Moving a Sonex Tri gear

[Rakan]

i appreciate your feedback guys,
regarding the best way to get a Sonex Tri gear fuselage in a moving truck ( 26 foot U-Haul)... I know the The tail tips are 96" ( from tip to tip) but the truck door opening is only 93 inches..
I really do not want to saw off the tips .. unless I have to..

Thanks in advance,
Rakan

[Blank]

Rakan,

I moved a legacy Sonex with a U-haul. The tail just fit. I ordered and built a new tail kit within the last year and it measures 90.5" with tips. Sonex says tail with tips is 92". YMMV.

Craig

[Rakan]

Thank Craig for the reply....I will keep you guys posted ..

[karmarepair]

I just moved my legacy Sonex tri-gear, and the tail did not come CLOSE to fitting in the current version of the U-Haul 26 ft. The clear opening was about 87". Ryder, Penske trucks are truly 8 ft wide through the door sills. NEXT time I'll do it with an open trailer with a ramp if U-Haul is my only rental option. We used 2 16 ft 2 x 12s as ramps. The wing stand went in first, then we manhandled the wings up into the stands, then the fuselage, with the mains "chocked" against the wheel wells, and the tail sticking out the back. It was a 3-4 man job. and took the better part of 6 hours, including an hour transit. We improvised a rolling door lock with c-clamps, but it failed, and the door banged down and dented the T-deck. Luckily the aft lower fuselage skin is not on yet, so the repair should be only Semi-Tough.

I hated the process. I was not as prepared as I thought I was. You need at least a half dozen ratchet straps, and about 500 ft of 3/8" DACRON rope. Some wheel chocks. And hopefully someone who has done it before.

I'm seriously thinking about FLYING the airplane out of the slightly sketchy airport it's currently hangared (CA33) at rather than transporting it back to my favored Phase I base (KCCR).

[avee8r]

I'm seriously thinking about FLYING the airplane out of the slightly sketchy airport it's currently hangared (CA33) at rather than transporting it back to my favored Phase I base (KCCR).

As an EAA Flight Advisor - Sonex Builder - and concerned fellow aviator, please step back and take a good "Sonex Reality Check" about the above statement.

I Highly Recommend taking the time and effort to make your first flight(s) from KCCR. If you've put enough thought into knowing that KCCR is the right place for your test flight, then the right thing to do is make your first flight(s) out of KCCR. You won't be sorry, I promise!

I was in the exact same position when I finished my Sonex in 2012. I took the time and trouble to disassemble, move, and reassemble the finished plane only 6 miles. It can be done safely. I was rewarded with a first flight that had a hiccup that was easily handled instead of one that in hindsight, might have had a totally different outcome.

Happy Landings
John
N50NX

[fastrichard]

I second the advice to not make a first flight from a runway you are not completely comfortable with. You want to have survivable alternate landing areas in case things go badly.

As far as fitting the tail through a door, the Sonex website lists a tail width of 92" with tips. I would advise personally measuring both your tail and the truck door before committing to the rental.

My only airplane moving experience is moving a partially disassembled Aeronca Chief with a pickup truck and a flatbed utility trailer. This weekend I will get some more experience, as I will be driving twelve hundred miles round trip to pick up a partially completed Sonex project.

[karmarepair]

I'm seriously thinking about FLYING the airplane out of the slightly sketchy airport it's currently hangared (CA33) at rather than transporting it back to my favored Phase I base (KCCR).

As an EAA Flight Advisor - Sonex Builder - and concerned fellow aviator, please step back and take a good "Sonex Reality Check" about the above statement.

I Highly Recommend taking the time and effort to make your first flight(s) from KCCR. If you've put enough thought into knowing that KCCR is the right place for your test flight, then the right thing to do is make your first flight(s) out of KCCR. You won't be sorry, I promise!

I was in the exact same position when I finished my Sonex in 2012. I took the time and trouble to disassemble, move, and reassemble the finished plane only 6 miles. It can be done safely. I was rewarded with a first flight that had a hiccup that was easily handled instead of one that in hindsight, might have had a totally different outcome.

Happy Landings
John
N50NX

I appreciate the concern!

I've already made the decision I WILL NOT be making the first flight in ANY event, for reasons of insurance, lack of total time, lack of RECENT total time, lack of time in TYPE, etc. If the very qualified CFI that WILL be doing the first flight doesn't like the options out of CA35 (not CA33...I miswrote), it's not going to happen THERE. KCCR is closer to the operating area I'll be assigned, has MULTIPLE runways, a tower, a fire department, I have chapter mates all over the field with tools and expertise, etc; no doubt it's the BETTER place, and once I'm in the plane, that's where Phase 1 WILL happen.

When I get the bump in the T-deck fixed, the ignition sorted, the engine the way I want it to be, maybe I'll be OVER my peeve at what a PITA this was.

In retrospect, the bump could have been prevented, BTW, with a 2 x 4 clamped to the door track on each side, but I THOUGHT the arrangement we rigged was good enough, and I was running out of daylight. It was a classic accident scenario enfolding, but only the airplane got hurt, and only a little bit at that.

Oh, and when we got to CA35, there was an overhead "fence" at the drive thru gate that hadn't been there 3 days before, and we couldn't drive the truck to the hangar! And had to push the fuselage and the wing rack about 1/4 mile! Luckily one of the PC12s based at the field pulled up while we were unloading and loaned us their tug....

[DCASonex]

Thank you for correcting CA33 to CA35. was really getting worried that someone might try to takeoff from a medical heliport. :-)

David A.