Towing equipment

[BCTAv8r]

What kind of towing equipment is used at your FBO? We have two tugs and two Lektros (one stand-up and a sit-down).

[N519AT]

Man, I wish we had Lektros. We'd probably tear them apart, however.. Every piece of equipment is an example of why we can't have nice things. Or so it seems.

Either that or my FBO is too cheap to buy tugs that work instead of investing thousands to keep old trashy tugs working. And they break down every other week.

Probably a combination of the two. I'll get pictures some pictures tomorrow.

[BCTAv8r]

The Lektros are very useful when putting aircraft in hangars. Especially with the Gulfstream considering that you can turn the gear 180 degrees and push it in from under the aircraft. Ours is a couple of years old and has constant hydraulic leaks. It is a bit of a pain here to use it here in FL especially during the summer because it rains a lot and it can't be used while raining.

[Ramp Romeo]

Those look sweet in red!

We use crumby old white ones....

[OldTownPilot]

BHB had 2 lektros, Both stand up one is bigger than the other. The small one would struggle on a 1900, and the big one would struggle on a Global. Unfortunately they don't work on the Falcon 10 and 20s, and the nose on the G200 is too low, so when any of them came in, they stayed there until they left.

BGR was tug and towbars.

[beechpilot]

In AUG, we have two tugs with towbars. We have the Tronair big towbar for many of the jets however the tug won't handle Gulfstreams, Falcon 900's and 2000's, or the Global Express.

[fly4food84]

The sit-down Lektros are the best!

I have quite a bit of experience with the stand-up models and they're okay. I think JetPorters are a bit more rugged and reliable from what I've seen.

The main downside to these super electronic beasts is the cost. The cheapest Lektro will run you almost 30k and that one is only rated to tow a Citation Ultra! Although you can push those limits here and there.

[ozziecat35]

Hey Ramp Romeo...sorry to see you're sweating for YV here at PHX....you know mainline is hiring...we'd love to have ya!! I remember when I worked for Mesa....sweating on Ramp 1 with only 4 people and 4 '900's.

Our push tugs run the gambit at HP/US....we have some really nice FMC's that'll push a 757 w/ both engines spooled, and we have some tiny little guys that came off an aircraft carrier that we use to push out our 737's.

[Joe]

At OQU we've got a stand-up JETporter electric tug which I have yet to be "officially" trained on after 8 months; I've only watched others use it and it's been a while (the winter is slow for us and we don't have hangars yet anyway). We've also got a diesel tug last year, but no towbars... those are supposed to be coming soon.

[jdlilfan]

We have a couple of used clarks that aren't bad but we really don't use them. They are in storage unless something "special" happens or our other junk breaks. We also have a big tug (not sure on the brand) that can push a 727 but we don't have any towbars that fit it so it also sits in storage. We call that tug "the tank". We have the smallest version of lektro which is neat for tight spots and can adapt to a lot of aircraft but the long distances and cold weather for half the year typically doesn't make it practical. We also have "the Jeep" which is our day to day tug. The Jeep is a half jeep/ half military tug from the 1950's with a diesel engine that is bullet proof and the rest is literally held together by tape, wire, and shotty welds. The hobbs quit working around 6,000 hours and the mileage quit working past 200,000 but it still keeps going...albeit with a lot of maintenance. It gets the job down typically and it does have a cab and heat and we found out it will tow an F/A-18.

We have a few of the brackett tow bars and one tronair bar with a few heads.

[Ramp Romeo]

Originally Posted by ozziecat35

Hey Ramp Romeo...sorry to see you're sweating for YV here at PHX....you know mainline is hiring...we'd love to have ya!! I remember when I worked for Mesa....sweating on Ramp 1 with only 4 people and 4 '900's.

Our push tugs run the gambit at HP/US....we have some really nice FMC's that'll push a 757 w/ both engines spooled, and we have some tiny little guys that came off an aircraft carrier that we use to push out our 737's.

You worked for Mesa too? Small friggin world!!

Yeah, I've considered Mainline for the longest. But whenever I go to the careers site, they don't have ramp openings for PHX. I know a lot of guys on the Mainline side (Most are ex-Mesa). When the heat kicks in like today, that's when I really start wondering why I stay.

Oddly enough, when I was starting out, I applied for Mainline Flight Attendant, and Mesa ramp. Mesa was the first one to say "You're hired". US called me about a month later. I've been doing this ever since!.

Feel free to PM me if you hear they're hiring in PHX again (Ramp or FA).
Each time I go to the careers site, they don't have anything for PHX.

Until then, I'll stick with Mesa. At the very least, I got to meet Eva Longoria, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, among others, so I have my share of fun.