The most expensive aircraft tractors cost tens

It is believed that many people know that no matter whether it is civil aviation or military aircraft, tractors are used to tow, and the cost of tractors is also very expensive, and it is normal for them to cost several million to ten million yuan. So why must the plane be inseparable from the tractor? Why is the cost of tractors so high? This article will analyze this! Aircraft towing vehicle is a kind of supporting equipment for towing an aircraft at the airport or on the carrier deck. It is one of the essential special vehicles. The cost of a tractor equipped for passenger aircraft at civil aviation airports usually exceeds 1 million yuan. The cost of the AST1X680 Goldhofer tractor of the Airbus-A380 passenger plane is even as high as 11 million yuan. The tractor has a body length of 11 meters and a dead weight of 39 tons. The Ke-A380 can still reach 25 km / h. The car also has 11 computers to assist the driver in operating the wheels. Its six special tires and unique reverse turning wheel drive system can minimize the turning radius. And the tractor on the aircraft carrier deck has to overcome the environmental impact of high temperature, high humidity and high salt, and the cost may be higher. So why must there be a tractor? Because whether it is at the airport or on the deck, you need to leave the warehouse, enter the warehouse, or reach the designated location, but the wheels of the aircraft do not have driving devices, and once the engine is started to generate thrust movement, it is not only cost-effective but also prone to accidents. Moreover, it is also a waste of oil to start the engine before taking off, which will shorten the aircraft's dead time, so towing vehicles can be used at the airport or on the deck. So why would a seemingly small tractor cost millions? This is because the tractor not only requires the vehicle to be as small as possible, but also to obtain a large traction while maintaining a low center of gravity. It is important to know that an aircraft can weigh tens of tons and weigh hundreds of tons. Pulling such a heavy aircraft to the designated location itself is very laborious, and the tractor can only be driven by electricity for environmental protection needs, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of developing the tractor. Therefore, there are only a handful of countries in the world that can build tractors. It is also because of the difficulty in developing tractors that small tractors are particularly expensive to build. However, some countries cannot build tractors themselves. If it is not cost-effective to buy, you can only think of other methods. For example, the tractors on Indian aircraft carriers are replaced by tractors. Tractor is a special support vehicle. It is not only difficult to manufacture but also low in output. A combination of factors has caused its unit price to be particularly high. However, airports or aircraft carrier decks are indispensable for such expensive support vehicles, otherwise the operation efficiency will be affected.