| 1 | ax. |
| 2 | crowbars. |
| 6 | lengths of iron pipe about 2 in. in diameter, 3 ft. long. |
| 6 | lengths of iron pipe about 2 in. in diameter, 4 ft. long. |
| 100 | ft. manila rope, 1 in. in diameter. |
A regular flat-bed moving truck or ordinary truck with a flat-bed trailer should be provided for handling the machine from the car to the field erecting shop.
Airplanes are usually shipped in automobile cars with end doors or gondola cars. After opening doors of cars, examine and inspect all crates and boxes carefully to see that they are all there in accordance with the bill of loading or shipping memorandum, as well as to see that they are in good condition. If any boxes are found damaged, they should not be removed from the car without first reporting the fact to the receiving officer.
Next, all cleats and bracing should be removed. The crate containing the fuselage and engine should, if possible, be unloaded first. The heavy end where the engine is fixed should be lifted up, have 2-in. pipe rollers put underneath and manipulated into the truck which has been backed up against the car door so that this heavy end, when finally placed, will rest on the body of the truck as far forward as possible. Next lash the front end of the box securely to the truck.
Should it happen that the fuselage crate is so located in the car that the light end must of necessity emerge first through the door, then this end may be run on to a truck and the crate removed from the car with the heavy end adequately supported by sufficient help. Another truck is then backed up against the rear of the first one which has been moved into the clear, and the heavy end of the fuselage crate brought to rest as far forward as possible in the second truck. It is then secured and the first truck released.
After the box is properly lashed by means of the manila rope, a man should be placed on each side of it to watch and see that the lashings do not loosen and the box shift in transit. Trucks should be driven slowly, especially over rough ground, tracks, etc. In addition to the fuselage crate it may also be possible to load the panel crates on this same truck, but as a rule it is better to load these on a second truck. Common sense goes a long way in transporting aircrafts by motor trucks.
Unloading of the crates is done with the use of skids applied to the rear of the truck and secured so as to form a sort of an inclined plane down which to slide the boxes on the pipe rollers to the ground. These skids should be at least 4 in. by 4 in. by 6 ft. and made of strong wood. The rear end of the crate may be brought to the ground, rested there, and the truck moved forward slowly until the entire length rests on the ground. Care must be used not to jolt or drop this box at any stage whatsoever.
When uncrating the fuselage, remove the top and both ends of the box. Fold both sides of box flat down on ground and use same for assembling machine. The wing boxes should have the tops removed and planes lifted out in that manner.
Next, the airplane is assembled in accordance with instructions already given.
The Dismantling and Loading of Airplanes.—When airplanes are to be prepared for shipment by motor truck or railway, they should, of course, be taken down and crated similar to the way they were shipped from the factory. The order in which this is done should be as follows: