Loads at the nose landing gears of civil transport aircraft during towbarless towing operations.

Tow tractors operating without towbar facilitate the ground handling of civil transport aircraft. In this paper, the loads at the nose landing gears during towbarless towing operations are described based on extensive measurements and on analytical investigations. The necessary load limitation during extreme situations, e.g. emergency brakings, is discussed. Fatigue load spectra for towbarless towing and push-back operations were derived from operational measurements and are compared with load spectra for towbar operations. Recommendations are presented how the operational loads can be reduced by an appropriate design of towbarless tractors. Some remarks are made about towing of fully loaded aircraft to the runway.