Coolest Aircraft Tug I've seen

brcase

En-Route
Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
2,827
Location
Boise, Idaho
Display Name

Display name:
Brian
Saw one of these in use the other day.
seemed very cool, but not cheap.
Did seem to work very well.

https://www.acairtechnology.com/products.aspx?cat=tugs

T1_W_Dims.png
 
They had a booth at sun n fun,very impressive .
 
What's not impressive is the price. It's not like these things need FAA approval, but they sure have em priced that way.
 
Ahh, it's like a tug made sweet love to one of those battle bots!

I'll stick with my tug, it's runs off craft beer and game meat :)
 
Golf cart with all the bling would be way less expensive.
 
It's all fun and games until it goes rogue and runs off with your plane...
 
I might buy it if it was under $1000. For 4k I can get a nice used 4 wheeler. Still, its a cool idea. NO TOWBAR!
 
I went back to this booth at SnF two or three times. This is a very well engineered and built product. Frankly I don't think their pricing is unreasonable. Very cool. I'd like one.
 
Is it small/light enough to go in the baggage compartment? That's one advantage over a golf cart.

Heck, I wonder if you could dock it with chair mounted on a platform of some sort and use it as a golf cart.
 
Video ends just as going off course......and just before Red Handle got pulled.
 
Is it small/light enough to go in the baggage compartment? That's one advantage over a golf cart.

Heck, I wonder if you could dock it with chair mounted on a platform of some sort and use it as a golf cart.
It may depend on the specific model. In general, they are pretty robust. I can't speak for the smallest single engine compatible ones, but if your airplane really needs a tug to move (twin or warbird...etc) then no, it is not really feasible to haul with you (too large/heavy), which doesn't help the price-point.

They are great for nesting multiple large airplanes in community hangars, but for the average GA airplane in a T-hangar, they are serious overkill.
 
How well does it work on a tail wheel?
I'm thinking there would be some problems.
Works very well for the bigger tailwheels. They are great for T-6s, Beech 18s and even DC-3s.

I wouldn't bother with it for a typical GA single. I watched a guy demonstrate it on my 170 once. About halfway through, I had enough. It was twice as fast to just move the airplane by hand.
 
What problems were you thinking might occur though?
No real mechanical issues. If you get the model with the lazy Susan, it is actually easier on the tailwheel assembly than a towbar. But for small airplanes, it is really slow compared to pushing it around by hand.
 
This is a terrible idea anyway.
What if you are using it and you pull it a little too fast and the plane becomes airborne? What then?
 
Back
Top