It’s a bizarre set of standards we live by that usually defies logic. In my case, I can’t wrap my mind around spending more than about $500 to $1,000 on a tug to pull my airplane into and out of the hangar. I just can’t. 

I know it makes perfect sense to invest in a high-quality, long-term solution to an ever-present problem. “Buy once, cry once,” as they say. But I just can’t bring myself to spend the money on one, and I spent considerable time and effort finding a workable solution for my first airplane.

Here, then, I present a brief overview of towing options for the new aircraft owner.

Towbar

Pros:

• Cheap
• Simple
• Zero maintenance

Cons:

• Provides steering assistance only—no power assist
• Not a solution for heavy aircraft or slick ground surfaces

This is what most aircraft owners start out with. Ranging from flimsy, lightweight, collapsable ones that can easily stow in a baggage compartment to large, beefy versions that enable you to put your weight into it, towbars rely on human power…and human traction. The latter, I have come to learn, is a key concern in the Northern states. 

Attempting to move a fully fueled airplane up a slight grade into or out of a hangar with snow on the ground is often a futile effort. So, too, is stopping an already moving airplane—a somewhat more risky endeavor with potentially disastrous results. For owners of lightweight Ercoupes and 150s, a basic towbar will usually suffice, but for everyone else, the benefits of powered options quickly become apparent.

• READ MORE: Managing the Doldrums of Winter

Stationary Winch

Pros:

• Relatively inexpensive
• Takes up virtually no space
• Requires virtually no maintenance

Cons:

• Provides assistance in one direction only
• Requires installation into a concrete floor or wall stud
• Requires remote-control option for tricycle gear aircraft to enable steering with towbar
• Typically best suited to taildraggers as it can easily apply excessive and improper force to tail tie-down rings

Having never used a winch personally, I rely on the testimony of others. By and large, the people happiest with winch setups are those who have a requirement to pull taildraggers uphill into their hangars. As the tailwheel is the sturdiest point to apply such force, this makes sense. Some owners of tricycle gear aircraft report damage resulting from pulling a tail tie-down ring backward when it was designed to be pulled downward.

Tricycle gear owners are also hindered somewhat by the need to steer the nosewheel at the front of the airplane while controlling the winch in the back. Both corded and wireless winches are available to solve this problem, but this adds expense, eroding the winch’s primary benefit—low cost. For certain owners, a winch setup can provide a tidy solution to a difficult-to-park airplane, but the limitations are significant.

‘Frankentug’

Pros:

• Relatively inexpensive

Cons:

• Maintenance often required to resurrect older examples
• Abundance of substandard designs
• Many require proprietary attachments for each aircraft type

“Frankentug” is my own term. After browsing all the shiny new tug options online, I eventually slinked over to Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to peruse the old, decrepit, used offerings. Many date back to the Ronald Regan administration, with correspondingly Eastern Bloc- and Cold War-era designs. These are the Frankentugs.

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you search for “airplane tug” and are presented with several lightly used options that happen to be all set up for the exact type of aircraft you own. And sometimes these options are offered at sub-$1,000 prices. 

More commonly, however, the offerings resemble a living museum of backyard shade-tree engineering. Some are battery-powered, others plug directly into the wall, and still others are gas powered. The gas-powered examples will invariably require a thorough carb cleaning, and the battery-powered options will often require fresh batteries.

When I located my own Frankentug, I felt fortunate to find a plug-in electric version made by Powertow. Sure, the wiring up toward the handles was frayed and presented a shock hazard. And, sure, the tire was flat. But at $275, the price was right, and upon spotting the listing, I promptly hopped in the car and drove an hour to purchase it.

Unbeknownst to me, the tires on Powertows are horrifically difficult to remove and install. The adjacent gear for the chain drive is positioned so close that tire removal is nearly impossible. Accordingly, in the event of a flat tire, Powertow actually recommends that owners “purchase an entirely new wheel/tire/axle assembly for $170” to solve the problem.

Finding this quite off-putting, I instead begged my local small engine repair shop to replace the tube. Some poor kid was tasked with this and spent hours fighting with it before he was ultimately successful. Feeling bad for him and admiring his perseverance, I tipped him $40.

Next, because my tug was set up for a tricycle-gear aircraft, I had to spend an additional $250 for a tailwheel hookup kit, and then had to drill holes in the tug to install it. This brought my total expenditure to nearly $700. Still ultimately worth it, but just barely. Part of me wishes I had instead put the $700 toward a new, perfect tug.

Garden Tractors

Pros:

• Plentiful inexpensive options available
• Good hydrostatic transmissions provide light, precise touch to forward/back motion
• Can double as snow-removal solution

Cons:

• Still requires towbar of some kind
• Some fabrication typically required to connect towbar to tractor
• Taildraggers require ample hangar space behind airplane to accommodate length of  tractor and towbar

The easiest part of employing the garden tractor solution is sourcing one. Sub-$1,000 tractors are plentiful, and it matters not if the mower deck is missing or broken. Most important is the smoothness and controllability of the transmission engagement so as not to place undue stress upon your airplane.

The most challenging aspect of the tractor option is the method of connection to the airplane. You’ll have to fabricate or source some kind of heavy-duty towbar, and you’ll also likely have to fabricate a means of attaching the towbar to the tractor. This may involve welding a ball hitch bracket onto the frame.

A good towbar is critical, and it perhaps bears mentioning that under no circumstances should an airplane be pulled with a rope or strap. Often, the more demanding job of a tug is to bring the airplane to a stop, and fabric doesn’t work so well under compression.

Best Tugs’ Alpha 2 and Alpha 3

Pros:

• Literally everything

Cons:

• Cost

I should preface this section with reassurance that I am in no way sponsored by Best Tugs, nor am I receiving any compensation for my views. Based on my own firsthand experience using its products, the tugs manufactured by the Utah-based company truly do live up to their name.

Best Tugs’ Alpha 2 and Alpha 3 models are powered by onboard batteries and employ actual differentials between their two wheels to provide perfect traction and steering. Power is controlled by a buttery-smooth electronic speed control that enables you to apply torque to the wheels so smoothly and delicately it seems you could clamp a Sharpie marker in the jaws and effortlessly sign your name on the hangar floor.

The only downside? These models cost roughly $3,500 to $4,000. Perfect as they are, that’s an expense I just can’t come to terms with—and I’ve tried. I’ve reasoned that one is simply parking most of the money, as one can expect to recoup at least 50 percent of the cost by selling it in the future. And that a permanent tug solution amounts to roughly the cost of one annual inspection. And that it’s not unlike a one-time insurance premium that makes you less likely to damage a wingtip or tail surface while moving your airplane around.

But nevertheless, the cost looms large. For the time being, I’m mostly content wrestling with my trusty Frankentug, risking electrocution, tripping over the cord, and reminding myself that it’s good to regularly get an upper-body workout to stay healthy and fit.

The post The Pros and Cons of Aircraft Towing Solutions appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As this is the first winter in which I can fly my airplane without the complications of major engine maintenance, I’m free to stumble through winter ownership unhindered by anything beyond general inexperience. One by one, I’m learning lessons and discovering solutions that collectively make winter flying more fun, and I’ve compiled a few products and lessons that have stood out thus far.

Engine Preheater

Up here in the frozen north, a well-heated, fully-insulated hangar is the stuff of dreams. Owning such a hangar is the Wisconsin equivalent of owning an oceanside villa in Monaco—it’s pricey, exclusive, and instantly makes you the envy of your circle of friends. My friend Jim has a hangar like this, complete with a mini fridge, a sectional couch, and enough cool wall decor to make you dread going home.

Most of us keep our machines in primitive, unheated T-hangars that may or may not be completely sealed from the elements. It’s not lost on me that this is a good problem to have; even basic hangars are palaces compared to outdoor tie-downs. Nevertheless, those of us in unheated hangars are presented with a few challenges, and for us, an engine preheater is a wise investment. 

The basic premise of any engine heater is simple; using forced air or electric elements, they heat an engine compartment or components of the engine itself, warming engine oil and easing engine starts. In addition to expediting engine (and cabin) warmup, this reduces engine wear and increases engine longevity.

Engine preheating generally comes in two forms. The cheaper and simpler option consists of small portable heaters with ducting to direct the heat into the engine compartment. While these are often the less expensive option, they also introduce more of a fire hazard. 

Should an unattended portable heater malfunction, or should the ductwork become dislodged, piping-hot air can be redirected onto surfaces and components that react poorly to such temperatures. Many people use these systems successfully throughout the winter, but I am haunted by the idea of being responsible for a hangar fire that may claim multiple airplanes.

• READ MORE: Tundra Tires Bring More Than Just Good Looks

A number of companies manufacture dedicated preheat kits that are installed directly onto the engine. Accordingly, there are fewer ways in which they can malfunction and create a fire hazard. This was one of the main reasons I chose this option, and I went with a company called Reiff. Only after my system was installed did I learn the company is based only about 30 miles away from me, in rural Wisconsin. 

Reiff offers two main types of preheat kits; the least expensive utilizes a single heating element to warm the oil pan, and the best kits add a heating element to each cylinder, effectively warming the entire engine. I opted for the latter, reasoning that consistent, uniform engine heating is beneficial.

A local maintenance facility took 3.5 hours to install the $950 system. Provided I remember to plug the engine in the night before I want to fly, I’m now greeted with a very warm engine and an easy start for every flight. 

Battery Charger

Last Saturday morning, my friend Jim and I hatched a wonderful plan. Temperatures were in the 30s, the ceiling had lifted to around 2,500 feet, and the local lakes had 6 to 8 inches of solid ice coverage. Wisconsinites everywhere were out frolicking on the ice, partaking in everything from ice fishing to ice boat racing to paraskiing. 

In past winters, I’ve joined Jim as a passenger for some ice landings, and this was finally my chance to fly along with him in an airplane of my own. My airplane was running well, I was familiar with the area, and best of all, Jim could serve as the guinea pig, landing first to ensure there were no issues with the ice surface.

There was only one issue—my engine was cold-soaked. Because our plans had come together at the last minute, I hadn’t plugged my engine in to warm it up. I agreed to go anyway, hoping I’d get it started in spite of this.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. A combination of ice-cold temperatures and my overpriming seemed to offend the engine, and despite catching and running roughly for a moment here and there, it simply refused to start. I ended up pushing the airplane back into the hangar and joining Jim as a passenger once again.

After we returned, a nearby hangar tenant offered to lend me his portable Diehard brand battery charger, a robust unit capable of trickle charging and quick charging. I set it up overnight, and it effortlessly brought my tired battery back up to a 100 percent charge. Having experienced how useful the charger was, I ordered one the following day and am now prepared to solve future battery issues independently. 

In hindsight, it seems like an obvious item to add to the list of necessary hangar accessories, but in my case, I first needed to experience a major inconvenience to take the idea seriously.

Powered Tug

This one is still on my wish list. I presently own a massively overbuilt tow bar that appears to have been engineered for Douglas DC-9s, and up until this past summer, it has worked reasonably well to pull my airplane around.

Then I installed some 26-inch tundra tires.

Set to only 8 to 10 psi, the new tires are pillowy soft. They make landing on rough surfaces a breeze, and they make the airplane feel like a big Tonka truck, shrugging off my blundering landings without a second thought. But they also make it far more difficult to pull the airplane into and out of the hangar, even on concrete.

At first, I chalked this up to a badly-needed fitness opportunity. I’d simply hunker down, put my weight into it, and muscle the airplane around as needed while burning off some burger- and cheese-curd-induced calories. But after winter weather set in, a close call with an unseen patch of ice nearly sent me to the ground, and visions of my recent rib-breaking refueling incident scared me straight and inspired me to shop for a powered tug.

Initial research suggests that there is little middle ground when it comes to powered tugs. On one end of the spectrum, you’ve got used Frankentug specials available on classified sites. These contraptions may or may not work properly, they will likely date back to the Clinton administration, and whether they’re gas or electric, they’ll almost certainly be covered in decades of grime. But they’re cheap, ranging from around $500 to $1,500.

On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got companies like Best Tugs. Starting at around $3,000, their tugs work perfectly. They’re reliable, quiet, and rather than looking like you’re involved in a wrestling match with an angry snowblower, you can enjoy buttery-smooth fingertip control before and after every flight. 

The price is hard to swallow, though. Were I definitely remaining in my location long term, I’d consider hitting up an adjacent hangar tenant for a partnership opportunity in which we share one nice tug. That way, we’d each be able to enjoy the luxury anytime for half the price.

For now, I stubbornly continue to scour the local classifieds in the hopes that a decent used Frankentug happens to become available. But then again, the upgrade to that Best Tug would amount to less than the cost of one of my tundra tires…and it certainly would be a lot less expensive than another hospital stay.

The post Flying Through a Wisconsin Winter appeared first on FLYING Magazine.