3) and screw them together once the plane is in place. Strap securely at the wing spar, engine mount and tail. Keep it under 50 mph and I don't think you will get prop rotation. A well padded pickup will transport both wings.
Good luck!
 
I agree with removing the tail feathers. Check with your local EAA chapter, many have trailers they loan out to members.
 
I transport mine some 400 miles to the paint shop and transport it back to the hanger after the paint.
I rented a trailer wide enough for the fuse and built a ramp long enough that the tail does not hit the ground during loading but flat bed tow trucks tilt and it is probably easier.

As Jack mentioned, I would certainly take the empennage off as it is nearly 11' and removing and reinstalling is very easy. A tow bar makes control of pushing a A model a lot easier and you will probably need it for your hanger so it is not a one time use. There is ample places to strap the airplane, gear legs, near the tires, nose wheel and engine mount are all good places to strap them down. It is a good idea to secure the prop but make sure all spark plugs are on and no rope on the way of the prop. your speed probably would not be fast enough to turn the prop.

This is an exciting time and I congratulate you on your last phase of the build.
Safe drive.

P.S. If you have not got insurance yet, this is a good time to do that as well. The coverage covers this transport.
 
Thanks for all the great advice.
I do have the tailfeathers removed.
I am looking for leads on trailers now.
I am also looking into maybe borrowing a tow bar for now and then purchase soon.
I did get insurance a couple months ago with the transport in mind.
 
My fuselage is ready to transport to the hanger to start getting the wings attached. It is on the landing gear with the empennage attached. I am thinking of hiring a flatbed car tansport to take it. I have a couple questions though for anyone that has already done this for a 14A.

I just did precisely this with my -14A in late January. My comments interspersed below:

When loading, do I need to worry about the tail dragging on the ground as gets loaded or unloaded? If so, how did you deal with that?

It'll depend on the approach angle that the tow bed makes with the ground. You may need, as did I, some lengths of 2x6 to act as extended ramps.

What is the best way to secure it during transport?

Strap each main gear tire (ratchet straps are fine) to the trailer while maintaining tension fore and aft. Two straps per tire. That should be more than sufficient to hold it rigid for the journey to the airport.

Do I need to secure the prop so it does not spin during transport?

No.

During unloading, how do you steer the nosewheel to keep it coming off straight? Do I need a tow bar?

Have at least a couple of guys holding the HS down and the nosewheel off the ground. One more guy should be doing nothing but watching the aft fuselage bottom to see that it doesn't strike the ground. I installed my rear tie down ring and kept an eye on that. It briefly came within a few inches of the ground, but it worked out fine.

What other issues do I need to be concerned with?

Make sure that you have enough guys around to help. Ideally, fellow builders who'll know what to watch, where to hold, etc. I was extremely fortunate in that my crew of volunteers consisted entirely of -14(A) builders, some of whom came from out of state just to help. What a great community and an awesome group of friends!! :)
 
All of the firewall forward is complete and avionics are installed.

Are trailors wide enough for the landing gear?

Your gear is equal or wider than my 7, I could not find a trailer unless the wheels were under the deck.

I hired a local company with a car carrier. It depends on the type they use, the tilt back and drive on kind may drag the tail, but there is a style that is used for low ground clearance sports cars. It drops the entire bed on the ground, mounts the car then pulls the whole assembly back on the truck. An A would have no issue with that.

Just beware of the upper clearance- tree limbs and the like. The plane will sit taller than a car so the truck driver must adapt. Mine did at the last moment, thank goodness.

Happy hauling!
 
Tail Removal During Transport...

Understand the OP already has the empenage removed from his project as others have recommended. Thought I'd post here for others that come later that is not necessarily required, as suggested above. Might save some folks a little time.

I moved my -9A project about 25 miles at speeds up to 55mph on an open flatbed trailer a few months ago. No rudder or elevator, but the stabs were installed. Rudder/Elevator were off for unrelated reasons - would have left them on if they had been installed. No issues, including my treed driveway (had to lift a few branches out of the way before we hit pavement). All in all a non-issue. The project was securely strapped down similar to what is described above. JMTC.
 
I recently relocated my 14A 200+ miles after an engine failure. I used a rented 24? deck-over open trailer with beaver-tail ramps. I did not secure the prop nor remove the tail feathers and had no issues, though I believe it was a marginally over-wide load, and I deliberately avoided an interstate.

The tie down advice is good. I also used 2x4 chocks screwed to the deck. Not mentioned is winching. Not an issue with the car haulers, but needs to be addressed with a rental or borrowed trailer. A winch is ideal - electric if possible. Electric wouldn?t work for me and I used a daisy chain of 3 come alongs. I used this both to winch up the ramps and to carefully control the unload.

I had a half dozen helpers for both loading and unloading. If you like I can forward pics (pm me an email).
 
If you're winching it up a tilted flatbed, I would pull it by the main gear legs, not the nose gear
 
I used my local towing company .. kinda thought they'd freak about transporting an airplane. Alas, no. Tyrone has done this (and other weird stuff) before. A total pro. No tail feathers, just the fuse. Transport on an early Sat AM went perfectly. The hoist on the tow truck with a little band around the tail spring made the winch-up a non issue.

2019110118335822--8279157576807439060-IMG_0229-L.jpg


The wings and other parts followed in a u-haul later that day.
 
Good solution

I used my local towing company .. kinda thought they'd freak about transporting an airplane. Alas, no. Tyrone has done this (and other weird stuff) before. A total pro. No tail feathers, just the fuse. Transport on an early Sat AM went perfectly. The hoist on the tow truck with a little band around the tail spring made the winch-up a non issue.

2019110118335822--8279157576807439060-IMG_0229-L.jpg


The wings and other parts followed in a u-haul later that day.
That massive flatbed handled by a pro looks like a great solution. I guess it cost a couple of hundred bucks.
 
I also used a local towing company for my RV-7 fuselage. IIRC it cost $240 or so for a 35 mile trip, and was money well spent IMO. Getting our airplane on the tilt ramp was dirt simple and the driver was a real pro at securing everything. He had never moved anything like it before and was almost as excited as we were!

https://mightyrv.com/?p=2720

Dave
 
That massive flatbed handled by a pro looks like a great solution. I guess it cost a couple of hundred bucks.
.

Yea .. $250, but money well spent. The guy was a total PRO; he secured the fuse like it was his own baby.
 
I rented a tilt bed truck from the equipment rental place in San Leandro. I can?t recall what it cost. Not hard to figure it out and drive. But really tie everything down. You don?t know how bad the roads are until you drive in one of these trucks. Oh, and take measurements. The rental place had two trucks, but only one had a bed wide enough for a -10.
 
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