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Shipping an Avid on a Flatbed Trailer


10 posts in this topic

Posted

Hi everyone,

 

I'm looking at an Avid that has a tow bar, which will work to get my plane 1/2 mile to the airport, but i'll need to rent or borrow a flatbed trailer to get it to my ranch. It's about 440 miles away. I've read about trailering here on the forum and know that I need to be mindful of stress on the tailwheel -- and the frame -- and since I'm not using a purpose built trailer, just a flatbed, what do I need to watch out for, and how do I do it safely? Thanks.

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Posted

My brother brought his kitfox up from OK on a car trailer, but he had it loaded down with other stuff to get some weight on the trailer so it would actually use the suspension.  He had built a stand under the tail wheel to have the wings just SLIGHTLY low on the tips and he built a vee nose on the front of the trailer to deflect the wind.  If its a double axle trailer, you can take the front set of tires off and chain the axle up so your putting all the weight on one set of springs to also help put the suspension to use.  Make sure you have the wing braces that go from the fuse at the strut attach point to the leading edge of the wing for transport.  This will keep the wing from flexing on the rear mount point.  If its only 440 miles, you may just consider flying it home too!

 

:BC:

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Posted

Ok, sounds good. I have a line on a 16 foot trailer for $35 a day, would 16 feet be long enough? will all three wheels fit on the flat bed or do I need to go longer?

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Posted

I just trailered mine 1620 miles from North Dakota to Pennsylvania. I used a 30' snowmobile trailer but i had about 12' not used. My bird did not come with wing braces so i manufactured some out of 1" angle iron. With my set up, i had to raise the tail about 18" to get the wing just slightly less than level. I used a motorcycle stand to rest the tail wheel on and then strapped it down with a 2" ratchet strap. I bought vehicle tie down straps for the main wheels which worked great with the 26" bushwheels but if i had the 600x6's on, i would have had to do something diffrent. I built some control locks for the rudder and elevator, loaded it up (tail first of course) and hit the road for the 3day trip. It pulled beautifully at 65 mph the whole way and it sure got a lot of looks and comments and the fuel stops and the quazillion toll boths in Chicago. I wish i took some pics of it loaded so you could see how it all looked but hopefully this will help.

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Posted

Be sure to tie it down by the mains and tailwheel only. Be thorough and tie the main wheels together to prevent spreading. What ever you do...do not put a strap over the fuselage to tie it down. This will be a sure way to bend it down. Seen it done twice. Think about cushions where the flaperons are against the tail and make some boards with foam to keep the rudder straight. Good luck. B

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Posted (edited)

Last post mentions boards with foam to keep rudder straight, put a set on each side of the elevator as well.  When you meet a semi on a two lane road, the wind really buffets the tail of the plane around.  Same thing happens when one passes you on the freeway going 20 MPH faster than you.  Also,  the question was asked about the footprint of the Avid.  If you figure the main wheels at 5'6" wide outside to outside, and 12'6" mains to tailwheel, you will be about a right.  Jim Chuk

Edited by Jim Chuk
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Posted

Awesome advice guys, thank you. I go and see the plane next week. I'll keep the thread posted...

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Posted

I just trailered mine from Georgia to Oklahoma, 1150 miles.  It was loaded on an 18' car trailer ( Flat Bed ). Plane was facing forward with prop loosely tied to trailer to keep from rotating. I didnt want the wind and debris going thru the back hatch area. I used heavy straps for the mains and a a cheap strap between the mains to keep the old bungees from breaking while in transit and both wheels were chocked with 2 x 4's.  Wings had the wing braces on them front and back and I also snugly strapped a ratchet from wing tie downs to the trailer to keep it from rocking side to side. I elevated the tail with a saw horse and used foam between the fuselage and wood.  I wrapped foam around the flapperons on each side of vertical Stab and taped the end of foam at each end to hold in place. I placed straps around tail wheel and strapped to trailer and straps across saw horse to the trailer. Oh make sure you seal the wing rib area if you haul it forward otherwise the wind will fill the wing full of air and you will be recovering both wings. 

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Posted

I have towed my Kitfox thousands of miles on vacation.

All the above advice is important especially using the softest sprung trailer you can.

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Posted

Thanks everyone, I think this gives me enough knowledge to do the job right.

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