Towing to the airport

wrote:
Ernest Christley wrote:
wrote:
But of course! I already have a homebuilt trailer license for the
homebuilt trailer I made for the glider... Hmmm, funny how it up and
changed shape and color.

BTW, this is 1 mile on small roads, Sunday morning, I dont have any
gyros, 20 mph the whole way, no pot-wholes.

-Bruce
The Dyke Delta is designed to be towed on it's own wheels. One of the
builders, lives in Conneticut, had problems getting it registered as a
trailer. Seems they don't allow trailers to have their own propulsion
system. YMMV.

Well it doesn't have it's own propulsion system for propelling it
down the highway. I'm sure the reason for th erestriction is so
people can't buy trailer plates for vehicles that are supposed to
have different (and probably more expensive) plates.


Doesn't matter. Jim had to go home and build a trailer after the DOT
guy said he couldn't get a trailer license for his airplane. That was
Conneticut, I believe. Larry, in Nevada if memory serves, had no
problem and happily tows his all over the place. I wonder what would
happen if Larry flew his Delta to Conneticut and then towed it to Jim's
house?

Somebody would probably object and get the city council to pass an
ordinance.

But I digress. I've investigate the process here in North Carolina. I
have to get a permit that will allow a State Highway Patrolman
(Patrolperson) to inspect my "trailer". It's up to me to convince the
patrolman to come to the plane to inspect it, which is necessary since
it isn't licensed for me to tow it there. When this is done, I can
apply for a ID plate. Once I have the ID plate, then I can apply for
tags. Each step requires a visit to the DOT, which is generally a
half-day affair for even the simplest issues. Most people build 'farm
trailers' and just pull 'em around, completely skipping the bureaucratic
song and dance. I would do that, but I figure that an airplane rolling
down the street might attract a little more attention than the average
trailer.

Ernest Christley wrote:
wrote:
Ernest Christley wrote:
wrote:
But of course! I already have a homebuilt trailer license for the
homebuilt trailer I made for the glider... Hmmm, funny how it up and
changed shape and color.

BTW, this is 1 mile on small roads, Sunday morning, I dont have any
gyros, 20 mph the whole way, no pot-wholes.

-Bruce
The Dyke Delta is designed to be towed on it's own wheels. One of the
builders, lives in Conneticut, had problems getting it registered as a
trailer. Seems they don't allow trailers to have their own propulsion
system. YMMV.

Well it doesn't have it's own propulsion system for propelling it
down the highway. I'm sure the reason for th erestriction is so
people can't buy trailer plates for vehicles that are supposed to
have different (and probably more expensive) plates.


Doesn't matter. Jim had to go home and build a trailer after the DOT
guy said he couldn't get a trailer license for his airplane. That was
Conneticut, I believe.

A portable trailer-mounted generator has an engine, a propulsion
system for electrons. Would he have to put it on a second trailer
to tow it in Connecticut? Or would the fact that the engine doesn't
drive the wheels be what matters?

I think maybe he should have talked to more than one DOT guy,
maybe politely asked to talk to a supervisor.

--

FF

wrote

A portable trailer-mounted generator has an engine, a propulsion
system for electrons. Would he have to put it on a second trailer
to tow it in Connecticut? Or would the fact that the engine doesn't
drive the wheels be what matters?

I think maybe he should have talked to more than one DOT guy,
maybe politely asked to talk to a supervisor.

Asking to see the applicable portion of the code would not be too much to
ask, and also would help in deciding exactly what other rules might need to
be followed.
--
Jim in NC

wrote:

A portable trailer-mounted generator has an engine, a propulsion
system for electrons. Would he have to put it on a second trailer
to tow it in Connecticut? Or would the fact that the engine doesn't
drive the wheels be what matters?

I think maybe he should have talked to more than one DOT guy,
maybe politely asked to talk to a supervisor.


I wasn't there, and they didn't call to ask for my input 8*)

but...

I just looked up the old newsletter article. Here it is, straight from
the builders's mouth. Make of it what you will.

"He went back into the building and returned with another inspector.
This one had a big smile on his face and explained that this was the
part of his job that eh loved. He said, "I love to see all these
unusual things that people try to register." (Behind me by a couple of
vehicles was a Hotdog vendor's wagon). He thought that he would need to
take a Polaroid photo of the Delta and fax it to the DOT to get approval.
Obviously he was trying to cover his ass so that he would not get into
trouble. He went to get the camera and when he returned he explained
that he was not going to be able to register it for me. He checked that
statutes and found two that apply.
It seems that in order to qualify, as a trailer, the vehicle cannot have
its own motive power, and since he considered the engine and propeller
motive power he could not allow it. Secondly the statutes specifically
prohibit the DMV from registering aircraft as motor vehicles. So that
was it. He said that if I wanted to tow it on the road I would have to
put it on a trailer. I was, to say the least, very DISSAPOINTED.

Ernest Christley wrote:
wrote:

A portable trailer-mounted generator has an engine, a propulsion
system for electrons. Would he have to put it on a second trailer
to tow it in Connecticut? Or would the fact that the engine doesn't
drive the wheels be what matters?

I think maybe he should have talked to more than one DOT guy,
maybe politely asked to talk to a supervisor.


I wasn't there, and they didn't call to ask for my input 8*)

Nor mine...


but...

I just looked up the old newsletter article. Here it is, straight from
the builders's mouth. Make of it what you will.

Thanks for checking.


"...
It seems that in order to qualify, as a trailer, the vehicle cannot have
its own motive power, and since he considered the engine and propeller
motive power he could not allow it. Secondly the statutes specifically
prohibit the DMV from registering aircraft as motor vehicles. So that
was it. He said that if I wanted to tow it on the road I would have to
put it on a trailer. I was, to say the least, very DISSAPOINTED.

Assuming that the Ct DMV defines a trailer as a motor vehicle, then
yes, he was clearly SOL as there was a rule that expressly
prohibitted licensing an airplane as a trailer. The first rule had
some
wiggle room, the second did not. The authorities had considered
exactly that situation and decided to prohibit it.

--

FF

I just towed my plane on it's wheels when it was time to move it to
the airport. I figured if I was stopped I would argue that it is a
federally registreed vehicle so no other registration is needed. Now
that it's on floats I didn't get it licensed as a boat for when it's
on the water. Crop dusters around here sometimes use roads for landing
strips too.

wrote:

A portable trailer-mounted generator has an engine, a propulsion
system for electrons. Would he have to put it on a second trailer
to tow it in Connecticut? Or would the fact that the engine doesn't
drive the wheels be what matters?

I think maybe he should have talked to more than one DOT guy,
maybe politely asked to talk to a supervisor.


I wasn't there, and they didn't call to ask for my input 8*)

but...

I just looked up the old newsletter article. Here it is, straight from
the builders's mouth. Make of it what you will.

"He went back into the building and returned with another inspector.
This one had a big smile on his face and explained that this was the
part of his job that eh loved. He said, "I love to see all these
unusual things that people try to register." (Behind me by a couple of
vehicles was a Hotdog vendor's wagon). He thought that he would need to
take a Polaroid photo of the Delta and fax it to the DOT to get approval.
Obviously he was trying to cover his ass so that he would not get into
trouble. He went to get the camera and when he returned he explained
that he was not going to be able to register it for me. He checked that
statutes and found two that apply.
It seems that in order to qualify, as a trailer, the vehicle cannot have
its own motive power, and since he considered the engine and propeller
motive power he could not allow it. Secondly the statutes specifically
prohibit the DMV from registering aircraft as motor vehicles. So that
was it. He said that if I wanted to tow it on the road I would have to
put it on a trailer. I was, to say the least, very DISSAPOINTED.

Ernest Christley writes:

Doesn't matter. Jim had to go home and build a trailer after the DOT
guy said he couldn't get a trailer license for his airplane.

So...if you built a trailer that happened to use the gear from the plane
you'd be o.k.? What if it used the gear and the fuselage? Is the
issue just the engine?

--kyler