Man Gutehoffnungshutte Aktiengesellschaft

Man Gutehoffnungshutte

Lars T Michaelsen

Wilhelm Franken

Dieter Pohe

Gerhard Weigardt

An aircraft tug without draw tongue, with a chassis divided by means of an axially parallel buckling axle. The pickup device for the nose landing gear (nose wheels 27) of an aircraft is arranged within the fork-shaped recess of the chassis, which is formed by the lifting rockers. This pickup device includes a lifting platform, a pendulum tie-bar, telescopic arms with gripping arms, a push-out tie-bar, a crossbar, longitudinal swinging arms, and a pendulum pin. The pendulum tie-bar, the lifting platform with the telescopic arms, including the push-out tie-bar and the longitudinal swinging arms, are connected to the lifting rockers of the chassis rear part via coupling members. The pendulum tie-bar has a pendular mounting, and pendular movement of the lifting platform and of the pendulum tie-bar is guaranteed in conjunction with the pivotably mounted lifting platform. Since the height-adjustable telescopic arms are pivotably linked to the lifting platform and to the pendulum tie-bar, they are able to participate in the pendular movement.

Aircraft tug without tow bar

The aircraft tractor arrangement maintains a uniform degree of reliability with which the nose wheel landing gear, which is standing on a lifting platform that is arranged on the front part and extends into a recess (26), is held down on the surface of the lifting platform which supports the nose wheel landing gear at different nose wheel diameters. Each telescoping rod (30) is hinged (40, 44, 46) to the front part (10.1) directly in the front. A connecting hydraulic cylinder (42) is provided in the rear. The hydraulic cylinder (46) for longitudinal adjustment, and also the hydraulic cylinder (36) for moving the holder (34) on the fixed part (30.1) of the telescoping rod (30) associated with it are arranged ridgedly. This arrangement allows an adjustability in height of the two rear tow arms and at the same time of the front holders, which can come into contact with the two desired zones of the wheel circumference, regardless of the nose wheel diameter. The distance between the arms and the holders is adjustable.

Aircraft tractor without tow-bar with adjustable tow arms

The present invention pertains to an aircraft tractor without tow-bar. The arrangement avoids relative movement between the nose wheel of the aircraft and the tractor lifting platform by making the lifting platform (24) rotatable around a longitudinal axis (30) of the chassis, which axis is horizontal when the chassis is extended, and by making displaceable the transverse tow arms (38) and/or the holders (42) at right angles to this longitudinal axis (30). The tires of an oblique nose wheel landing gear of an aircraft being towed in a curve are handled very gently, because the tractor parts (24, 38, and 42) that are in contact with the nose wheel landing gear are able to follow the movements of the nose wheel landing gear and to adjust to its instantaneous position.

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Herdecke, Germany

Lars T Michaelsen