Tow Bar Bracket

[Chris Zavatson]

Some planes are missing the Lancair supplied Tow Bar bracket.
These are drilled for the ¼” holes in the 235/320/360 flanges. -can be drilled out of the Legacy.
$75 ea.

[Rock Barchfeld]

Hey Chris, (or anybody else),

Do you have any idea why the tow pins on Lancairs are sized the way they are? The tow pins are larger then the universal tow bars used at many FBOs requiring adaptors for or modifications to the tow bars. Additionally the tow pins on many aircraft, Bonanza & Barons come to mind, act as shear pins to protect the nose gear against exceeding their turn limits. The “shoulders” of the pins shear off with excessive force.





Some Bonanza owners carried an extra as the pin could easily be changed on the ramp with hand tools. The OEM part was pricey, but aftermarket parts were about $50 back in the day. I always thought this was a cool piece of engineering. Anyone know why something like this was never incorporated onto the Lancair nose gear? Probably economics, or not practical, just curious if anyone has insight.

Rock

[SHANE O'DAY]

It could have been a design attitude, stronger = better, which isn't always the case. Its nice that the Beech ones won't stress anything but I will say it stinks when you break one off trying to hop a door track.

[Chris Zavatson]

Hey Chris, (or anybody else),

Do you have any idea why the tow pins on Lancairs are sized the way they are? The tow pins are larger then the universal tow bars used at many FBOs requiring adaptors for or modifications to the tow bars. Additionally the tow pins on many aircraft, Bonanza & Barons come to mind, act as shear pins to protect the nose gear against exceeding their turn limits. The “shoulders” of the pins shear off with excessive force.

Some Bonanza owners carried an extra as the pin could easily be changed on the ramp with hand tools. The OEM part was pricey, but aftermarket parts were about $50 back in the day. I always thought this was a cool piece of engineering. Anyone know why something like this was never incorporated onto the Lancair nose gear? Probably economics, or not practical, just curious if anyone has insight.

Rock

I don't recall this concern or consideration coming up at Lancair. A torque limiter could be implemented via a long roll pin connecting the welded portion of the rod and the outer portion that grabs the tow bar. Removing the broke roll pin wouldn't be too difficult with some machined in access and a few hand tools. My first concern would be nuisance failures.

[Rock Barchfeld]

Beech must have gotten it pretty close, I’ve flown Bonanzas, Barons and King Airs for decades and never broken one. As an FBO owner I’ve seen maybe a half dozen over the same period. I don’t know if that’s good engineering, trial and error or perhaps good luck.

Rock

[Chris Zavatson]

Frangible pins are probably more of a concern if one typically uses a tug. Less of a concern for two-seaters. Are the four-place models damaging struts from towing and exceeding turn limits?


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