Tow Plate for IV

[Scott Martin]

Does anyone have one, or a drawing, so I can make one?

Thanks!

[J.C. Peterson]

Have you tried contacting Lancair?

[Scott Martin]

I did. They couldn't help, and suggested I ask on the forum.

If you have a drawing or photo, email or post it.

Thanks.

[Brian Thompson]

That’s concerning, I successfully ordered two of them not long ago, one on my plane now and one as a spare

[Scott Martin]

KCI is gone, and the Lancair folks in Texas don’t have anything. Where else do I go, for parts?

[Paul Miller]

I'm sure if Lancair has orders for enough tow plates, it will get done but the company is rebuilding inventory and that may not be on the high-priority list. It isn't a complex piece so perhaps it will get done if there is a way to express what we need to Lancair without phone calls and a way to see the list of parts and how many more are needed to get them in progress.

Maybe someone knows a shop that can take a working sample and build 20 while we wait.

[Brian Thompson]

KCI is gone, and the Lancair folks in Texas don’t have anything. Where else do I go, for parts?

My plates came from Texas- I spoke with Humberto, and it took a week or so for the fabricator to make them, but sure enough a pair arrived, this was in August of this year

[Chuck Walker]

I recently had to replace the tow bar plate on my Legacy. I called Humberto in Uvalde and after some research he told me that they had none in stock and the supplier who had made them in the past was no longer available. He indicated that they needed to find another supplier and would look into developing one. In the meantime, I took my old plate to a local machine shop and for $90 ($85 one hr labor + $5 material) had a new one fabricated.

I have to use a tug to push the Legacy back into the hangar due to the steep slope of the apron in front of it. The original plate was bent at a 45 deg angle, which was fine if you just used the Lancair tow bar to steer the aircraft when you moved it. Using the tug put a bending moment on the plate and one of the bolt holes pulled out. The original plate was 1/8" thick stainless with a 5/16" stainless rod welded to the front of it. I increased the thickness to 3/16" and kept it flat instead of putting the 45 deg bend in it, so the force is in sheer when the plane is pushed backward.

The assembly manual that came with the Legacy actually shows the plate as being flat. I put the aircraft on jacks and did a retraction test after installing the new plate to insure that it did not interfere with the nose gear doors. Scott, this doesn't solve your problem with the IV, but I share it for others who may be facing a similar issue.

[Scott Martin]

Thank you, Chuck.

Does anyone have a photo, or drawing they can email, or post?

[Chuck Walker]

Scott, it might be worth a call to Humberto in Uvalde to see if he can send you a dimensioned drawing of the tow bar plate, so you can have one fabricated locally.