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Transport Equipment and Method:
When Wind N Wings decided to acquire all 3 Twin Beech’s instead of just one, the need was apparent for some method of over the road transport for the aircraft.
We had initially intended to make a single aircraft ferriable and fly it home.
(That’s how nice they are.) We estimated it would have taken approximately 3 man-weeks (3 guys, one week) to get any one of the planes ferriable. However as we only had weekends to work and a finite amount of time to get the aircraft off the airport, it would have taken too much time to go through the controls, cables, surfaces, etc. to make all of them ferriable.
Transport of aircraft projects is critical as this aspect can cause as much or more damage to the airframe than anything else. This only increases the amount of work, most of it needless, which must be accomplished
during the restoration.
We elected to dismantle the wings, engines and props and transport the wing panels, control surfaces and other assorted components in rented 24’ box trucks. The engines and props were hauled at one time on our “Bobcat” trailer. With proper planning and lots of padding, we are happy to say, we incurred no ancillary damage to any of these components in the transportation of them from Lake Charles, LA to Atlanta, GA.
We had decided at the onset that we wanted to transport the fuselages in one piece and did not want to take them apart aft of the cabin door in order that they fit on a standard trailer. The planes were just too
nice. There are a number of “For Hire” airplane haulers that are equipped to transport aircraft as large as a Twin Beech.
Wind N Wings was originally offered the use of a Twin Beech Transport Frame from some folks in Texas. Unfortunately, at the 11th hour and 59th minute, they reneged on their offer. They did however offer to transport
all three airplanes for us at their standard price. We respectfully declined.
With the help of our project team at Southland Aviation, www.southlandaviation.com, and some creative thinking from the Wind N Wings crew, we came up
with a design for a Transport Jig that would attach to our 16’ “Bobcat” trailer. John Nichols of Southwind Aviation (a Lockheed design engineer) www.southwind-aviation.com, took our preliminary CAD drawing (Napkins) and converted our concept to a working design model in short order. Calculations on weight & balance were performed and confirmed and material acquisition commenced. See Blue Print
Lance McAfee of Southland Aviation, www.southlandaviation.com, supervised the project while Ed Kobs, Steve Hill and Bill Johnson did much of the “Frame”
fabrication. Jason Douglas and Casey Hill did most of the work on the engine mount adaptors and thankfully all components have performed as desired.
The unit consists of two major components and some smaller ancillary parts as well. The main parts are the Goal Posts or mounting frame (See mounting frame pictures 1 and 2) and the engine mount adaptors (See engine mount pictures 1, 2, 3, and 4). The Goal Posts were made of 4” tubular steel and constructed such that we had an approximate angle of 48 degrees with an overall height of 12’, 6” and width of 14’, 4”.
(Having to do over again, we would have made the finished width slightly less than 14’ for road permit purposes.) The engine mount adaptors were made of 3/8” plate steel, 4” Steel Tubing, 1,½” mild steel bar and ¼”
steel plate. The 3/8”
plate was the base material for the backing plate & reinforcements. The 4” steel tubing (1” ID) became the spindles and the mild steel bar and ¼” plate became the actual engine mounts. 4” steel tubing served as the mounting cradles.
Other items manufactured were a “Jack Point” (See jackpoint pictures 1 and 2) that attached to the wing root and is placed on a substantial
stationary jack and an articulated ‘spondivot’ (See spondivot pictures 1 and 2) that is attached to the tail wheel fork via a standard engine
hoist. All components were designed and created by Wind N Wings and associated personnel.
A standard, large aircraft, aviation hydraulic jack and two standard engine hoists were the other components in this process. (See loading pictures 1 and 2)
Essentially, with this equipment and one forklift with at least a 12’ lift, two people can load a Twin Beech and be ready to go in less than four hours. (See picture)
The method is as follows:
Attach the two engine mount adaptors to the firewall engine mounts with appropriate bolts. Attach a length of chain to the engine mount adaptors for subsequent lifting.
Attach the jack point to the right wing root and position the large hydraulic jack in the jack point. Use one of the engine hoists to lift the tail with a load strap so you can attach the other engine hoist with the
spondivot to the tail wheel yoke. (Tail wheel tire must be removed) Use the spondivot hoist to lift the tail such that the airplane is in a flight level position.
Bring the other engine hoist to the right engine mount.
Attach the left engine mount adaptor to the forks with the chain. Elevate the aircraft, slowly, until the wheels are clear of the ground by approx. 6” or better. Remove the Main tires. (This is for
CG and tongue weight reasons, and makes gear retraction much easier) Be certain to leave the brake off the forklift and monitor the Jack as you lift the left engine approximately 8-10 feet off the ground. Check all
three points for stability.
Position the trailer with the truck such that the lower side of the Goal Post is slightly outboard of the spindle and approximately 6” in front of the spindles. This is necessary, as the position will change relative
the trailer when you begin to lower the spindle to the lower Goal Post cradle. Set the brake on the forklift.
Have some brave sole get in the plane and “Crank” the gear up. It will help if someone pushes on the main gear legs as this occurs. Remember, you must disengage the gear clutch when cranking the gear one way or the
other.
Special note: if you have a retractable tail wheel, do not fully retract the gear until you have the empennage supported in the rear cradle and the engine hoist and spondivot removed. (Ask us how we know!)
Attach the second engine hoist to the right engine mount adaptor, take a strain and remove the hydraulic jack from the jack point. Lower the right side until the spindle rests near the lower cradle. Use the
forklift to raise the left side such that the spindle is higher than the Goal Post cradle.
Use the tail wheel hoist to level the engine mount adaptors. Be careful, you have about 2500lbs precariously perched right now.
When you have the plane properly positioned, back the trailer the rest of the way under the adaptors. (Remember your geometry.)
Continue to lower the right side until the spindle rests in the cradle. Attach the cradle clamp loosely to the lower side. Once this done, lower the left side with the forklift until this spindle rests in the
high cradle. Some pushing and shoving of the engine hoists and movement of the forklift may be necessary for minute and final adjustments. Be really careful now.
Shim the empennage cradle appropriately, strap it down, tighten everything up and there you have it. All that is left is to rig your lights, flags and other road requirements.
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