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Rotisserie or Not
So I am about to get the fuselage up to the point where it joins with the tail and have a poll question. Considering I am doing all my own interior paint and electrical, the question is should I
1) Take the time to build a rotisserie using an engine stand and sawhorse. 2) Lay the fuselage on some pallets with padding and a sawhorse (still able to rotate, but supported by the skin) 3) Keep the fuselage on a low table / cart and forget trying to rotate the body. Also open to other opinions if anyone has creative ideas. Keeping in mind this is only for a couple months until I get the fuselage up on the gear legs. |
For me, a rotisserie was a life (and back) saver. For example, routing the wiring harness to the sticks forces you into the most cramped position possible to get the wires from the center tunnel to the sticks. So much easier (although still a PITA) to do it sitting on a stool with the fuselage tilted 45 degrees. Could I have done it (and lots of other examples, including painting the interior) with it blocked up on saw horses. Probably. Was it much simpler to rotate the fuselage to whatever angle made it easiest to access. Definitely! :cool: YMMV.
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For the two hours and less than a hundred dollars it took me to build the rotisserie I saved a hundred hours and a lot of sweat. It?s a no brainer. The only thing I wasted in it was too many hours deciding to do it. I wrapped the tail in bubble wrap and let it roll around on a stand.
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Rotisserie
Love mine. So much time and effort saved working inside. Just flip any orientation to get the job done. Last job is vinyl wrapping the belly before she goes on gear and the engine gets mounted. Wish I had the electronics but they have to wait so I will be laying inside.
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At the stage you are, I can hardly think of any item that will be much easier if upside down. The 14 is a bigger plane and routing of the wire, tubes etc are well thought of and space created for it. If anything, I recommend not putting on gear so it is lower to the ground for easy of getting in/out.
I did not put mine on gear till I had finished my canopy, all push/pull controls and right before engine install. |
Maybe it is just a case of greener grass . . but . .
I wished I had had one for my 7, and told my self I'd have one next time.
But, not having one did train me to think differently about where/how to do some things to avoid doing it again. I do remember long days of working in a squat position with my hands in a cavity below my foot level. . . .and the pain afterward. Then doing it again. It could be a case of planning for routings, and generous use of quality connectors. |
I did not use one. If I had it to do over again though, you better believe that's about the first thing I'd do. Leaning over the side rail is a killer.
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Doing most of the work myself, the rotisserie was a lifesaver. I was constantly rotating side to side.
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Jon you can have my engine stand and mount if you can come get it, just pass it on when you are done. Sawhorse for the rear is on you though :)
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I just use saw horses for now. But then I'm building an RV-3B and that's a MUCH smaller airplane than the RV-7 or later. With the engine, gear and tail off, it's easy to flip it to a reasonable position and reach in and do something.
Of course it'll get practically impossible when the motor and gear are on. But by then I hope I'm past most of the interior work. Dave |
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