What you should know about…Fly-away sets

Fly-away sets provide flexibility even at remote airports

Imagine that your Boeing 747 needs to pick up a scheduled freight shipment at Frankfurt Airport FRA, or New York JFK. The right tow-bar for push-back is sure to be available there. But what about a smaller airport? An airport that doesn’t have every type of tow-bar on hand? Many aircraft rely on “fly-away” tow-bars for this reason.

Besides tow-bars, axle jacks, tripod-jacks, and engine transportation stands are also available in fly-away versions.

Fly-away axle jack for A350-900 type certification

The A350-900 received type certification from the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) on September 30, 2014. Tests had previously been performed on a fleet of five aircraft that flew 2,700 hours to ensure that air safety criteria were met. If there had been a tire blow-out, there was not a single airport in the world that had the right equipment for a tire change. With a flat tire, the A350-900 has a maximum 75 mm clearance between the jack point and the ground. This is too low for typical axle jacks. The test machines each carried a fly-away axle jack set for this reason. One 80 t axle jack for the main landing gear, and two 10 t axle jacks for the nose landing gear.

Unloading the Antonov 124 tow-bar via traveling crane

Antonov relies on fly-away tow-bar

One of the largest cargo aircraft in the world, the Antonov AN-124, also flies to the most remote airports in the world. The freighter is equipped with its own tow-bar for this reason. The standard tow-bar is also a fly-away tow bar. It is used at most airports around the world because there is not one on hand that fits. Two traveling cranes in the cargo hold can load and unload the tow-bar, which weighs 930 kg, through the front or rear hatch.

Three-part fly-away tow-bar for the Antonov 158

Difference from everyday products

The fly-away versions of the tow-bar, axle jack, and the rest have a few differences from the versions used every day. A fly-away version is carried in the aircraft, which means that every additional kilogram of weight costs additional fuel. By using lighter materials like aluminum, the fly-away products weigh substantially less. For large aircraft, the length of the tow-bar is also reduced. Fly-away tow-bars for narrow-fuselage aircraft, in contrast, are designed to be disassembled into up to four pieces due to the length required. They are connected by bolts when assembled. All parts are stored in a transport crate. The crates are loaded and unloaded from the aircraft with a forklift, using the fork pockets provided.

Fly-away tripod-jack set for the Boeing 737

Tripod-jack for flexible service around the world

Not every airport in the world has the right tripod-jack to perform maintenance on every model of aircraft. This is where the fly-away tripod-jack comes in. When disassembled, a complete set of tripod-jacks for a B737 fits in an LD9 air cargo container. Total weight, including pallet: just 2 metric tons.

Fly-away rescue stand for the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine

Remote site rescue stand for engines

Even engine transport stands can be disassembled. They are also smaller in size and lighter in weight. When disassembled, all the parts for a Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 rescue stand fit on a standard air cargo pallet. This means that the fly-away rescue stand fits in the lower cargo hold of a Boeing 787. Assembly time for the engine stand is about two hours with two people. The fly-away version of the engine stand is usable only for storage or internal transport of an engine.

In summary: fly-away products ensure mobility and maintenance access at even the most remote airports in the world. Especially for exotic aircraft and new models, they should be included in standard equipment in order to avoid expensive downtime on the ground when things go wrong.

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