Wing Stands

[NavyS3BNFO]

Anyone try any alternatives to the wing stands Vans recommends for holding the wings? Anyone skip the wing stands altogether and just do it on the worktable? I'm looking for something a little more flexible as far as space management goes.

I was thinking about using saw horses to hold the wings but was worried about them not being perfectly level with one another and introducing twist. Another concern is that they wouldn't be as stable at something permanently affixed to floor and ceiling.

Looking for any feedback. TIA.

[VA Maule]

Van's recommend design is good or an equally stable alternative will be needed, you'll be pushing the rivet gun harder than you may think . It would be a really bad day to have the wing and rig topple over. There are some really good pictures here on VAF but I'm not computer savvy enough to guide you to them. Hope this helps remember sturdy & stable is required.

[N546RV]

As you mention, I think the issue with "winging it" (sorry) on the stands is the possibility of introducing twist along the way.

An alternative to the plans-specified floor-to-ceiling setup that a lot of builders have done is a set of floor-mounted towers. This is what I used - in fact I got them for free from another builder - but in my case, I was building my wings in a rental house and so instead of mounting the stands to the concrete, I built 2x6 frames for them. I made the frames with adjustable "feet" so I could level and square the stands themselves prior to introducing the wing skeletons.

You can see/read a bit about my wing stand construction here: http://rv.squawk1200.net/2014/06/30/...-organization/