Savannah Tow Bar

It’s taken a few months, a lot longer than I’d originally anticipated, but I got it working today and was very pleased with the results. Here’s my rough initial drawing of the concept, which was actually my second stab at it, the first having a simple flat crossbar with vertical holes at each end.

I then did a more detailed drawing with dimensions etc that I took to a local man to be fabricated. I specified that it should be made from 2cm square steel tube and when I picked it up, my first thought was that it would be too lightweight and be bendy in use.

After making up the crossbar to attach to the Savannah’s nose wheel for the handle to connect to I painted it in a light grey because I just happened to have a spare partially filled spray can floating around, that I brought with me more than six years ago from the UK actually, and the handle red using paint that was left over from when I repaired the Weedhopper’s pod.

Here are the shots after I fitted the crossbar and attached the handle.

My design uses two pins that fit horizontally into holes in the cross bar. I went for this arrangement because it allows for the bar to be raised and lowered naturally when in use and is solid enough to allow the bar to be used both for pulling and pushing the aircraft with total security. I also mounted the pins within a fork arrangement so that if the bar is dropped to the ground as in the pics, it doesn’t foul and damage the nose wheel spat which it would do if the handle was just a simple straight bar.

To allow the bar to be attached to and detached from the crossbar, one of the pins is fixed and the other is threaded so it can very easily be screwed into the crossbar or retracted when unscrewed.

I found today that the handle not only looks the part but also works superbly well, making it very easy to accurately manoeuvre the Savannah into and out of its hangar even though the ground is sloping and uneven. I also found that despite my fears, the 2cm square tube feels solid and is easily robust enough for the job, so taken all round, the concept is a resounding success.

But that’s not all. On the subject of ‘looking the part’, after trying the bicycle handlebar grip for size and appearance that I have left over after fitting one of the pair I bought to the Weedhooper’s stick, I’ve ordered another pair and when they’re on the Savannah’s tow bar, it’ll really be a ‘Rolls-Royce’ of a job. So if people would like to form an orderly queue, I’ll be taking orders shortly 😉