The Ground Handling Blog

Purchasing the right aircraft or aviation equipment is quite a difficult task. You can’t simply browse Amazon or go to the mall like you do with everyday products. That’s why there are aviation exhibitions and trade fairs – and these events are worth a mint. Seeing and comparing hundreds, sometimes thousands of exhibitors and their products at the same time and place is incredibly insightful and yeah, sometimes it even feels like a little shopping trip. So check out these events from 2017 that were a blast!

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Tow bars, towbarless tractors or electric aircraft tugs – the number of different ways to tow your aircraft seems almost infinite. Some of these vehicles have been around for a long time, some are just getting started and might turn the way we think about ground support upside down. The fact is: You need an aircraft tug if you want to maintain an aviation business. So let’s get things sorted out, shall we?

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You own a house, you drive a car – and you probably have insurance for both of them. Just as you can scratch your mudguard while parking or get bumped into at a traffic light, an aircraft can also get into smaller or bigger accidents. However since planes are way bigger than cars, the damage can easily be vast. It’s good to try and avoid such situations, but it’s better to have the right aircraft insurance. Here’s an overview.

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A considerable number of MROs and FBOs struggle every year to make the desired profit. At the same time, other companies are getting stronger and stronger, and potential profits are huge. How can you make sure to be one of the companies that thrive?  

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Let’s talk about aircraft tugs. Most of you still own traditional tow tractors with gas engines - a solution that worked more or less reliably for many years. There is a viable alternative though: Electric aircraft tugs, a relatively new technology that has much to offer. And while electric whizzes might give a DIY electric aircraft tug a shot, for all others, we have summed up the advantages of existing state-of-the-art models. And in all seriousness: Their biggest downside is that they make it so easy to move aircraft that it’s easy to get complacent.

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Let’s acknowledge it: Traditional aircraft tow tugs and trucks are uncomfortable beasts from the past, designed in the 80s or even 70s, with inconvenient, time consuming and high-risk needs for tie down winches, straps, adapters; the corresponding nose gear lift cradle reminiscent of a shovel – practically farm tractors on steroids. Still, they’re kept around for decades – they’ve been paid for, right?

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Nobody ever said that ramps and aprons were particularly safe places, but the notion that ground accidents accumulate costs up to US$10 billion/year remains dumbfounding.

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