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ORIGINAL: 1wolf

I'm all for it!

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ORIGINAL: Me410

I have transported my 60" and 70" warbirds assembled  with the retracts up. The plane sits in a  2 x 4  cradle I built and the  plane is held to the cradle with bungy cords.  I do travel 60MPH for about 10 miles. I have never had a problem , but now I am thinking , just how much turbulence is there when the plane is low  in the  box.  My new 2011 1/2 Ton Chev truck has a deeper box than my old chev.

The wieght of the cradle seems to secure the plane ok.  But again, I don't  know how strong the forces are on the floor of the box?

I know, I know,  buy a canopy or box cover,  and I think I will soon.

But my question is,  how bad can the air flow be on the  truck box floor?

Thanks
Tom

Me410, as long as you do not exceed 105kph, the cradle is secured safely in the truck box and the aircraft is safely attached to the cradle, then you will have no problems with transporting a fully assembled aircraft.

Keep your speed below 105kph; this will ensure you are well below the envelope where wind turbulence in the truck box will not introduce wing or horizontal stab flutter. Flutter is what causes catastrophic internal structural failure of the wing and or horizontal stab.

If you drive at an excessive speed you will enter the envelope where excessive wind turbulence over the cab will drop down onto the wing. The wind turbulence will then travel rearward along the upper surface of the wing until it drops off at the rear of the wing and onto the truck bed floor; there it is redirected forward and upward on to the bottom surface of the wing. With the excessive wind turbulence acting on the upper and lower wing surfaces simultaneously, the wing is forced into a rapid forward and aft twisting motion, known as flutter. This flutter will be heard as a high pitch buzzing sound and will destroy the internal structural support of the wing in a matter of seconds.

I have been transporting fully assembled aircraft in the back of my pickup to and from the flying field for well over a year with no problems. I never exceed 105kph (65mph), and the distance I travel each way to and from the flying field is 48km or 28 miles.

Just about any cargo can be safely transported; if you do your homework first, understand the do and don’ts, and of course mitigate and accept the risks involved.

This will be my final post on this issue. If I would have known what a hornet’s nest I was stirring up, I would never have posted in the first place. Hopefully this thread will now just die and go away!

Roger