However where the nosewheels comprise more than two wheels placed side by side, existing towbarless towing trucks cannot accommodate the additional width of the extra wheels. If the towing truck were widened to accommodate the wider undercarriage problems would arise because the airport access roads are of a finite width and the truck would then be too wide to use them.

The invention is intended to address that problem.

According to the invention there is provided a towbarless towing truck having front and rear wheels, and a section for receiving undercarriage wheels of an aircraft, the said section being located on a side of the towing truck between the front and rear wheels.

In that way, the towing truck may be increased in length but no increase in width is required to accommodate additional wheels.

Preferably the wheels of the towing truck can turn through an angle in order to enable the truck to be driven in a direction transverse to the fore-and-aft direction.

In that way the towing truck is particularly manoeuvrable. The wheels of the towing truck preferably turn through an angle of at least 90°.

Preferably the section for receiving the undercarriage wheels is arranged such that the undercarriage wheels will lie, in use, substantially inboard of front and rear wheels of the vehicle.

The section for receiving the undercarriage wheels may extend from one side of the towing truck towards the other beyond the centre of the towing truck.

Conveniently the said section for receiving the undercarriage wheels is in the form of a recess. The recess may be open towards said one side for receiving the undercarriage wheels.

Preferably the said section of the towing truck has or is capable of receiving three or more undercarriage wheels.

A towbarless towing truck in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a towbarless towing truck in accordance with the invention indicating a longitudinal direction of travel relative to an aircraft nosewheels; Fig 2 is a view similar to Fig 1 indicating a transverse direction of travel relative to the aircraft nosewheels; and Fig 3 is a view similar to that of Figs 1 and 2 showing the nosewheels in position on the towing truck.

Looking at Fig 1, a towing truck 10 comprises an elongate chassis or body 12 having sets of front and rear wheels 14,16 respectively. The wheels 14,16 are steerable by a suitable mechanism (not shown) which enables the wheels to be steered through 90 degrees (see Fig 2). Both sets of wheels 14,16 are drivable.

The chassis 12 is shaped on one side 13 of the towing truck 10 between the front and rear wheels 14,16 to define a recess 18. The recess 18 is open towards the side

13 and a ramp 20 is supported by the chassis 12 to form a bottom surface for the recess 18. It will be noted that the recess 18 extends from the side 13 of the towing truck 10 towards the opposite side and across a central longitudinal axis A of the towing truck 10.

An undercarriage loading mechanism (not shown) is carried by the towing truck 10 at a position adjacent the recess 18. The loading mechanism is normally powered by hydraulics on the towing truck 10 and is similar to the kind used in known towing trucks which load from the rear.

The undercarriage is indicated at 22 and comprises four aircraft nosewheels 24 arranged two each side of an undercarriage strut 26.

In use, the elongate towing truck 10 is driven normally in the fore-and-aft direction indicated by the arrow L in Fig 1 towards the aircraft undercarriage 22. The driver positions the towing truck 10 so that the recess 18 aligns with the nosewheels 24 and the driver then turns the front and rear wheels 14,16 through 90 degrees into the position shown in Fig 2. The truck can then be driven sideways if necessary in the direction of the arrow T to move the truck 10 closer to the nosewheels 24. The hydraulic loading mechanism is then operated to pull and lift the nosewheels 24 on to the ramp 20 as shown in Fig 3. It will be noted from the position of the strut 26 that the load carried by the nosewheels 24 acts on the ramp 20 at a position inboard of the front and rear wheels 14,16. The loading mechanism secures the nosewheels 24 in place on the towing truck 10 and the towing truck can then tow the aircraft, for example, in the direction of the arrow R in Fig 3. If desired, the wheels 14,16 can be steered so that the towing truck 10 can be driven in a direction between the fore- and-aft and transverse directions. In that way, the towing truck 10 is easily manoeuvrable. It will be appreciated that the towbarless towing truck 10 in accordance with the invention will enable extra nosewheels 24 to be accommodated without the need to increase the width of the towing truck 10.