Home Made Electric Tail Wheel Tow Bar

[Dave Baxter]

Well for most of January welded on my friend Steve's Starduster Too, landing gear attach points bungee arm bumpers, and structure for sheet metal and gear doors, also Cessna rudder pedals rudder tail light bracket trim tab and lengthening the engine mount to 26". just a few 15 minute jobs, as we all know.

However back in December due to being an old guy and getting my Starduster Too out of my hanger that is up hill, I had been contemplating making/ building a tail wheel tail dragger. I have been able to push my airplane out of the hanger for yrs by myself. But the last several yrs it seems that its more up hill than in the past.

So I looked at several that were for sale, and decided to make one based on pictures of this yellow one to get some idea. I did not have any drawings and just guessed with the angles and arm. I used a transmission and the basic tube frame from an old rototiller. The wheels and a cordless two speed electric drill both from harbor freight, by cutting hacking and bending with a torch to what I thought was about the right angle and adding some tube bracing, and a mounting bracket most of the stuff is from my stash of tube and angle, some is 4130 and some is mild steel 1/8" angle. That and using the Scott tail wheel for the correct dimensions, and a bit of trail and a lot of error. Wa-La... The unit needs to be a little longer for more leverage, and changed the original fulcrum point, but all in all it works.

Not saying this is for every one, but spending less that $50 bucks along with some creative assembly of mostly junk it seems to have done the trick. Probably should have just bought one.

 

[barchiola]

 

[Dustohio]

 

[planebuilder]

 

[barchiola]

 

[planebuilder]

 

[StinsonPilot]

 

[Larry Lyons]

 

[Ralsmark]

 

[StinsonPilot]

 

[Bigdog]