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  #1  
Old 08-25-2015, 02:45 PM
pacer18a pacer18a is offline
 
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Location: St.Louis, Missouri
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Default Replacing one wing on a RV-6

I am a Wittman Tailwind owner with no RV building experience and have an opportunity to buy a ground looped RV-6. The damage to the airframe includes a wing which most likely has a bent spar. I have purchased the plans CD and thought that I could buy a used wing or a wing kit which someone had not finished to replace the bent spar wing. As I have searched this forum for info on the RV-6 wing removal it became clear that the wings were going to be difficult to remove due to the close tolerance bolts. I also understand that the spars and center section are all match predrilled together at the factory. I am starting to wonder if it will be possible to install a different wing in place of the bent spar wing. Can any of you give me any experiences you have had with this issue? Is it possible to just replace one wing? Is the only fix to install two new wings with a match drilled center section? Any light you can shed on this to keep me from making a mistake is greatly appreciated.

Dave
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Old 08-25-2015, 03:34 PM
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LifeofReiley LifeofReiley is offline
 
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Dave,

You will need a little more info. Not all RV6's were pre-punched/match drilled. An original Builder #, might be the Serial # in some cases could shed some light on this by calling Van's. The original builder name could work too. Changing one wing has been done many times. I have a contact on my airfield that has performed this on his RV6 with the right wing due to an engine mount/gear leg failure. PM me if you would like his contact info.
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Old 08-25-2015, 04:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pacer18a View Post
I am a Wittman Tailwind owner with no RV building experience and have an opportunity to buy a ground looped RV-6. The damage to the airframe includes a wing which most likely has a bent spar. Is the only fix to install two new wings with a match drilled center section? Any light you can shed on this to keep me from making a mistake is greatly appreciated.

Dave
As a Tailwind owner and RV owner with experience removing and replacing RV-6 wings, I think Reiley is correct. Find your serial number and see if it is real early kit- Most spars where pre-drilled at the factory. This should make a replacement wing a minor issue in the match id you are close in serial numbers. Also find a wing without the rear spar already drilled. You need to set up this new wing with your fuse. The RV-6 wing carry through fuselage spars are built like the Brooklyn bridge with the metal attach plates the crucial link. search for other info on this site. I think it's very do-able.
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Old 08-25-2015, 04:28 PM
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Replied to PM...
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:05 AM
pacer18a pacer18a is offline
 
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Thanks for the info so far. I have talked with an owner/builder who had the exact damage to repair and was able to successfully replace just one wing.

I would like to hear from others who may have similar knowledge.

Is the gear to engine mount failure a common issue with RV6's?

AZtailwind would you mind telling me more about your experiences with removing and replacing RV6 wings. I have read that removing the close tolerance bolts is normally a pain and a time consuming process. Any lessons learned would be appreciated.

Dave
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:12 AM
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LifeofReiley LifeofReiley is offline
 
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Hi Dave,

The original engine mount did not have the support gussets welded in for the gear leg socket on the RV6. There is a fix for this out there. Van's knows about the issue. Many have come before this one resulting in a failure.
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Last edited by LifeofReiley : 08-26-2015 at 09:16 AM.
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:17 AM
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LifeofReiley LifeofReiley is offline
 
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Post # 7 here

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...e+mount+gusset
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Old 08-26-2015, 10:02 AM
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AZtailwind AZtailwind is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pacer18a View Post
AZtailwind would you mind telling me more about your experiences with removing and replacing RV6 wings. I have read that removing the close tolerance bolts is normally a pain and a time consuming process. Any lessons learned would be appreciated.

Dave
PM sent- One thing I failed to mention is while removing all the bolts- there are a lot of them- save the difficult ones for last. Some close tolerance bolts have a closer tolerance than others. Clean the spar holes. If you don't have to take off the other wing-then don't. I used WD-40 to take them out and boelube to put them in. Good luck
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  #9  
Old 08-26-2015, 10:21 AM
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JonJay JonJay is offline
 
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Wayne with Phlogiston is the expert on replacing the older matched drilled wing components. It is very likely he drilled the originals as he was doing that for Van's kit's in the day....
He has done many replacements.
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  #10  
Old 08-26-2015, 10:49 AM
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rvbuilder2002 rvbuilder2002 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonJay View Post
Wayne with Phlogiston is the expert on replacing the older matched drilled wing components. It is very likely he drilled the originals as he was doing that for Van's kit's in the day....
He has done many replacements.
I agree, I recommend you call Wayne.
If you give him the spar serial # he might even have a record of details.

There are a lot of different factors that can come in to play when replacing an RV-6 wing.... it is not a plug it in and install the bolts type of repair.
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