Searching correct english aviation words...

[Guest Cantuezel]

Hi,I asked myself how the correct english (american) terms for those following words are:1) To push large jet-aircrafts back from gate there is a special towing truck necessary. Is there a special (technical) name for such a truck?2) The towing truck needs a kind of a bar (metal) which is fixed at the front wheel of the a/c. What is the correct name of that bar?3) After shutting down the engines of an a/c the marshallers usually put something in front of the center- and front wheels in order that the a/c cannot roll away. What is the correct technical (or colloquial name between a/c mechanics) name for that kind of blocks?Many thanks! :)GreetingsSusan

[Guest stingray_077]

Hi there.If I am not mistaken,the answers are as follows:1)Tugs2)Towbar(Is it the same as steering pin?)3)Blocks(I have also heard the term "tacks")Again,I might be totally wrong,so if anyone knows,please correct me.Kind Regards_______________________________Georgios Arkouzis http://www.ivao.org/data/images/flags/waving/small/GR.gif SX077http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg_______________________________

[Guest wkzzo]

1)Tug or tractor.2)Tow bar.3)Chocks. Usually the main gear wheels on large jets.

[Guest Cantuezel]

Thanks for your answers, guys! :)AlohaSusan

[Guest BlueRidgeDx]

Just for a little variety, here's how we refer to the equipment in question:"Tugs" are the things used to pull bag carts around. The vehicle that performs the pushback is called a "Pushback".Here's where it gets weird, for small airplanes such as an RJ or DASH, a regular tug usually has enough grunt to hook up, and push the airplane out. However, using a tug to push a 757 or A320 will get you nowhere. Thats when you would use a much larger and more powerful "pushback".For your entertainment:I was pushing a max gross 747-200F one day. It takes a LOT of effort to get something that heavy moving, but once you build momentum, it pretty much moves itself. Well, the cargo ramp isn't very level, so we start up this incline, just about the same time I started the turn to place the aircraft on the taxilane centerline. Well, by this time they had already started two engines, and the third was just starting to turn. When the third engine came up to stabilized idle, they were putting out so much thrust, we ground to a halt, and the airplane began to push me backwards. I had to have the crew set the brakes to stop us. I don't know how much horsepower the pushback had, but it did have a weight placard...it read 65,000lb. Thats 32.5 Tons...more than 10,000lb heavier than the structural MTOW of a CRJ-200!Regards,Nick

[Guest]

thats amazing! Ive always loved haulin freight... not sure why, maybe I crashed and burned as a freighter dog in my last life? What company was the freighter if I may ask?

[Guest Thrust-Master]

hmm, what can I say.. Great forum :)

[chumley 0]

>Hi there.If I am not mistaken,the answers are as follows:>>1)Tugs>2)Towbar(Is it the same as steering pin?)>3)Blocks(I have also heard the term "tacks")>>Again,I might be totally wrong,so if anyone knows,please>correct me.>Kind Regards>_______________________________>Georgios Arkouzis>http://www.ivao.org/data/images/flags/waving/small/GR.gif>SX077>http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg>_______________________________1. Correct2. Correct but - no it is not the steering pin. The steering pin is the bit of metal with a red ribbon or something similar attached that the pushback engineer waves to the PIC after pushback is complete and the tug disconnected. 3. Chocks is another term.Andy b

[Guest tomahawk_pa38]

There was an incident on the UK Air Accidents Investigation website a few years back when someone pushed back an A320 using a truck with a roof and the wrong tow bar (too short I think). When the tug turned, the roof got stuck under the belly of the aircraft - they had to get the passsengers in the front umpteen rows to go and stand at the back to lift the nose up to get the truck out !!

[Guest stingray_077]

Hi there Andy.Yup,I read a bit about the steering pin.It is supposed to be inserted to the nose-gear system prior to the removal of hydraulic pressure(in order for the pushback truck to be able to steer the plane),so that it prevends the strut from collapsing during pushback.I really hope I got it right...:) Kind regards_______________________________Georgios Arkouzis http://www.ivao.org/data/images/flags/waving/small/GR.gif SX077http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg_______________________________

[Guest Panman]

You didn't read enough then.It's impossible for the steering pin to stop the leg collapsing. All the pin does is isolate the nose wheel steering system from the rest of the hydraulic system.To stop the gear collapsing another pin is used (some call it the downlock pin, some call it the safety pin). It is inserted much higher up the leg than the nosewheel steering pin. Once the correct pin is inserted it is virtually impossible for the leg to collapse as it is unable to overcome the geometric lock. To understand geometric lock; lie on your stomach; push yourself up with your arms as far as you can; notice that at the point when your arm is fully extended that your elbows sinks in ever so slightly - this is a geometric lock at it's simplist; in order for someone to get your arm to bend they would have to hit the opposite side of your elbow with a bit of force in order to overcome the geometric lock that exists; ease yourself down slightly so that you arms are neither fully extended and your are not flat on your stomach again; if someone were to lightly push the opposite side if your elbow you would sink down a bit.What the safety pin does in effect therefore is ensure that the geometric lock can not be broken by the weight of the aircraft. Sometimes it all goes Pete Tong as in the case of the EVA Air 747 that collapsed on the nosegear at LHR earlier this year (or was it last year). The handling company (which just so happens to be the world's favorite) from all reports used the wrong alternative pin and it sheered during a check on the landing gear operation.

[Guest stingray_077]

I think I mixed up the different components then :D Thanks for clearing it up :) Kind regards_______________________________Georgios Arkouzis http://www.ivao.org/data/images/flags/waving/small/GR.gif SX077http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg_______________________________

[Guest BlueRidgeDx]

>thats amazing! Ive always loved haulin freight... not sure>why, maybe I crashed and burned as a freighter dog in my last>life? What company was the freighter if I may ask?Hi Alex,It was a Lufthansa Cargo 747. It happened on the North Cargo ramp at ATL.Regrds,Nick

[Guest BlueRidgeDx]

Hi Dave,Yeah, I've seen one like that too. Here's another story...I usually tell it over a beer, but I'll make an exception for my Avsim buddies. ;)When performing a pushback, you always have to have some minimum number of personnel to do it safely. The number varies from airline to airline, since some operators allow certain roles to be combined. For instance, some airlines allow the pushback driver to also talk to the crew on the interphone, while some require a seperate person to be on the headsets and relay messages to the pushback driver using hand signals. Normally, when working our own airplanes, we man all the required positions (wingwalkers, pushback driver, etc.) and we're responsible for all aspects of the push. That means we insert the bypass pin, connect the towbar, do the push, remove the towbar, remove the bypass pin, show the crew the streamer, marshall them out and give them a salute.Well...sometimes we get contracted to push someone else's airplane, and sometimes they have different rules regarding who can touch what. So we go to push an Evergreen 747. Apparently Evergreen requires that an A&P be the one to install and remove the bypass pin. No big deal, right?So I'm on the headsets (they also don't want the pushback driver being distracted by talking to the crew), and I show the driver the hand signal for "Brakes Released" and we begin the push. About halfway down the J-Line, the crew tells me that Ground has asked them to hold their position to allow a FedEx MD-11 pass behind us. No problem...so I throw up an "X" signal to the driver and we coast to a stop.We were only halfway through the turn when we stopped, so the nosewheel is turned about 45 degrees. Mind you, we're only stopping long enough to let the FedEx plane pass behind before we finish the push.Well, the mechanic who was responsible for removing the bypass pin thought we were done pushing. Without waiting for us to disconnect the towbar (which would have been a good sign that we were done), or even waiting for a "Brakes Set" signal, he runs to the gear, steps up onto one of the tires, and pulls the flippin' pin!So now the nosewheel, assisted by 3000psi of hydraulic pressure, wants to straighten itself, against the wishes of the towbar.Now, towbars have things called shear-pins that will break in case of any excessive load on the bar. This will usually prevent damage to the airplane by making sure the "head" of the towbar breaks and is allowed to swivel without transmitting any excessive load to the nose gear assembly.Of course, Murphy's Law decided to pay a visit, and the shear-pins didn't let go like they should've. It all happened so damned fast, I didn't have time to react, but I still saw it in slow motion...The bar actually quivered as it started to bend, and the only way I can describe what happened next is like an explosion. There was a loud "pop" and the freakin' thing just came apart. The bar itself is hollow, and all these splinters of metal went flying all over the place. Mind you, I'm standing outside next to the pushback with the headsets plugged into a little jack on the nosegear. The intact portion of the towbar that was attached to the pushback (about 3 feet worth) swung around banged against the side of the pushback. If I had been standing any closer, it would have taken off my left leg. I mean, I jumped out of the way, but it was way too late.We had to get another bar, and tow the airplane back into the block so maintenance could inspect the gear. Turned out the airplane was fine, but we got to spend about an hour doing a "FOD walk", scouring the ramp for the bits of metal.In case you're wondering, yes, I (and a few other people) had "words" with the mechanic.See ya, Nick