In 1969, the genesis of today’s air cargo industry occurred. Eagle was there to answer the airlines call for an all-weather, high-speed cargo tractor which had not yet been invented. Eagle successfully engineered and developed the Ford F-350 Bob Tail for United Airlines at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Within two decades, the Eagle Bob Tail had become the narrow and wide-body cargo towing standard used by all North American and British Airlines, and also military GSE. Eagle experienced reduced Bob Tail interest in the mid 1990’s as its customers tried industrial tractors, converted to high speed use, as Bobtail replacements. However, by 2003 the converted industrial tractors had demonstrated a track record of unreliability when compared to the Eagle Bob Tail. Examples of these problems include drive shaft, drive wheel, drive hub and braking issues. Other known issues included exhaust in the cab, and excessive driver fatigue and discomfort caused by a lack of suspension. Because of these problems, Eagle Bob Tail customers have returned with increased annual purchases.
