Remote-Controlled Helicopter Tugs

Aircraft passenger and personnel vehicles are purpose-built ground transport solutions designed to safely and efficiently move passengers, crews, and airport staff across ramps, hangars, and terminals in demanding aviation environments.

What Are Remote-Controlled Helicopter Tugs?

Remote-controlled helicopter tugs are designed to tow helicopters on the ground using a remote-control system. Typically smaller and more maneuverable than traditional diesel-powered tugs, helicopter tugs are well-suited for use in tight spaces or areas where larger tugs may be unable to operate.

These battery-powered tugs include a coupling mechanism that connects to the landing gear of the helicopter. The tug operator utilizes a remote-control system to manipulate the movement of the tug and tow the helicopter on the ground.

PJi^® offers a broad range of remote-controlled helicopter tugs manufactured by Tiger Tugs – the easiest, safest, and most reliable way to move your helicopter, whether in the hangar or on the ramp.

Our friendly and knowledgeable aviation specialists are happy to assist you in finding the right remote-controlled tug for your helicopter. Call, email, or chat with us today!

FEATURES & ADVANTAGES OF TIGER TUGS

Cross Tube Support

Tiger Tugs adopted the Heli-Saddle as the standard support for picking up on the helicopter cross tube. These supports are by far the best and safest on the market. Their thick polyurethane covering protects the helicopter's cross tubes from common damage caused by other industry saddles. They are deeper and support more of the cross tube so there isn't the tendency of the helicopter to jump out of the saddle as is well-documented with other style saddles.

Easily Fits Your Helicopter

Tiger Tugs are designed to be versatile in their ability to handle different helicopters. The positioning of the saddles is very flexible. To fit your helicopter safely you can position the saddles anywhere lengthwise along the tug. You also have the ability to set the saddles inboard or outboard of the tug frame to best position them along your cross tube. The saddles also have the capability of raising and lowering so you can set the height that is comfortable for you. Other manufacturers weld in their saddle locations so you don't have any flexibility to make adjustments. The Tiger Tug system also makes it easy if you have several different models of helicopters that need to be handled.

Scissor Lift

The Tiger Tug lifting mechanism is a true scissor lift. When the top frame of the tug rises, it goes straight up! We have heard many horror stories about how – when using the competitors' tugs – holes have ended up being created in the belly skin where none were meant to be! This can be an expensive repair. With a Heliporter or Tug a Lug system, when the frame rises it also moves horizontally due to the nature of the lift system – so the saddles don't stay in position with the cross tubes. And since the switch to raise the frame is at the end of the tug you don't have a clear sight of the saddles moving into position. When you drive a Tiger Tug under your aircraft and line up the saddles, the saddles stay lined up as they move vertically to rest gently against your cross tubes. You are also standing next to the saddles and watching carefully since you are commanding this operation.

Wireless Remote Control

With Tiger Tug's wireless remote control, you can safely move your helicopter without needing another person watching for hangar incursions. You are free to walk around all positions of your helicopter while moving in or out of the hangar. You are not tied to a tether or handlebar which can restrict what you can see.

Smoothness

Smoothness is very important when it comes to safely handling a multimillion-dollar helicopter. The Tiger Tug was designed with all-electric drive motors for a reason. Electric motors are very smooth. They accelerate, decelerate, and turn with utmost smoothness and positive control. Tiger Tugs can run across the ramp at over 3 mph or can creep into position a millimeter at a time. Other tugs on the market use hydraulic orbital motors for driving. By nature, these motors are not very smooth and require large hydraulic pumps to run them. Besides lacking smoothness these pumps are not very energy-efficient, so you don't have the same range as you do with Tiger's pure electric motors.

Go Electric

Reliability is an important ingredient for any product. Tiger Tugs takes great pride in building quality into its tugs. Many Tiger Tugs customers are in the air ambulance market where launching a helicopter on time is critical. If the tug doesn't work at 3 a.m. when a call comes in, they don't have time to troubleshoot it. Nowadays, if something does go wrong in a vehicle, it is most likely electrical in nature. Tiger Tugs are designed with all the electronics in one removable Ebox. Customers can purchase a spare Ebox to keep on their shelves for emergency situations. If needed, the Ebox can be removed and the other one inserted in its place to get you up and running again in just a few minutes. Then, when time allows, the removed box can be diagnosed and repaired. With this removable Ebox concept, it is also possible for Tiger Tugs to upgrade the electronics with new features or different components very easily in the future.