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HF Tail Lifter

Lrussell

I'm New Here
A tail wheel lifter can be easily constructed from the Harbor Freight 4-Wheel hydraulic Lift #60395 by bolting on a piece of aluminum channel in place of the cross channel and wheel holders. No modifications were made to the HF Lift. I used a 6061 T6 3? x 1.5? x .258 x 12? long channel and a ?-13 grade 5 bolt. Also added a piece of 1.5 x 1? alum U-channel underneath, which may not be necessary. Lift or ramp the tail wheel over the front of the Lift?s frame. The lift raises the tail about 25? and it can be locked in place.

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That is a great idea! I bet I could make a frame to hold my lower cowl on this same jack for solo installation and all paint intact!! I adapted a lower cowl holder for my floor jack already, but this could be dual use.

Thanks!!
 
Welcome to VAF!

Larry,
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aboard the good ship VAF.

Great first post, and you got the photo to work also--congrats:D
 
I'm still building, so…
Why are we jacking up the tail?
Most often it's helpful when doing FWF maintenance. It may help oil drain out better and it may give you better access if you can lower the nose a bit. It's also sometimes nice when doing maintenance and inspections in the aft sections of the fuselage. Not too fun doing that when all your blood is pooling in your head! ;) That said, if I do get in the plane with the tail up, I prefer to do so with at least a sawhorse under the tail.
 
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I'm still building, so…
Why are we jacking up the tail?
To do tailwheel maintenance. I usually lift it up and put the TW spring on a sawhorse, then I can get the tailwheel off.
Also it's easier to clean the belly, inspect / fix antennas, etc. with the tail lifted up.
I usually do most of the tail component inspections with the tail up, saves having to crawl under the HS.

I've been lifting it up onto a sawhorse by hand -- and I usually tweak my back doing so (RV-6). Can't wait to implement one of these solutions!
 
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I've been wondering how high is safe to lift the tail? Do you ever run into an angle where you tip, or is that just not a problem?
 
I've been wondering how high is safe to lift the tail? Do you ever run into an angle where you tip, or is that just not a problem?

My RV-6 is over 16-years old. Have never been able to get the tail high enough that it would tip forward. I do not have enough strength to get it above my head. Getting the tail wheel up to chest level is higher than you will need and my tail is still pretty heavy that far up. Yes I have a Constant Speed Prop that helps make the tail lighter than it would be with a wood prop.
 
My RV-6 is over 16-years old. Have never been able to get the tail high enough that it would tip forward. I do not have enough strength to get it above my head. Getting the tail wheel up to chest level is higher than you will need and my tail is still pretty heavy that far up. Yes I have a Constant Speed Prop that helps make the tail lighter than it would be with a wood prop.

Thanks. I guess that makes sense since the arc you are cutting is so small in relative terms, and the tail weighs 60-70lbs. Thanks!
 
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