Hydrostatic Power Train For Gas Powered Units
The heart of all gas powered AIRTUG®s is the hydrostatic transaxle. This is essentially an engine driven hydraulic pump with operator controlled volume output, driving a fixed displacement hydraulic motor, which drives gearing to a differential and to chain driven drive wheels. Even though this is a more costly solution to transmitting power to move a heavy object, it has gained industry wide acceptance, compared to an old fashioned manual shift type transmission with various mechanical clutching methods. No gears to shift, no jerky clutching systems to quickly wear out. Just smooth, infinitely variable output speed, from barely inching up through a fast walk.
Gas Powered Tug Engines
Most tugs are powered with an industrial 4 cycle gas engine, electric start (10-H, 10-S, TT-HD-GA, TT-SD-GA, 5W-SD-GA models), recoil backup engine that comes with at least a one (1) year factory warranty.
Twist Grip Control For Gas Powered Tugs
Most models feature an exclusive “Twist Grip Control”. Both hands remain on handle bar to control the total operation of the AIRTUG® including travel speed, reversing, braking, and steering via the 8” rear caster. No need to remove a hand for trans control during critical maneuvering in tight quarters. Our new hydrostats now feature a spring back “return to brake/neutral” to ensure neutral starts and to absolutely prevent creep when a running tug is temporarily unattended.
Aircraft Loading Systems
The winch strap or J-hook load system transfers the aircraft nosewheel weight onto the AIRTUG® drive wheels to provide traction pressure. This avoids having to manually hold down on the handle to get the necessary traction. This system gets the nosewheel loaded regardless of any poor traction surfaces such as ice or snow, or wet, slick hangar floors. It also gets the nosewheel loaded regardless of nosewheel weight, or having to place chocks behind mains.
Frame Construction
All models are built with a common frame design. All mig welded, heavy gauge steel frames.