Sidewinder

[xcrmckenna]

 

Is a sidewinder power tow bar Bravo friendly? If not I’ll be selling one. It worked great for my 201, but imagine with the extra nose length and third prop it won’t workout very well  

 

 

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Edited February 17, 2022 by xcrmckenna

[LANCECASPER]

It's extremely Bravo friendly. When I had a mid-body I never used a tug. Going to the long body you need the Sidewinder.

[xcrmckenna]

It's extremely Bravo friendly. When I had a mid-body I never used a tug. Going to the long body you need the Sidewinder.

I have a sidewinder and loved it with the 201. Just didn’t know with the longer nose and at least a 3 blade if You could really reach the handle or have it hitting the prop.


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[Rick Junkin]

Here's a pic of my Sidewinder on my Bravo. I leave it there when the airplane is in the hangar, serves a dual purpose of helping to visually catch low nose tire pressure.

Cheers,
Rick

[eman1200]

 
Is a sidewinder power tow bar Bravo friendly? If not I’ll be selling one. It worked great for my 201, but imagine with the extra nose length and third prop it won’t workout very well  
 
 
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U gettin a bravo? Did I miss a thread on it?

[xcrmckenna]

Here's a pic of my Sidewinder on my Bravo. I leave it there when the airplane is in the hangar, serves a dual purpose of helping to visually catch low nose tire pressure.
Cheers,
Rick

Nice. That looks super doable maybe I’ll keep mine while I’m searching.


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[xcrmckenna]

U gettin a bravo? Did I miss a thread on it?

No thread on it. My 201 was involved in a hand propped runaway 172 crash. Ready to upgrade to a FIKI Bravo.


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[eman1200]

No thread on it. My 201 was involved in a hand propped runaway 172 crash. Ready to upgrade to a FIKI Bravo.


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hate high wings

[xcrmckenna]

hate high wings

I definitely hate the thought processes some of them have at times!!!


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[exM20K]

The vendor offers a new style sidewinder which clamps over center on the tire, and I chose the old style for my Acclaim because the new style requires a new hubcap.  That was a mistake.  While the old style works, one must be really conscious of exerting down force on the handle to avoid scuffing the nose tire. The new style, which I used for years on DA42’s is just set it and forget it.  Same price, I believe.

@xcrmckenna sorry about the stupid loss of your J.  We spend so much time getting to know these planes and getting them set up just so…

If you buy a Bravo, welcome to the Turbo FIKI Mooney world.  Get an O2D2 and enjoy one of the most capable piston planes available.

-dan

Edited February 18, 2022 by exM20K

[carusoam]

A ways back…

we discussed how well the Sidewinder would work…

Many MSers gave support for how far they have dragged their plane…

How far up hill they have to go….

How tall the lip is for their Hangar….

How portable the device is..

And why having a second battery is always a good idea….

The only not surprising limitation was slippery surfaces and the friction drive….

 

Trying to buy a used Sidewinder is an international sport… they move quickly… 
 

By hand, I can move the O really far on a level surface….

Even uphill, and over the lip, into the hangar, when the tanks are near empty…

 

It only requires a small motor to do this consistently when the tanks have a few more gallons in them…

 

Go Sidewinder!

 

Best regards,

-a-

[N252MK]

We have a slight incline into our hangar and with full tanks I can’t get the Bravo into the hangar by myself. Of course I’m not a young buck like most of you. If the tire is wet or there’s even a drop oil on it that’s also a challenge. We also have a 35EZ power tow and that does the trick.


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[xcrmckenna]

We have a slight incline into our hangar and with full tanks I can’t get the Bravo into the hangar by myself. Of course I’m not a young buck like most of you. If the tire is wet or there’s even a drop oil on it that’s also a challenge. We also have a 35EZ power tow and that does the trick.


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That would be my upgrade if the sidewinder wasn’t for a Bravo. My buddy has one for his Bravo and it works great. The hangar I have now is an uphill incline and full fuel in the 201 at 38 I was getting angry having to push it in. So paid a lot for the sidewinder. It worked great.


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[xcrmckenna]

The vendor offers a new style sidewinder which clamps over center on the tire, and I chose the old style for my Acclaim because the new style requires a new hubcap.  That was a mistake.  While the old style works, one must be really conscious of exerting down force on the handle to avoid scuffing the nose tire. The new style, which I used for years on DA42’s is just set it and forget it.  Same price, I believe.
[mention=12769]xcrmckenna[/mention] sorry about the stupid loss of your J.  We spend so much time getting to know these planes and getting them set up just so…
If you buy a Bravo, welcome to the Turbo FIKI Mooney world.  Get an O2D2 and enjoy one of the most capable piston planes available.
-dan

Thanks Dan,
You are right about putting a lot of effort into our planes. I got my IR in it and after over 700 hours I feel like I could fly a back course approach in it blind. The sidewinder I have is the old style that chews up the front tire, drove me nuts.

I would love an Acclaim because who doesn’t want an Acclaim but I think a Bravo will fit my mission better. Living in eastern Oregon FIKI is a must come late fall through early spring.


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[N252MK]

BTW just to clarify my above comment: the Sidewinder isn’t powerful enough to get my Bravo into my slightly uphill inclined hangar by myself when the tanks are full.


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[Boilermonkey]

It can be wet or icy outside our hangar so we got an AeroTug.  Not at all portable, but it's a beast.

[xcrmckenna]

It can be wet or icy outside our hangar so we got an AeroTug.  Not at all portable, but it's a beast.

I never hauled my sidewinder around with me and only used it to back my plane into its hangar. So I might be leaning to selling the sidewinder and going with an eztug or something like it.


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[thinwing]

im with ez tug....i had to replace the tecumsiah 3.5 hp engine when it finally died...found an elec start 6.5 hp briggs and straton at jacks small engines and love the power

[tls pilot]

I have owned a RoboTow for over 20yrs

It works well up an incline and on many surfaces

highly recommended 

https://www.robotow.com

[xcrmckenna]

im with ez tug....i had to replace the tecumsiah 3.5 hp engine when it finally died...found an elec start 6.5 hp briggs and straton at jacks small engines and love the power

I used it once too. Worked well. Next time you need an engine for it let me know..


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[Rick Junkin]

On 2/18/2022 at 12:37 AM, xcrmckenna said:

The sidewinder I have is the old style that chews up the front tire, drove me nuts.

I’ve found that my Sidewinder works great as long as the nose tire is at 49PSI. But let it be a few pounds shy of that and the friction drive can slip without a good amount of extra leveraged pressure against the tire.

I have a beveled lip on the front of my hangar that I can still get over with full tanks and a bit of my leaning hard against the cowling. I’ll take a picture and measure it to give you a little more quantified idea of what the Sidewinder does in my case.

Cheers,
Rick

[Wayne Cease]

The Baron I used to fly had a Sidewinder. It was a little underpowered for getting it into the hangar, but it would work, unless the ground was wet. We had two batteries, which was nice. I'd bring it with me and use it to move the Baron around at self-serve. Way easier than moving it by hand with full tanks; 166 gallons.



Wayne

[xcrmckenna]

I’ve found that my Sidewinder works great as long as the nose tire is at 49PSI. But let it be a few pounds shy of that and the friction drive can slip without a good amount of extra leveraged pressure against the tire.
I have a beveled lip on the front of my hangar that I can still get over with full tanks and a bit of my leaning hard against the cowling. I’ll take a picture and measure it to give you a little more quantified idea of what the Sidewinder does in my case.
Cheers,
Rick

Thanks Rick that would be great to see. I’m still on the fence of keeping the sidewinder. I do like the EZ40 though.


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[Rick Junkin]

On 3/6/2022 at 10:07 PM, xcrmckenna said:

Thanks Rick that would be great to see. I’m still on the fence of keeping the sidewinder. I do like the EZ40 though.


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@xcrmckenna Here are the pics of the lip on my hangar. Sorry, the first one refused to rotate to the proper orientation. The other two show the height of the lip and the length of the taper.

When my Bravo has full tanks I need to angle it into the hangar slightly so that only one main is hitting the lip at a time. The sidewinder doesn't have quite enough oomph to go straight in and get both mains up and over the lip together.

Cheers,
Rick

[carusoam]

I’m reading a book about anti-gravity…

It’s impossible to put down!

 

Hey, that’s a nice floor modification!

 

Best regards,

-a-