Tail wheel dolly?

I just bought a Speedster. I am keeping at the local airport until I'm proficient enough to land next to my barn.

The local FBO has enough hangar space for me if I keep the wings folded. Problem is, with gas in the tanks and the wings folded back, fuel leaks out of the filler caps.

I thought I could solve the problem if I had a device that would lift the tail wheel up so the longitudinal axis is parallel with the ground before folding the wings. Then I could wheel the airplane into the hangar by the same device.

Does such a contraption exist?

You can make one. I used a mover's dolly and built on it. Works like a charm.

Thanks, Jerrytex. Looks practical and easy to build.

I was thinking more of a lever design that could be slipped under/around the tail wheel with a long arm/handle. Once around the wheel, the handle could be pushed down, lifting the tail with ease while simultaneously rocking onto wheels or casters to move around.

I may end up with your design to get going for now. Thanks again.

Harbor Freight has motorcycle jacks.

A friend built one for his Avid that attaches to the towing tongue mounts with a large (10"?) pneumatic caster wheel - of course from HF.

Works good for him. I keep forgetting to photograph it… :rolleyes:

Skypirate has a sketch of one one in his photo album.

Great discussion since I have to fold the wings every time I fly.
I like Skypirates idea on photo 21 of his Album.
What ever the design is, I feel the dolly needs to be pinned to the fuselage like Jerry Tex did to prevent a real bad day if it ever fell off with the wings folded.
I am hoping Larry can get a photo of his friends design since I have heard that it may have a lever arm that both raises the tail and is also used as a tow bar.
I envision the the Sky Pirate design that straddles the tailwheel in a near horizontal position with small wheels to roll it in place.
Then pin it to the rear towing position, then pull back on an approx. 4-5 foot long bar with a tee handle to raise the tail, then pin it to the front tow position.
At some point when raising the tail the dolly will transition to the castering wheel. Since my hanger floor is gravel I would use a large castering wheel.
The design challenge is to get the dolly to break over center so it will stay in place till you get the second pin in place and then have the tee handle end up at the appropriate height for both raising and lowering and moving the airplane.
In the mean time I designed a simple, fool proof quick drain at the header tank that only takes a minute/ gallon if I need to and is very useful when you need to drain the fuel system.
Herman

As Herman mentioned, I was nervous about it falling off the stand so I used a ratchet strap and a pin. Once I was comfortable rolling it around, I didn't use the the strap any more and it worked great rolling in and out of a PAVED hangar. Gravel would be challenging but I bet you could use ATV tires or use a couple of sheets of plywood to roll it on to.

Attachment 7305

I use a home made dolly to move my Vixen around. Would think a beefed up version would work well with a tail dragger.
Cheers
Don

Love the reg, I have C-FOXD reserved

I used to fold my wings every time i fly. if you guys would just fly off more fuel you don't need the tail up ! :)

I just fly flight, If I recall it's about 6gal each side and you can fold the wings. mark off the lcoation on the wing and call it good, fold it up and keep life simple.

~Brendan

Okay. I cornered Paul this weekend and got some photos of the tail stand and how it works.

Here ya go…

Larry
Thanks for taking the time to get and post the photos.
Paul's design looks simple and no way it will fall off when pinned plus it has a tow bar integrated.
Gives me a good starting point without reinventing the wheel.
Herman

Regarding larry's photos, i like how you can pin the forward 2 posts and then it appears you just lift and swing to pin the rear.

That's exactly right, Ken. Paul designed that to be of "solo" operation just like you said.

Thanks for the photos. I didn't think about going at it from in front of the tail wheel.

It's condition inspection time again. It has been a lot of monkey motion to get my kitfox into my shop and spread the wings. The wingspan is 32 feet and my shop has posts every 12 feet at 30 feet. It always takes a lot of maneuvering back and forth to get it back in the corner with the wings spread.

I ordered 3 Mini Furniture dollies from harbor freight to make it easier this time. Pushed it back in the corner, spread one wing, spun it around and slid it sideways with the spread wing between the posts and spread the other wing. Lots easier.
http://www.harborfreight.com/movers-dolly-93888.html

That is a great idea. I can use that concept in my hanger cause it would mean less jockying around to get the plane where I want it. (And I don't have the columns to avoid).

Hi guys
Here is my version of skateboard for a Vixen. Very easy to roll on a move in any direction.
Cheers Don

Tail support here.

I trailer to the airport (2 mi) and keep the plane at home. To roll on and off the trailer into the barn I constructed the dolly shown. It stays on the trailer at the airport. Wings are unfolded/folded on the trailer due to using
a nose wheel.

Neville,
Very nice set up. I have been thinking of trailering my trigrear for some longer trips. Tell us more about the yellow dolly and how you load/unload with the winch.

The Issue with moving a nose wheel aircraft around with a tail dolly is designing the dolly so that the nose wheel is not in contact with the surface. The fact that the folded wings transfer weight to the tail greatly simplifies the design. As seen in the photo the dolly attaches to the plane
using pins in the through tubes of lower tail. The dolly has a square main vertical member with another square tube sliding inside which carries
the frame that attaches to the aircraft. It has to be capable of sliding up and down as when the wings are unfolded the weight shift puts the nose wheel on the trailer deck and the tail rises. The tubes have a locking pin
for transport. The frame work is free to swivel in order that the dolly can be rotated to steer and maneuver the aircraft. It also has a locking pin. The winch is a power in/power out with a remote wireless control. The on and off sequence is straight forward and very easily done by one person. My son is in the process of editing a video which will be posted on u-tube
at a later date. Note; the winch shown was a temporary manual type.

Neville, when you transport do you keep the nose wheel in the air or is it on the trailer deck?

the tail wheel is in the air while on the trailer. The tires on the dolly cushion
the ride for the tail, however I am considering the installation of a short shock absorber inside the vertical tubes. The trailer is a pontoon boat trailer without the bunks but with the short ladder. Cost 1600. new at the
factory in the mid west.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jerrytex

You can make one. I used a mover's dolly and built on it. Works like a charm.

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Very nice! What's the deck height you're using, from the ground to where the tail rests on the stand?

I'll have to measure when I get a chance, But I think it's 28ish inches tall.