Using an airplane as a trailer

[floridacyclist]

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to locate a derelict airplane to use as a SAR target....to give folks something to look for. I called up an airplane junkyard in GA and was told to come get a Beechcraft Bonanza with the fuselage sawed off and the wings intact. I told the guy that would be too heavy for 2 people to load and unload from a trailer by hand, and could we please have something like a Cessna; we ended up with a 150.

As we were loading it on a flatbed trailer, we were talking about how to make it easily portable and the guy at the junkyard mentioned that a set of innertubes would make it towable with an ATV; my wife responded that she was going to have me weld trailer axles onto the existing landing gear so we could use highway tires. The idea evolved into welding a piece of channel iron to the main gear and extending it out the tail to a trailer hitch. As we drove through rural Georgia, we realized that everyone was staring at the airplane on the trailer with great interest...I guess they're not used to seeing airplanes going down the road. At a gas station, an older former member and his grandson saw the CAP van pulling the trailer and struck up a conversationwith us. We apologized for not having any literature or contact info for him, but he promised to get in touch with his local squadron when they got home to Tampa; one of us then had the idea of doing a decent paintjob on the airplane with our website and the CAP propeller and triangle logo on the side (along with a sign reading "Simulated Search and Rescue Target") and keeping a box of recruiting flyers inside it. A quick call to the tag office confirmed that there was no problem registering it as a homemade trailer as long as it was under 2,000 lbs.

As we were cleaning it out at home, I realized there was a significant amount of room inside it and remembered that we were looking for a small utility trailer to carry luggage and gear in on cadet roadtrips; the idea of a 4-seat airplane with a straight back (no rear windshield) and crammed full of bags and backpacks as we drove 10 cadets to the Sun n' Fun fly-in entered my depraved brain.

I guess my question is, assuming that it's painted half-decently and not slapped on with a brush, is this idea of an airplane fuselage as a utility trailer/PR sign/portable SAR target too redneck?

Perhaps more importantly, the guy at the junkyard offered me a 180 when I called back to thank him and tell him my hare-brained ideas. Should I take him up on it?

[Eclipse]

The redneck issues aside, most states have licensing requirements for trailers, and homemade ones have to be inspected by your local DOT.

An airframe as a trailer could have some unique disadvantages as it is designed to "fly", which means at highway speeds that tail could start working and the trailer be uncontrollable.

[Chris Jacobs]

I really like the idea.  I think it would defiantly turn some heads and maybe lead to some members.  i have always wanted to have an old CAP cut up and put on a trailer so that we could use it in parades.

although i do think you would run into some aero problems.  Although you should be able to set the elevator at a certain angle so that you counter act any problems.

[floridacyclist]

The redneck issues aside, most states have licensing requirements for trailers, and homemade ones have to be inspected by your local DOT.

Not if it's under 2,000 lbs. I live in the state capitol - the headquarters of both the Highway Patrol and State Dept of Transportation are just a local phone call away, so this part was pretty easy to confirm. Even before the DOT District Manager realized it was under 2,000 lbs he didn't see it as that big of a deal as long as I had receipts for the trailer axle, tongue etc and they were firmly mounted together. His actual suggestion was to build the trailer as a steel frame (I was a welder in the Army) with a cradle on it for the fuselage and have it inspected/tagged without the airplane on-board in order to simplify everything. Once he realized that I was talking about a small plane that was only a couple hundred pounds, he said to just go to the tag office and tell them that I needed a trailer tag for a homemade trailer and that the most I would have to show would be a certified weight slip to prove that it was less than 2K#

An airframe as a trailer could have some unique disadvantages as it is designed to "fly", which means at highway speeds that tail could start working and the trailer be uncontrollable.

If that were an issue, I would keep the tail off while trailering (it's missing anyway so I was going to make plywood replacements for SAR target use), but I doubt that would matter since it will be towed tail-first directly behind a large van and out of the wind with the actual tail very close to the trailer hitch and therefore with very little leverage on the fuselage as a whole. I would be more worried about a wind gust catching it from the side and sending the tail flying off, so I will probably remove it for trailering anyway.

When we trailered it home, one wing was standing on edge and we expected some odd handling but never saw it. Maybe if we'd had some wicked crosswinds we might have experienced more.

PS We have Capt Dunn here. Am sure he'd say hi if he knew we were talking

[Eclipse]

OK, what's with the ads and the buttons?

[floridacyclist]

?

<<---- lost

[Eclipse]

Sorry - it was bizarre, for one session, several of the buttons, smileys, etc., were changed to banner adds, links, and other weirdness.

Like the quote buttin said "more info".

I'm thinking now that someone might have been doing server maintenance where they keep the .gifs and overwrote them, etc.

Seems ok now.

[floridacyclist]

You had me wondering what in the world you were talking about LOL

Just trying to figure out when I'd be able to get that 180....I have to go to Maryland for a FEMA class in a week or so, but will be driving my friend's Honda Civic w/ no hitch - and not much in the way of towing capacity either.

I sense another roadtrip coming on after the first of the year.

[arajca]

:off topic:
What class?

[Psicorp]

That's a fantastic idea.  I was half afraid for a second that you chopped the main gear off and welded on truck axles and then put on oversized tires.  That would have been a wee bit too redneckish.  "What in tarnation is that thang??"

If airworthierness is an issue, I can't see where you couldn't chop it just forward of the horizontal stabilizers and weld plates to it and the main fuse then just bolt on the tail when you needed it.

Just be sure you paint it the correct CAP aircraft paint scheme 

I would love to pictures of it when you get it complete!

[floridacyclist]

:off topic:
What class?

E449 - ICS Train-The-Trainer. Driving up and getting reimbursed (up to the state limit of $480.00) from FEMA.

That's a fantastic idea.  I was half afraid for a second that you chopped the main gear off and welded on truck axles and then put on oversized tires.  That would have been a wee bit too redneckish.  "What in tarnation is that thang??"

If airworthierness is an issue, I can't see where you couldn't chop it just forward of the horizontal stabilizers and weld plates to it and the main fuse then just bolt on the tail when you needed it.

Just be sure you paint it the correct CAP aircraft paint scheme 

I would love to pictures of it when you get it complete!

Nope...not going to make it look like a truck...although around here, putting it on a set of 44" Groundhawgs would probably draw a favorable response. Just going to put regular trailer spindles on the end of the existing landing gear unless I can somehow fit a trailer hub onto the existing spindle. Either way, I want to put DOT-approved wheels/tires onto it. Like the guy at the junkyard said, the factory landing gear does just fine at 60MPH...for short periods each time it takes off and lands. I personally wouldn't trust it for a 3hr highway trip.

I like the idea of the plate with a one-piece tail that just kind of bolts on...maybe use dzus fasteners or the like.  Can still leave it on there for parades and such.

I don't know about the CAP color scheme. Besides the fact that I question how the higher-ups would take it (not even getting into the CAP vs USAFAux thing - although since this trailer won't be used for law enforcement, it's probably a moot point), but I am hesitant to put a CAP color scheme on there unless it's professionally done, which is probably more than we can afford for anything that will stick to aluminum. As it is, I'm hoping I can get the local aviation school to paint it a solid color....like white, then use vinyl logos, seals, and letters to get the look we want.

[arajca]

Good class in a brain numbing kind of way.

Be ready to get serious brain fry. They cram ICS 100 - 400 info (not the complete classes) into four days. You'll also be expected to, as a group, present a part of ICS 100 and/or 200 to show you know the material and how to instruct.

[floridacyclist]

I'm looking forward to it. Taking the scenic route up I-95 to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-tunnel, up through Delaware, and across through PA Amish country before coming back down to Emmitsburg. On the way back, going through Maynardville, TN to visit my best friend from Elementary School (fellow former cadet) and my daughter in Maggie Valley. It'll be nice to get out of FL for a bit.

In Jan, our ARES district will start offering ICS classes for 3hrs/night on Wed nights. We'll start at 100 and chug our way all the way up and over through 700, 800, 300 and 400. of course, CAP and other volunteer agencies will be invited (trying to set it up as a co-sponsored activity between ARES and CAP); it should be interesting.