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How to get plane into hangar up ramp slope

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I just got a hangar for my RV-12 (a brag-worthy accomplishment in Southern California). I love having the plane in a hangar. But I have to muscle the plane up a slight incline to get it inside. I can do it using a tow bar to push and steer, but it?s very tough. So I am looking for some electric power assistance.

I can install a winch (with a remote control on/off switch) to pull the plane in. But I wonder whether I?d damage the plane if I attach the winch cable to the tail tie-down ring.

I ask about using a winch because it would be dramatically less expensive than an electric airplane tug. Even for a plane as light as an RV-12, the least expensive tug I?ve found is $1,500.

Information about your experience, and your opinions, will be welcomed with thanks.
 
Can you build a Vee of steel tube or pipe that attaches to the nose gear at the apex, and hinges to your car at the ends? Then you could use the car to push it inside.

Another alternative, a bit of a pain, but easy to make in an afternoon, is to make a block and tackle that ties to the plane and anchors at the back of the hangar. I did that to get my C180 into a hangar some years ago, and it worked well enough. It cost about $90 using Dyneema cord. With a cheaper cord it would be much less. Recommend using marine blocks (pulleys) for their proven load capability and low friction and reliability. West Marine, down on Lincoln near Fuji, should have some.

You can make 2:1, 3:1 and 4:1 block and tackles. You'll have to figure out the blocks and the amount of line before heading to the store. I used nylon strap to make a handle to pull with, and some 1/4" polyester line to attach to my plane.

Dave
 
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I had the same issue with a slight incline and a small "step".
I say had because now I just taxi straight in.

Almost idle power is sufficient to bring the nose and main gear in.



Before, I pushed, huffed and puffed to enter (a C72R) tail first.
Never mind in winter when the asphalt is frozen and lightly covered in ice or snow.

I even installed an electric winch powered by batteries to pull it in by the tail attach loop. Too long and complicated.


I understand pushing an airplane backwards when a mule is used.
But our light airplanes?


When it's time to exit, then I push backwards, easy...
 
I had to get my fuselage up my driveway to move it to the airport. I ran a rope around the main gear legs and to the back of my truck to pull it up. I used ratcheting clamps to hold them on the legs where I wanted them. I assume the same could be done pulling it from the rear with your winch idea.
 
I just got a hangar for my RV-12 (a brag-worthy accomplishment in Southern California). I love having the plane in a hangar. But I have to muscle the plane up a slight incline to get it inside. I can do it using a tow bar to push and steer, but it’s very tough. So I am looking for some electric power assistance.

I can install a winch (with a remote control on/off switch) to pull the plane in. But I wonder whether I’d damage the plane if I attach the winch cable to the tail tie-down ring.

I ask about using a winch because it would be dramatically less expensive than an electric airplane tug. Even for a plane as light as an RV-12, the least expensive tug I’ve found is $1,500.

Information about your experience, and your opinions, will be welcomed with thanks.

Are you using a good towbar? That can make a difference.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/bogibars2.php

Model 4-RVA works well on the 12.

Unfortunately they just raised their prices quite a bit.
 
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You can buy a 25 to 30$ hand crank winch with plenty of leverage at Harbor Freight. Should be almost effortless, pulling a mere 750 pounds on wheels, up a gradual slope.

Another question... how do you get your airplane out of the hanger without it rolling away from you going down slope?
 
Harbor Freight Electric Hoist used as a winch... https://www.harborfreight.com/440-lb-electric-hoist-with-remote-control-60346.html

I installed this 15 years ago for use with my J3-Cub and now RV-12. Tail hook on RV-12 is very substantial. I extended the pendent switch so it can reach 30' in front of the hanger. So, one hand guides tow bar to steer while other hand controls winch motor. I installed the winch about 5' above ground level so pulling force doesn't raise nose wheel off the ground. Works a charm...

 
little quad?

It seems if you have the space, a small quad would be a good solution - they are not expensive. No idea why small gas and electric tow bars are $1500 when a little quad is only $500. I guess you can get used quads for a lot less. Just need to rig up a way to attach a tow bar.

I might need one since I'm in a shared hangar, and the aircraft in front of me is very heavy. I can move it using my legs, but it's quite a workout, and not much fun.

Another idea might be to modify an old self propelled snow blower or tiller or something else like that, but quads are much more fun to ride. :D
 
As you know, the free-swiveling nose gear creates steerage issues when moving an RV-12 backward. Seems to me that I would rather have my hands on the towbar actively guiding the aircraft backward. I personally would not feel comfortable using the aft tiedown ring with a tail winch -- we did that on our Bonanza for many years but I wouldn't do it on an RV-12 up an inclined slope. Perhaps rig up a pair of hooks and rope to attach to the main gear legs? If you use a winch be sure that you have a second way of quickly disabling the winch in the event that the primary control switch fails in the ON position. Winches can be 120-volt (if available in the hangar) or 12-volt using a car battery.
 
Can you build a Vee of steel tube or pipe that attaches to the nose gear at the apex, and hinges to your car at the ends? Then you could use the car to push it inside.

Another alternative, a bit of a pain, but easy to make in an afternoon, is to make a block and tackle that ties to the plane and anchors at the back of the hangar. I did that to get my C180 into a hangar some years ago, and it worked well enough. It cost about $90 using Dyneema cord. With a cheaper cord it would be much less. Recommend using marine blocks (pulleys) for their proven load capability and low friction and reliability. West Marine, down on Lincoln near Fuji, should have some.

You can make 2:1, 3:1 and 4:1 block and tackles. You'll have to figure out the blocks and the amount of line before heading to the store. I used nylon strap to make a handle to pull with, and some 1/4" polyester line to attach to my plane.

Dave
The car won't work, because my hangar door is too close to a main taxiway. But I'm intrigued by your block and tackle suggestion, and may give that a try. Pulling by hand means the device won't get away from me, the way a powered winch could. The question is whether I could get enough pull power using just one hand, so I could use the other to steer the plane with a tow bar. The hangar door opening is narrow, so "close enough" really won't be.
 
I had the same issue with a slight incline and a small "step".
I say had because now I just taxi straight in.

Almost idle power is sufficient to bring the nose and main gear in.



Before, I pushed, huffed and puffed to enter (a C72R) tail first.
Never mind in winter when the asphalt is frozen and lightly covered in ice or snow.

I even installed an electric winch powered by batteries to pull it in by the tail attach loop. Too long and complicated.


I understand pushing an airplane backwards when a mule is used.
But our light airplanes?


When it's time to exit, then I push backwards, easy...
I've thought about trying this, but have hesitated because my hangar door opening is narrow, and the hangar floor has a raised section on which the plane sits. The rear of the raised section slopes down, but if the nose of the plane got beyond the raised section, it would be really tough to get the plane back out again.
 
You can buy a 25 to 30$ hand crank winch with plenty of leverage at Harbor Freight. Should be almost effortless, pulling a mere 750 pounds on wheels, up a gradual slope.

Another question... how do you get your airplane out of the hanger without it rolling away from you going down slope?

The slope isn't very deep or steep, so I have no trouble getting the plane out of the hangar. It's tough getting it back in, though, because the hangar door opening is narrow so I can't get a running start putting the plane back in. I need to stop pushing to look carefully at where my wing tips end the doors begin.

I like the hand crank idea.
 
Can you paint a centreline on the floor and taxi it in nose first?
I am going to paint or tape a line on the ramp and floor, because it'll help even backing the plane into the hangar. I'm nervous about taxiing it in nose first, though, for a reason I posted above.
 
Harbor Freight Electric Hoist used as a winch...
I installed this 15 years ago for use with my J3-Cub and now RV-12. Tail hook on RV-12 is very substantial. I extended the pendent switch so it can reach 30' in front of the hanger. So, one hand guides tow bar to steer while other hand controls winch motor. I installed the winch about 5' above ground level so pulling force doesn't raise nose wheel off the ground. Works a charm...
This is the sort of device I had in mind. Harbor Freight has an even less expensive winch, designed to be mounted flat rather than hung from the ceiling. Using the tail tie-down ring as the attachment point was what concerned me. Glad to read that you've found that the tail hook is substantial.
 
As you know, the free-swiveling nose gear creates steerage issues when moving an RV-12 backward. Seems to me that I would rather have my hands on the towbar actively guiding the aircraft backward. I personally would not feel comfortable using the aft tiedown ring with a tail winch -- we did that on our Bonanza for many years but I wouldn't do it on an RV-12 up an inclined slope. Perhaps rig up a pair of hooks and rope to attach to the main gear legs? If you use a winch be sure that you have a second way of quickly disabling the winch in the event that the primary control switch fails in the ON position. Winches can be 120-volt (if available in the hangar) or 12-volt using a car battery.

Yes, I agree about needing to have my hands on the towbar to guide the plane backwards. I'm wondering whether using the tail tiedown ring would be OK if I'm also pushing the towbar. I've been pushing the plane into place using just the towbar. But doing that is too tough. I'm thinking that a little help from a winch, or even a hand pulled block-and-tackle rig, would significantly reduce the amount of effort required to push the plane into place.
 
This is the sort of device I had in mind. Harbor Freight has an even less expensive winch, designed to be mounted flat rather than hung from the ceiling. Using the tail tie-down ring as the attachment point was what concerned me. Glad to read that you've found that the tail hook is substantial.

The HF hoist has an emergency shutoff. The wire rope is guided through a switch arm that activates when the rope is fully wound up on the spool. I have tested it and it works fine. The RV-12 only weighs 750# empty so the hoist can pull it up an incline by the tail hook no problem. The tail hook is mounted into a hard-point on the tail cone so loads are distributed very well. In fact, when I fly early in the spring the hoist/winch is needed to pull the plane back into the hanger thru wet/soft turf. Almost impossible to push by hand even with two people.

The key to guiding the plane in reverse is the have the winch mounted higher than the tail hook to keep the nose wheel in contact with the ground so it can be easily steered with the towbar.

I have added 15' of nylon rope to extend the winch's reach further in front of the hanger. With this added reach I don't need to pull the plane so close to the hanger. A secondary benefit is the winch shuts off with the above mentioned emergency switch and the plane safely stays 15' from the back wall of the hanger. With the airplane 2/3 of the way into the hanger it is very easy the use the towbar for the final positioning.
 
....The question is whether I could get enough pull power using just one hand, so I could use the other to steer the plane with a tow bar. The hangar door opening is narrow, so "close enough" really won't be.

Depending on the block and tackle ratio, you can get plenty of force. I used a 3:1, I think, and the C180, with fuel, weighs about 2,000 pounds. In another hangar I tried a 4:1 and the problem there was that it tangled too easily.

The main issue is that if you're moving the plane say 30 feet, and you have a 3:1 system, you'll have 90 feet of line coming out near the end. To control with the towbar, you'd need a way to grip the line itself. I just had a strap loop at the end. Remember that the plane will try to follow the block and tackle into the hangar; it won't wander. I assume that the nose wheel can be turned around 180 degrees. I have only a smidgeon of nosedragger experience and don't know those sort of things.

Dave
 
Use a Hoist

I did almost exactly what Jim did with the hoist when I owned an M20C. I used an extension cord to mod the switch cord. It worked perfectly and wasn't too slow or fast. Very handy especially in the winter when getting traction while pushing was tough.
 
I assume that the nose wheel can be turned around 180 degrees.

The nose wheel has fixed stops to limit rotational travel so wheel points forward within about 150 degree arc. When airplane is pushed backward the nose wheel wants to rotate against the stop. Towbar is required to keep nosewheel tracking correctly.
 
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See this.

Might work with the -12's boarding steps too. I have no idea of the structural strength of the 12's steps. The keys from my post are to connect at the very upper ends of the steps and have a pulley in the middle of the bridle.
 
The slope isn't very deep or steep, so I have no trouble getting the plane out of the hangar. It's tough getting it back in, though, because the hangar door opening is narrow so I can't get a running start putting the plane back in. I need to stop pushing to look carefully at where my wing tips end the doors begin.

I like the hand crank idea.

I would put the hand crank in, and put the nose wheel on a dolly, problem solved. The dolly would need to cradle the front wheel with some wood. You can put your weight on the back of the plane by the rudder, and the nose wheel will come up, put dolly just behind the nose wheel, and back up slightly with dolly behind the nose wheel while elevated, to drop the nose wheel into the cradle on the dolly.
 
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Harbor Freight Electric Hoist used as a winch... https://www.harborfreight.com/440-lb-electric-hoist-with-remote-control-60346.html

I installed this 15 years ago for use with my J3-Cub and now RV-12. Tail hook on RV-12 is very substantial. I extended the pendent switch so it can reach 30' in front of the hanger. So, one hand guides tow bar to steer while other hand controls winch motor. I installed the winch about 5' above ground level so pulling force doesn't raise nose wheel off the ground. Works a charm...

I inherited this same winch in a hangar I bought, but added two overload-prevention extension springs from McMaster-Carr to ease the jolt on the tail tie-down ring.

Gary R. Kohler
RV-7A
 
quad

What is a quad?

a four wheel motorbike like this:
61hsouHIZwL._SL1200_.jpg
 
Here is my "quad" RV-6 tug: :D

aircraft-tug-small.jpg


About $90 for carb, tubes for the old tires,battery and general cleanup/paint of a derelict Murray lawnmower.
 
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I would put the hand crank in, and put the nose wheel on a dolly, problem solved. The dolly would need to cradle the front wheel with some wood. You can put your weight on the back of the plane by the rudder, and the nose wheel will come up, put dolly just behind the nose wheel, and back up slightly with dolly behind the nose wheel while elevated, to drop the nose wheel into the cradle on the dolly.

At the risk of sounding terribly negative, this suggestion of the use of a dolly for the nosewheel is a non-starter. (Sorry for sounding so harsh). I've tried it, albeit on a larger, heavier aircraft. Even with fairly large rubber wheels (3" wheels on a professional mover's dolly) the slightest resistance encountered by either main wheel caused the aircraft to **** sideways; the dolly under the nose wheel would literally jerk sideways.

My interim solution was a combination of things. I installed a hand-crank rope winch which, I believe, saw prior duty on a boat trailer. I equipped the winch with cheap yellow polypropylene rope. This rope is far more stretchy than one would naturally assume it to be.

My method of moving our aircraft (typically about 1700lbs) up a slope and over the hump caused by frost heaving at the front lip of the hangar floor was as follows.
- push the airplane as far up the ramp as possible, then secure in place with a nosewheel chock installed both in front of and behind the nosewheel
- attach the winch to the tail tiedown hook (in this particular aircraft there is fantastic "beef" at this point in the structure because this is also the attachment point for the tailwheel spring)
- wind the winch up, placing tension on the rope (remember the chocks are preventing the airplane from rolling uphill and downhill)
- go back to the nose, remove the downhill chock and put it in my pocket, kick out the uphill chock and push the aircraft backwards picking up the chock as you walk past it and while using the towbar to steer the aircraft; the tension and stretch on the yellow poly winch rope acts as a gentle "helping hand" to move the airplane
- once the tension on the rope is relaxed, reinstall both chocks and repeat the process

This has proven to be a far safer technique than I had ever thought it would be, and it gives terrific control over trajectory of the aircraft. Cost is darned near nothing, especially if you find a used boat winch or similar.

The other solution, the one I use now, is an electric tug which fully supports the nose wheel, lifting it completely off the ground, thus removing it from the steering equation while also providing motive force to the aircraft.
 
Taxi In

I 2nd for taxing in and then spinning it around in the hangar. Works on most t-hangars. It freaks people out when they see it for the first time!
 
i used a ''windlas'' i modified a little. those winches off 4wd are way overkill and way too slow. i bet you can be in business for less than $100, including remote control. use poly rope . steel cable is not needed.
probably a marine supply site can give you ideas .
 
At the risk of sounding terribly negative, this suggestion of the use of a dolly for the nosewheel is a non-starter. (Sorry for sounding so harsh). I've tried it, albeit on a larger, heavier aircraft. Even with fairly large rubber wheels (3" wheels on a professional mover's dolly) the slightest resistance encountered by either main wheel caused the aircraft to **** sideways; the dolly under the nose wheel would literally jerk sideways.

My interim solution was a combination of things. I installed a hand-crank rope winch which, I believe, saw prior duty on a boat trailer. I equipped the winch with cheap yellow polypropylene rope. This rope is far more stretchy than one would naturally assume it to be.

My method of moving our aircraft (typically about 1700lbs) up a slope and over the hump caused by frost heaving at the front lip of the hangar floor was as follows.
- push the airplane as far up the ramp as possible, then secure in place with a nosewheel chock installed both in front of and behind the nosewheel
- attach the winch to the tail tiedown hook (in this particular aircraft there is fantastic "beef" at this point in the structure because this is also the attachment point for the tailwheel spring)
- wind the winch up, placing tension on the rope (remember the chocks are preventing the airplane from rolling uphill and downhill)
- go back to the nose, remove the downhill chock and put it in my pocket, kick out the uphill chock and push the aircraft backwards picking up the chock as you walk past it and while using the towbar to steer the aircraft; the tension and stretch on the yellow poly winch rope acts as a gentle "helping hand" to move the airplane
- once the tension on the rope is relaxed, reinstall both chocks and repeat the process

This has proven to be a far safer technique than I had ever thought it would be, and it gives terrific control over trajectory of the aircraft. Cost is darned near nothing, especially if you find a used boat winch or similar.

The other solution, the one I use now, is an electric tug which fully supports the nose wheel, lifting it completely off the ground, thus removing it from the steering equation while also providing motive force to the aircraft.

Interesting... they move local News Bell helicopters, fire fighting water drop helicopters and Crane helicopters all over the airport I frequent on dollies.

I guess the trick is to build the dolly on large enough diameter wheels to overcome the rolling resistance experienced. Might take a couple of iterations of build or wheels on the dolly, to perfect it for a RV-12.
 
What about the DanH approach from earlier this year? Sure this is setup for a TW but there wouldn't be much to adapt it for a nosewheel.....

Note that to work, it needs to lift the airplane's wheel off the ground so that it's weight can be added to the towbar's weight for traction.

Dave
 
Personally .......I'd spend the $1500 on a tug and get on with life. You have a lot invested in your RV12 and I don't imagine hangers come cheap in So Cal, so how big of a percentage of your overall investment would a nice tug be?

Jim
 
Interesting... they move local News Bell helicopters, fire fighting water drop helicopters and Crane helicopters all over the airport I frequent on dollies.

I guess the trick is to build the dolly on large enough diameter wheels to overcome the rolling resistance experienced. Might take a couple of iterations of build or wheels on the dolly, to perfect it for a RV-12.

Ahh - now I see the genesis of your viewpoint.

Moving helicopters on a dolly is a totally, and I DO mean totally, different experience. Those dollies lift the entire helicopter off the ground, thus they are more a trailer than a dolly. I've moved my share of rotary-wing aircraft using ground handling wheels and dollies. Thanks, I'll take the helicopter dolly any day because it provides such positive control.

In the case of the RV12 in question, the critical difference is the suggestion of putting only the nosewheel on a dolly, leaving the mains on the ground. While this consideration may seem insignificant, it's anything but. You see, with the mains on the ground they represent two completely independent thrust vectors. Block one main wheel and the airplane will pivot around it, whether the nose wheel is on a dolly or not.

Now if the entire aircraft were on a dolly the game would be entirely different. I suspect for most of us building such a dolly and getting the airplane up onto the dolly would be a fairly significant undertaking, thus rendering the concept impractical.

Having a tug which lifts the nosewheel removes from the equation the awkwardness of the castoring nosewheel. If purchasing a tug for an RV or similar aircraft with a castoring nosewheel, a tug that lifts and bears the weight of the nosewheel truly is the best way to go. I speak from experience, having purchased just such a tug for our aircraft.
 
reverse the tow bar

Lon-

Was reading this thread earlier today and it got me thinking of how I would try to accomplish backing my RV-12 into a hangar while fighting a slight uphill grade without spending a ton of money for a tug.

A crazy thought came to me on how you may be able to accomplish the task inexpensively. As a couple of posters have already suggested, you could use a block and tackle or a winch ... but the problem is how to prevent the castering nose wheel from turning sideways without holding onto the tow bar when the hands are busy pulling on a rope or holding a winch controller?

I'll just throw this out there ... it just may work. Instead of attaching the tow bar as it would normally be attached, try attaching it so the handle faces aft. Attach the block & tackle's rope or the winch cable around the tow bar's handle. If things work the way I think they should, the long arm of the tow bar should keep the nose wheel centered as tension is placed on the tow bar to pull the airplane backwards. This should free up your hands allowing you to pull a block & tackle rope or hold a winch controller.

If the proof of concept works, you can place small wheels (or skids) on the end of the tow bar's handles to prevent the tow bar from getting all scraped up on the hangar floor and to also make it easier for the handle to transition over the concrete lip most hangars have. Clearing the long aft portion of wheel pants (if you have them) may be problematic ... but if the concept works, you can have a welder fabricate a tow bar with a longer fork to clear the aft portion of the wheel pants.

Hope this idea works ... if you try it, let us know what the results are.
 
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Lift Nose Wheel

What if you use the block and tackle or a winch to pull the plane in by the tail. And add maybe 15 or 20 pounds to the tail ring to slightly lift the nose wheel off the ground. Then it cannot turn sideways. I used to back up a 172 by pushing down on the tail and maneuvering it backwards. It was the easiest and fastest way to back a nose wheel plane.
 
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You want to be able to control and steer the plane as it retracts into the hanger. Airplane should follow centerline of the door opening, and if close on the sides, perhaps put a marked line on the floor. Use the towbar to steer so plane tracks centerline. If using a winch to pull the plane, mount the winch on back wall of hanger at about 5' above floor level so that pulling force does not lift nose wheel. Extend pendant switch so it reaches about 25' in front of hanger. Very simple - pendant switch in one hand and guide towbar with other hand. Why make this so complicated...
 
One Main at a Time

What I do is angle the plane just enough to get one main over the threshold, then the other. Makes a big difference for me.
 
A Cessna 182 owner mounted a 12v winch centered on the back wall close to the floor of his t-hangar. He ran a cable with a wye to the main gear legs down close to the wheels. He put the winch control box at the end of a 40-ish foot long cable. He steered the plane using the tow bar while the winch pulled the plane backwards into the hangar. There were stripes painted on the ramp and hangar floor for lateral guidance.
 
If pulling an aircraft backwards with a reversed tow bar, when the tail starts
moving in one direction, the tow bar will move in the opposite direction, thus
aggravating the situation. The idea might work if the rope is routed through the
tail tie down ring before tying it to the tow bar. Then there is the concern of
the rope damaging the com antenna.
If 120 volts is available, I like Jim Stricker's idea of using a hoist. Amazon has
a similar looking HOIST for $80 with free shipping.
Using the pulley will reduce the speed and initial jerk.
 
It would be nice to have a quick easy way to lock the nose fork in place.
Then the plane could be pulled backwards with a boat winch.
 
A Cessna 182 owner mounted a 12v winch centered on the back wall close to the floor of his t-hangar. He ran a cable with a wye to the main gear legs down close to the wheels. He put the winch control box at the end of a 40-ish foot long cable. He steered the plane using the tow bar while the winch pulled the plane backwards into the hangar. There were stripes painted on the ramp and hangar floor for lateral guidance.

That's how we parked F-15s into Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS) in Germany back in the 80s (no doubt it's till done that way now). Of course everything was upgraded to accommodate much heaver aircraft... First time you watch it being done was almost scary as there were only inches between the wing tips and the walls of the Gen 1 HAS's. But with the pilot riding brakes "just-in-case" an expierenced lone crew chief could winch back a jet undercover pretty quick.
 
I think he flew today, to Camarillo and back, so maybe he's looking at this thread once it's time to get his RV-12 back into the hangar. ;)
 
Had the same problem at a small airport in Tennessee. The electric winch, remote control and line attached to the tail tiedown worked perfectly with no damage to my RV-9a.
 
i used to use a winch to put a piper warrior away. whether the nose wheel is controlled by pedals or not you need a tow bar on the nose gear to guide it in place as it is winched. you can not winch it in without it. may go in once in a while but most times needs corrections along the way.
 
Lon,

Joe Gores pointed out the flaw in my suggestion of reversing the tow bar and pulling the aircraft into your hangar by using a rope or cable tied onto the tow bar. Should the tail begin to move at an angle, the castering nose wheel will indeed quickly get the airplane askew. Joe mentioned it would be nice if the nose wheel could be locked ... so that has had me thinking of a quick and inexpensive way to get the job done.

I've been pondering the problem for the last couple of weeks ... and feel I have an inexpensive and safe way to lock the nose wheel by using the RV-12's steps as an anchor point to lock the nose wheel. So a couple of days ago I took advantage of a warm day and headed to the hangar to see if my idea would hold water by making a mock-up ... I think it will.

As can be seen in the following photo the tow bar can be placed on the nose wheel in reverse and rest on a piece of metal or wood traversing the bottom of the fuselage inline with the forward edge of the RV-12's steps. Blocks attached to the cross piece on either side of the tow bar where you see the blue tape will prevent the tow bar from moving ... thus locking the nose wheel.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QUy7-VbNGR0/XjyRpqkpE8I/AAAAAAAANTk/_u2zzom4pfQlNrT-tXFmINDosPm1fzUeACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSC03824.JPG

The next photo shows how the cross piece could be attached to the tubing on the RV12's steps by placing a wooden rod or metal pin into the step's tubing and running a piece of metal or wood down to the cross piece. (Those having the step tubing plugged can always drill a larger hole so the fixture slips over the step's tubing). Of course, a gusset will be required where the vertical piece going to the step meets the horizontal cross piece to give the assembly stiffness to insure there is no side to side play.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LXAMOphDTXE/XjySQMBoXvI/AAAAAAAANTs/AjylZ7KF0PMQ0ll4hO1ssYQDN5SCtpuXACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSC03833.JPG

The next photo shows there will not be any interference between the tow bar and the com antenna ... the end of the tow bar is at least a couple of feet away from the antenna.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Bvgfso5X90/XjySwXIrrNI/AAAAAAAANT0/p2REYsE3i7IDMYt4bRYeSWr1DDpDkDH-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSC03831.JPG

The last photo (not very clear) shows that if a rope or cable were attached to the center of the tow bar, the com antenna is skewed enough to the pilot side of the bottom fuselage skin that there is plenty of clearance to attach a cable or rope to the tow bar without interring with the com antenna.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cr7rQ_VUEMw/XjyTFKwMS8I/AAAAAAAANT8/ogxrksKpZXEWsXuxLeLJ-ucch6oih2ZFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSC03830.JPG

There may be some downward load on the steps if the tow bar is angled a little upward to clear the wheel pants, but I'm sure that load will be much less than a person stepping onto the steps. I also think it would be prudent not to solely rely on the Velcro straps to keep the tow bar squeezed tightly onto the pull bar attach bolt on the nose wheel ... one could add a slotted block of some sort that keeps the tow bar compressed tightly onto the pull bar bolts on the nose wheel fork.

My hangar is a flat entry, so I'm not going to try to build a fixture to test the idea ... but I think the idea is sound in principle and should lock the nose wheel in place so the aircraft can be pulled into a hangar without the nose wheel going askew.

If anybody tries the above method, please let us all know how it worked out.

Happy flying,
 
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