Shipping an airplane

[rejd]

Has anyone shipped an airplane before? I need to find out how to get a plane from Sault Ste. Marie to Calgary. the plane is not airworthy so I cannot fly it out. It already has the wings off and is on wheels. Would shipping it by train be the most cost effective? I tried to search the forum for previous posts on this but could not find anything. Any help would be appriciated.

Thanks,

Rej

[Cat Driver]

Is it small enough to put on a trailer?

If so rent one and drive it out if you have the time.

[Hedley]

I might suggest a largish pickup truck (eg F250, F350 is better) that can handle a bit of tongue load, and a longish trailer.

That's how I'd do it, anyways.

[rejd]

The plane is a Maule M4-220c. It also has floats that would need to come with it. I have thought about driving out to get it but the cost of fueld alone would be killer, not to mention 2-3 days of driving.

[Almost_there]

meh pay me for the fuel ill drive it for ya

[niss]

the plane is not airworthy so I cannot fly it out.

I dont recall the Write brothers getting government approval of what is airworthy and what isnt for kittyhawk.

[rejd]

I dont recall the Write brothers getting government approval of what is airworthy and what isnt for kittyhawk.

Let me be more specific. the plane hasn't flown in about 5 years and has no wings attached. There are some holes in the fabric as well. I wouldn't want to fly it until I have it fully inspected. I was hoping to get it home and do a full rebuild on it.

[niss]

This guy will fly it for you.....he can land anything with wings and almost anything with out

[Kilo-Kilo]

Train is good, but you will have to sort out trucks at both ends anyway. If you can get it inside an Intermodal container you would have more options - train, truck or both.

[Bede]

You may need to consider this: an aircraft is not designed for the constant fatigue stress associated with roads (Canadian roads especially). I would definately remove the engine and any heavier parts that can be removed. I heard of a guy who shipped a real nice airplane, opened the crate and found the engine mounts had failed and his engine (with ripped up cowling) was sitting nicely on the ground.

As for price, I'd go with a uhaul, but getting a uhaul to Calgary is pricy.

[rejd]

I never thought about that Bede. Good suggestion. Seeing that the plane will be fully dissasembled anyway, it would not be any extra work. I also tried to get a quote from a company called Searail but they will not ship aircraft.

Thanks,

Rej

[abc xyz]

http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/Customer ... efault.htm

give cp an email

[cyyz]

KK is correct, you'll still need to Cart/truck it to the train for drop off and pick it up, might be cheaper to have the truck drive it over(straight to calgary)....???

[Turkey]

I once saw the results of a 172 shipped by a freight company in a truck. Wasn't pretty. The wings had been placed on their leading edges. They arrived with mashed leading edges, I mean, COMPLETELY destroyed. Also, something had rubbed against the wings during transit, and the upper and lower surfaces were also destroyed. Two completely destroyed aliminum wings. There was also fuselage damage, if I recall. I don't know how you would ensure that the pieces were packaged correctly.

[Kilo-Kilo]

Maybe you could contact one of the museums and see what they recommend. Just remember you will need to buy a lot of dunnage if you want to support or crate pieces of it properly.

[tired of the ground]

Trucking it yourself is almost your only option. Any trucking company isn't going to insure it because it is not new goods. Rail is quite expensive especially considering 2 x trucks + train ride.

Rent a U-Haul (see what 182driver has to say about that) and move the thing yourself. You should be able to get the fuselage into the back of the big truck and the wings on a trailer.

$3000ish is probably what you should budget.

[Almost_there]

Well i only heared good things about these guys....Premiere Van lines or Atlas lines which is associated...I dont know how expensive they are but they so ship their items with care.

[mikegtzg]

I've done it 3 times. The first time I built a crate for the fuselage and shipped the wings in fabric hoop wooden stands. Unfortunately it's very hard to build the crate. And it's also difficult to load it onto the truck.
The best way is with a single or tandem axle car hauler size trailer or longer. Make a special rack to hold the mains. They are likely wider than the trailer. If it's a taildragger...make a vertical support cantilevered from the trailer to hold the aircraft ina fairly level attitude and mount the spring to the support. (taildragger gear is usually longer than the trailer) And this also will leave the space below the fuselage open.
The wings can than be wrapped in bubble pack. Rolls of this are relatively inexpensive. They can usually be stacked flat (after they are wrapped for protection) and placed on the trailer between the mains.
The important thing is too tie the aircraft down at the wheels very tight so the suspension of the a/c works. A good trick is to deflate a tire a bit. Strap it down with a quality ratchet strap and then inflate the tire a bit.
You are welcome to PM me for more specific details.

[niss]

why not make a form for the wings out of wood to protect them, and ship it all on a flat bed covered in a tarp? probably cheaper, it isnt a big deal if its a little exposed to the elements is it? I would think the tarp would do a decent enough job of covering a fuselage et all no?

[Expat]

Do not forget to disassemble the tail. I know that the one on a C-172 is more than the 8 foot maximum width.

[rotorfloat]

There is a company called Calgary Gooseneck that specializes in aircraft ground transportation.

http://www.calgarygooseneck.com/

[Clothesliner]

Maybe try talking to someone at an aviation museum (there's the big one here in Ottawa...), or Exhibit Transportation Services at CCI (the Canadian Conservation Institute). Their methods could be overkill, but they would be experts in protecting sensitive things to be shipped.

[Hedley]

I like the idea of deflating the tires a bit, strapping them down with comealong straps, then re-inflating them ... plus wrapping the wings in bubble wrap is so much simpler than building a structure to hold them.

FWIW a while ago I was talking to the Pitts factory, and they said that to put a Pitts in a shipping container, it was best to remove the wheels entirely, and clamp the axles in wooden blocks. Probably overkill for you, but I thought I'd pass it on.

[Norskman]

If you are hauling it on a trailor with the airplane upright, remember to factor in cross wind components, so that your trailer does not go fishtailing in a wind

[rejd]

There is a company called Calgary Gooseneck that specializes in aircraft ground transportation.

http://www.calgarygooseneck.com/

I just got off the phone with them and even to pick up on the way back from dropping off and aircraft in Ontario they want about $5k. He said it was mostly because of the insurance.