How to handle a Cub/Super Cub on the ground?

[BC12D-4-85]

"she wouldn't make the inch climb to the asphalt from the loose got bogged down" Stop and never force anything. Pull/push the plane back some. Pile dirt next to the higher asphalt. Compact a small ramp and the dirt in front of the tires to allow gradual climb up on the paved area. Trying to lift the front of the plane up an inch with power is why we use 2x4 wheel chocks to keep them from wandering about in wind. Yes I've tried that jump up move before.

Gary

 

[DJ]

I've got 35s stuck in a ditch. One wheel up at a time was the ticket. Takes a lot less power.

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[stewartb]

Fly skis. You learn how to get un-stuck!

Dig out behind one wheel and push the tail the opposite way. When on top block the front of that wheel, dig a bit behind the other, and push the tail the other way. Use leverage. Pushing the side of the tail is the answer.

 

[md11freighter]

Imagine how screwed you would have been in that 180 you were talking about. Trying to move one of those around on asphalt is hard enough!

 

[Steve Pierce]

Imagine how screwed you would have been in that 180 you were talking about. Trying to move one of those around on asphalt is hard enough!

Had 2 180s come out and play on the gravel bars, one on small tires and one on Bushwheels. Was not fun. Our bars are good for Cub type airplanes and not Cessna 180 friendly.

 

[Cardiff Kook]

I approve of using struts at the wing fitting. I approve of pulling on the prop close to the crank (but be careful - these things can start when you least expect it). I am with Steve on the rope to the tailwheel.

Wing fitting= on wing
Fuselage fitting is the other connection point?

Why not push down low on strut near fuselage? Isnt it just a limit torque thing?

Can you push on a prop or only pull?

How does one use a rope on the tailwheel?

Thanks.

 

[Cardiff Kook]

Imagine how screwed you would have been in that 180 you were talking about.

Thats the truth.

 

[Steve Pierce]

Tie the rope around the tailspring.

 

[stewartb]

Getting stuck is the result of….
Bad piloting
Bad judgement
Inappropriate equipment

Experience teaches us not to repeat what got us stuck. Learning how to get unstuck isn’t a skill you want to master.

If you want to be prepared? Add a Pack Mule and a couple of hundred feet of 3/16” Blue Steel synthetic rope. I fly a Skywagon on skis. Appropriate equipment helps when my judgement fails me. . http://www.deuer.com/index.php/pack-mule

 

[bob turner]

Why not push down low on strut near fuselage? Isn't it just a limit torque thing?

The reason you push a strut close to its attachment is that the strut is only good for tension, and will bend if you put radial force on it elsewhere. Sure, push at the fuselage if you want. Probably won't move anything.

 

[frequent_flyer]

Why not push down low on strut near fuselage? Isn't it just a limit torque thing?

The reason you push a strut close to its attachment is that the strut is only good for tension, and will bend if you put radial force on it elsewhere. Sure, push at the fuselage if you want. Probably won't move anything.

CubCrafters approves moving their aircraft using front lift struts but prohibits use of the tail braces.

If my front lift struts can't handle the fore or aft bending force my feeble old body can exert I don't want to be flying it. Next someone will tell me the jury struts are there to prevent the lift struts bending under their own weight.

Are CubCrafters' lift struts stronger than Piper's?

 

[skywagon8a]

CubCrafters approves moving their aircraft using front lift struts but prohibits use of the tail braces.

If my front lift struts can't handle the fore or aft bending force my feeble old body can exert I don't want to be flying it. Next someone will tell me the jury struts are there to prevent the lift struts bending under their own weight.

Are CubCrafters' lift struts stronger than Piper's?

I have no idea how your struts are made. However, If you were to look at most any strut braced high wing airplane of the 40s and 50s vintage, it is very likely both front and rear struts are bent forward from being pushed over the years. This doesn't seem to effect their tensile strength. There have been failures, primarily with the end fittings, not with the strut braking. Internal rusting is a separate issue. There is an old AD note for placing a "No Step" placard on each strut.

 

[bob turner]

The jury struts are in fact there to keep the lift struts from buckling under compressive loads.

Moving the aircraft with the front struts at the wing attach is ok.

I have always wondered why an aircraft cannot be pulled or pushed by the prop hub. My guess is that it started because folks don't know the difference between blade hub and tip. That mentality is common - witness the recent expungement of taxiways India, to keep us from confusing them with Runway One.

 

[frequent_flyer]

I have always wondered why an aircraft cannot be pulled or pushed by the prop hub. My guess is that it started because folks don't know the difference between blade hub and tip.

Perhaps it all comes down to exercising a modicum of common sense. I do not believe that one person pulling or pushing the front lift strut can hurt anything. I have no doubt that 5-6 people pushing on the aft lift struts could cause damage. (Yes, I have seen this when "help" descended on an aircraft that needed maybe one other person's help)

Same with pulling or pushing the prop. If my prop can't stand my pulling or pushing at the blade root I don't want to fly the aircraft. The forces I'm capable of exerting are tiny compared to the flight loads.

 

[Gordon Misch]

Gotta hand it to "the Kook"; he has plenty of common sense, demonstrated by willingness to ask when he's unsure.

 

[Cardiff Kook]

Gotta hand it to "the Kook"; he has plenty of common sense, demonstrated by willingness to ask when he's unsure.

Ha. Im a question asker. No doubt about that!

This forum is like having 1000 mentors! Very grateful for it. Honestly- I dont know if I could have a bought a cub without this group. I am on a very small field- not like my old field w 500+ aircraft based there.

 

[Busdriver]

I expect since 1940 pilots, mechanics and ground crews have pushed and pulled cubs in every possible configuration. If it’s not bending when I push on it then I expect it’ll work. But then I don’t push OPP’s much without a tow bar or tug.

That said, the fuselage handle has gotten too low for comfort as I’ve gotten older. My next build will have a 180-style retractable grab handle.


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[aflyer]

I use the tail handle to point the airplane in the direction I want to go, then push fore or aft. Pushing the plane backwards, I push on the prop roots. Pushing forward, I push on the door frame, by leaning over the struts. This works well because door frames are always strong (on most any airplane) and there is not much turning moment. I can steer a little by pushing on the rear of the door frame with my hip as I push forward.

 

[stewartb]

How do you connect a 4-wheeler or snowmachine? How hard do you tug on it? That’s a real-world question. When you bury your Polaris Ranger spinning the tires because the plane won’t budge? The first instinct is to get a head start with the Ranger on the next pull. If your plane spent the night in overflow and you take a chainsaw to cut it out of the ice? How hard to tug with the wide track takes some experience. Be careful out there.

 

[Tennessee]

Here's what NOT to get for moving your plane.
https://www.tailwheeltransporter.com/index.html
It's extremely low quality and dangerous. It will frequently detach from the wheel when you are pulling your hardest, making you fall on your butt hard with no ability to break your fall when you land, because your hands are still gripping the handle when it happens. The whole thing is rickety and poorly designed. One of its parts on the handle stripped after the first month of the use and the response on the phone from the manufacturer was basically "That's YOUR problem, not ours."

 

[12Geezer2]

My first instructor had a light 150-Super Cub-(no electrics) 1952 model. He did LOTS of solo on skis. When he recovered, he formed a nice light wooden handle that was attached to the wing tip at the front spar. When the fabric was formed through the handle it was hardly noticeable.The mechanical advantage was the key---but common sense certainly was needed--- worked very well. Probably NOT LEGAL.:roll:

 

[frequent_flyer]

The mechanical advantage was the key---but common sense certainly was needed--- worked very well.

The distance between the spar tip and the nearest wheel is not much greater than the distance between the tail handle and the nearest wheel. They both have a similar mechanical advantage.

Why would pulling at the wing tip be better than pulling on the tail handle?

 

[stewartb]

Ask the guy holding the wing while his buddy applies power to turn the plane. It’d be WAY more comfortable at the tip than at the strut in the prop wash! A hurricane tie-down and a short rope works well, too.

 

[Vortex Generator]

How do you connect a 4-wheeler or snowmachine? How hard do you tug on it? That’s a real-world question. When you bury your Polaris Ranger spinning the tires because the plane won’t budge? The first instinct is to get a head start with the Ranger on the next pull. If your plane spent the night in overflow and you take a chainsaw to cut it out of the ice? How hard to tug with the wide track takes some experience. Be careful out there.

You tie to the skis, not the plane.

 

[stewartb]

How? I pull on gear legs. Low if the situation is easy, high if more force is required. I like swapping ideas and back-stories so I’m genuinely interested. Most of my stuck experience is with my 180. If the gear leg is going to move forward from the pull, I pull high.