RV-12 Trailer Question

I have the hope that when my 12 is done in a year or two, I will be able to take it to and from the airport as I fly. Maybe tie it down occasionally at the airport when the weather is really good. It would seem at this point that with the exception of a couple of guys in Australia, no one is trailering their 12 to and from the airport much.

So, what I am looking for is (new) info on what others are doing. Is anyone towing their 12 to and from the airport much? If not then it's probably not a good idea and I'll have to find 'plan B' such as finding someone who will share part of a hanger with me. Thanks for responding.

Although I have a hangar, I intend to trailer mine some. Do a search of the archives and you will find only one I think, I Harbor Freight trailer adapted for RV12 use. I have that part all engineered, but am now working on some wing racks to be able to haul it all at once. One company makes a rack that folds down for easy insertion.
If anyone has done this with success, let usknow.

I can tell you from experience as an EAA technical counselor since the early 1980s in a very active home builder area, that many people have built airplanes with removable or folding wings for the purpose of transporting to and from the airport on a regular basis.
Almost ALL of these people give up on that idea after just a few months. It's just not worth it. Problems include; 1)Damage to the airplane on the road. 2)Every time you reassemble the airplane, you are putting wear on the attach points. 3)Every time you assemble the airplane, you have the possibility of missing a "safety" somewhere. 4)If you are flying with someone else, you have to get to the airport at least 1/2 hour before everybody else. And the list goes on.

EXAMPLE: Mark Brown, designer of the Pulsar, offered to fly a customer built airplane to help find a vibration problem. At Sun-N-Fun the guy flew the airplane in the race in the morning. That afternoon Mark took the plane up to find the vibration problem. A few minutes after take-off he experienced his first parachute jump. The horizontal tail departed the airplane because of flutter. Final analysis showed that the stabilizer spar failed because of stress that had been caused by trailering the airplane with the wings laying on the horizontal stabilizer. I know you will say, "I don't intend to lay my wings on the stabilizer." Maybe not, but what other things might you be doing that could cause a failure. Until it happens, it's unknown.

People use the fact that sailplane pilots do it all the time. Soaring is a totally different type of flying. Sailplane pilots don't typically go somewhere for the $100 hamburger. They go to the airport early in the morning and plan to fly all day with one tow.
If you think you are different, then go right ahead. Maybe you are. But first, go out and see how many people are doing this and have been doing it for some time.

I agree with Mel,
I purchased a four place snowmobile trailer to transport my 12. It fits perfect, but gee, I never use it. I like to know it flys well the way it is and why mess with a good thing by pulling the wings on and off.

Hi John,

Sounds like a good trailer solution.

I think one of the best reasons to have a trailer around (could be shared by several RV-12 owners) is to go and collect the aircraft if it develops a mechanical issue at another airport to the point that it may not be safe to fly home, instead of having to help the local FBO fix it at a high cost you just load it on the trailer and bring it home and fix it yourself or with the help of friends, this way you save a lot of money by not having to pay the FBO for a A&P who may have little or no knowledge about Rotax engines or RV-12's. This would be especially true if the aircraft suffered some damage as you built it you can fix it.

Here at Spruce Creek we are continuing to look for a two axel boat trailer to use as the frame for a joint ownership trailer.

Best regards,
Vern

johns4689 said:

I agree with Mel,
I purchased a four place snowmobile trailer to transport my 12. It fits perfect, but gee, I never use it. I like to know it flys well the way it is and why mess with a good thing by pulling the wings on and off.

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I bought the 12 thinking I might want to trailer it. In the year and a half it has been flying, the wings have only been off twice. It is just to much of a hassle. If you had no other option, that is one thing. It's like a sail boat. Do you want to untie the dock lines and go, or do you want to hook it to your truck, tow it to the harbor, put the mast up, then launch it. You get to the point that it's not worth it for a short sail.

I will have to move it from my house to the airport. Then there will be a move from the airport to the paint shop, then back home again.
That plus the occasional trip back home to upgrade or change things, since home is far more convenient for working on it if needed. For the low cost to have the trailer, that can also be used as a utility trailer if needed, it just seems like a good idea. t don't have to be as big as this one that moved a lockheed electra from the hangar next door last week.
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RV 12 Trailer

The Twister Aircraft company has a Sweet trailer and a one person handling fixture for removing the wings and moving the disassembled aircraft
http://silence-aircraft.de/en/aircraft/trailer/ There is a video also in some of the demo links

Trailering RV-12

Yes, Mel makes some excellent points - BUT - with mostly Waiting Lists for hangar space, the question boils down to Trailer vs Tie-Down. Neither are desirable IMHO, but I'd rather have my airplane home in the garage than out in the rain and wind at the airport. Even if I just tied down for the summer, I'd still have to bring it home for the winter.

I plan to post notices at a few airports to see if someone with hangar space would let me sub-let some square footage for an RV-12, assuming it could be scrunched in. BUT, this assumption presupposes that it could be tucked away with the wings off - meaning wing removal/installation - however undesirable - every time you fly, even if you are not trailering.

Another alternative is on-airport storage in an enclosed trailer. A friend of mine does just that - his is the yellow Aerotrek seen here:

http://www.fly-aerotrek.com/trailers.htm

This question of finding a suitable home for my proposed new airplane has become a show-stopper for me. Sort of like buying a boat without moorage.

Bob Bogash

Hi Bob,

An open trailer is a very good idea in most cases to be able to bring your aircraft home to work on when it needs it and for off season storage.

You have discovered the better idea of getting space in someones hangar, you will need a space that is about 10 x 20 to park it with the wings on a wing stand. T-hangars generally come in two sizes 45 feet wide for twins and 40 feet wide for singles. If you can find a 45 foot hangar with a single or smaller twin Then there is plenty of room to allow your RV-12 fuselage next to one side wall and your wing rack behind the other wing of the regular aircraft. It will take a few minutes to move the regular aircraft forward so that you can remove both your fuselage and your wing rack and replace the regular aircraft in the hangar and about 3 minutes to install your wings so that you can go flying and about the same on the return. The time is not new or wasted as you should do a good walk around in any case and installing the wings is a good part of the inspection you would do. To do it in this time you will need the assistance of one other person and I have found that this is not that hard to find at most fun airports and young line service people are very responsive to a $ 5 tip. In the long haul it would be great to find three RV-12's and you all share a hangar and you could often help each other with the wings. It is very possible to make a tool to permit one person wing attachment and it takes a few minutes more to use one (time to attach the tool and remove it from each wing and more walking back and forth for small adjustments until the wing pins are in place.

Best regards,
Vern

NASA515 said:

Yes, Mel makes some excellent points - BUT - with mostly Waiting Lists for hangar space, the question boils down to Trailer vs Tie-Down. Neither are desirable IMHO, but I'd rather have my airplane home in the garage than out in the rain and wind at the airport. Even if I just tied down for the summer, I'd still have to bring it home for the winter.

I plan to post notices at a few airports to see if someone with hangar space would let me sub-let some square footage for an RV-12, assuming it could be scrunched in. BUT, this assumption presupposes that it could be tucked away with the wings off - meaning wing removal/installation - however undesirable - every time you fly, even if you are not trailering.

Another alternative is on-airport storage in an enclosed trailer. A friend of mine does just that - his is the yellow Aerotrek seen here:

http://www.fly-aerotrek.com/trailers.htm

This question of finding a suitable home for my proposed new airplane has become a show-stopper for me. Sort of like buying a boat without moorage.

Bob Bogash

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