Small Tug for C-421C

[jet1]

We just moved our C-421C from group hanger to a private T-hanger, and we need a power tow bar to move airplane in and out of hanger. Any one know where we might find a used one? Something like the Power Tug viper.

 

[Gatorman]

Try looking it up on the ILS...

If you do not have a subscripition, let me know and I will lookk it up for you. I will need the part number of the one you are wanting.

Sometimes ebay has them.


GATOR

 

[ackattacker]

Used to use one of those electric jobs that rubs against the nosewheel on a 421. It was nice since it was very portable and you could throw it in the nose. But if the nosewheel was wet then you had some slippage, and if the ground was icy then forget about it. We also had a gas powertow that was broken 50% of the time, but worked a little better in slippery conditions. It was still a real pain to use, and you had to push down hard on it if it was slippery, and it would stall, or the chain would jump the sprocket, or it would be out of gas. It was always a struggle. For the money that these things cost, you're frankly better off using a vehicle with a hitch and a towbar (if you can drive up to your hanger). If you put a hitch on the front of your vehicle then its a cinch.

The coolest looking small tug that I've seen was used at the Perkiomen Valley Airport (N10). I don't remember the brand but it looked like a small lawn tractor with the front wheels completely removed and a hydraulic nosewheel picker-upper mounted on the back, with hydraulic steering between the pincer and the tractor. The cool part was that the "back" became the front, and the operator sat on the hood of the tractor facing "back" and steering that way. They really could move airplanes around quick with this thing, since you could just roll up to a plane, pick up the nosewheel hydraulically, then move it around. Anybody know what kind of tug this is? It looked sort of halfway homemade but had a brand name.

 

[Headwind]

Several years back we bought a new Power Tow (I think that was the name) as recomended for a C-421. Most of their models are orange, but the larger one for the 421 was yellow in color. DON'T BUY ONE!! We had to change belts weekly.Sometimes passengers had to wait while we changed belts. The company ( in Iowa I think) offered NO support and would not take it back on trade for something better. If you want something like a power tow bar don't get one thats belt drive.The hydrostatic drive will work. We used a Honda 350 4X4 with a tow bar and it worked well.

HEADWIND

 

[User546]

The guy I flew with for awhile in Tulsa always used a lawnmower with an attachment on the back of it to pull his 421 in and out of the hanger. It was Ghetto, but it worked.

 

[peter185]

The backwards lawn mower was an Air Deere. At least that was the name of the one that i used.

 

[Gatorman]

I hvae seen the tug you are talking about on the internet, but I cannot fing it again. It is really unique.
If I find it I will post the link.

GATOR

 

[jparks]

we used a lawn mower with a tow bar