TDI Towing a Boeing 747

Thought the community might like to read this story... Pretty amazing little TDI (Touareg) pulling a 155 ton 747-200...

Good reading!http://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/22/touareg-v10-tdi-tows-a-747/

Steve

thank you Steve made me smile when saw the (overall picture) looking at the size difference.

here is the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWxMestl824

The video of the Touareg towing the jet has been around for awhile.....

About 10 years ago a strongman named david huxley pulled a 747 150 feet, along a ladder like structure attached to the ground.

I can't find the video but its somewhere on the net, this is much more impressive in my book.

It seems impressive, but honestly it is all about the weight they added in order to get the traction. Any SUV in low range with enough weight could likely do the same thing. The 'tugs' that regularly move many of those planes around have engines in them much weaker than the V10 in the T'reg.

I just called a friend that works on the airport tugs, and they use a Deutz (German company) air cooled diesel 4 cylinder that makes less than 100hp and about 200tq...and they will drag all the smaller planes around with ease. Their "big" tug uses a Deutz water cooler diesel 6 cylinder that makes about 250hp and 600tq.

So the T'reg's 313hp and 550tq did not really have to work all that hard to pull that plane across a flat tarmac.

Oilhammer, ask your friend what the gear ratio is in the "tugs". Has to be realy low gear, somthing like 6:1. You could get a 5hp briggs and stratton to pull the 747 with the right gears, and traction (weight).

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0297.shtml

A little history of the plane in question.

ouch on the torque converter...

I wanna see it stop

LRTDI said:

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0297.shtml

A little history of the plane in question.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I was wondering about that. In fact, I quickly lost interest in the VW, and puzzled over the 747.

If you want to really be impressive, rather than simply move the plane, see how fast the rig can go from 0 to 60 pulling it.

holy banana's

joetdi said:

If you want to really be impressive, rather than simply move the plane, see how fast the rig can go from 0 to 60 pulling it.

Click to expand...

Totally,

A pinto could probably move the jet if you could get enough traction. ITS ON WHEELS for s**t sake.

Someone should check with Drivbiwire, because that looks like a Polar/Atlas paint scheme on the plane.

BTW, he said he was going 5km, which is 3.1 mph. You should try towing one at 15 mph. LOL

I saw a tug and 747 loose it on an icy ramp once and both went spinning.

The vid only shows that the Touareq has the same torque at the wheels as the tug they normally use.
It all depends on the gearing.