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RV6 Wing Spar Bolt Removal

phdugdale

Member
Hello
Need to remove the wings for repainting, any recommendations on getting the spar bolts out, lube & hammer/punch, or making a fixture/other?
Thanks, Peter
 
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Keep the spar layers held together when tapping out the bolts. If the spar layers start separating, it tends to make the bolts lock up so they don't tap out easily. Undersize bolts reinstalled will hold the layers together until you get all the tight tolerance bolts out, then remove the undersize bolts.
 
I have painted two sets of wings and also installed wings on my 6. Given the amount of effort necessary to pull the wings on a 6 (I swore I would sell mine before I ever considered pulling the wings off), I would consider painting them in place. Yes, no fun painting the bottoms via a creeper, but also less likely to get runs on the LE when held vertical.

When I painted the 10, I did the bottom on a creeper and wasn't as bad as I had expected.

Larry
 
I have painted two sets of wings and also installed wings on my 6. Given the amount of effort necessary to pull the wings on a 6 (I swore I would sell mine before I ever considered pulling the wings off), I would consider painting them in place. Yes, no fun painting the bottoms via a creeper, but also less likely to get runs on the LE when held vertical.

Creeper? Naah. Chock the thing, get a good rope around the tailwheel and nose it forward. Maybe put one stand under the tail and one under the crank once you get it tilted forward.

Then you can spray it at a fairly convenient height and attitude.

And I agree. Pulling the wings would be a rotten job.
 
Hello
Need to remove the wings for repainting, any recommendations on getting the spar bolts out, lube & hammer/punch, or making a fixture/other?
Thanks, Peter

Seems insane to remove the wings for paint, a ton of work and the potential for damage far exceeds the reward.
 
Maybe he wants to paint in a booth that is too small for an assembled RV?

But if that isn't the case...don't pull the wings.
 
Reply

Thanks for the ideas/input
Yes, wing removal is not the first choice but to use an off airport paint booth , no other options..... I built a -6 so I have an appreciation of the work effort.....
 
The 2001 Oshkosh grand champion kit-built was an RV8 that was painted outside in Iowa... he said he painted just as the sun was coming up, no bugs, no wind.
 
Ha, true! I believe he built 8 RV's...when he told me about painting outside, he was maybe up to 4 or 5...

We have an aircraft builder in our area that has produced multiple high-$$$$ showplanes. He paints outside behind his hangar and is a master at cutting and buffing...lays down a bunch of paint and cuts it until it looks like a mirror.
 
I painted in a homemade paint booth, but still had a mosquito land in the fresh paint on my elevator. I decided there was no way I was getting him out without making things worse. I just painted over that little bas&^#d. You can still see him....
 
What is it about the 6's that makes the wings more difficult to remove than others? I am trying to plan ahead, The shop I am building in is plenty big enough to completely assemble and complete the plane, however, I would have to remove the wings to transport it to the airport. Sure would be nice to be able to get it mostly done at my own shop before having to move it. Don't the wings need to be installed before drilling and mounting the tail parts?
 
the go-thru spars with multiple layers of the -3, -4, and -6 coupled to the close tolerance bolts make the install/removal of the wings tedious.
Yes you have to fit the wings to fit the tail feathers, and drill the rear spar holes. But you don?t need to install all bolts at this stage. I remember just installing 4 of the large NAS bolts on the top steel plates and the same on the bottom ones for the rigging.
Use some lube and have someone wiggle the wing whilst you hammer the bolts in and later out.

Helped a friend fit the wings on his -7 last week, and boy that was real easy...
 
What is it about the 6's that makes the wings more difficult to remove than others? I am trying to plan ahead, The shop I am building in is plenty big enough to completely assemble and complete the plane, however, I would have to remove the wings to transport it to the airport. Sure would be nice to be able to get it mostly done at my own shop before having to move it. Don't the wings need to be installed before drilling and mounting the tail parts?


The wing spar to fuselage interface is entirely different on the older models. Also, on the 6A, the main gear towers share bolts with the spar, so the gear has to come off to get the wings off.

I had my wings on twice when building, once for the gear fitting, the second for the rear-spar drilling and other wing-fuselage interfaces. For fitting you don't need all the bolts and you can use hardware-store stuff rather than the close tolerance, so it isn't as bad. The wings get in the way, so you don't want them on unless required.

When I took my 6A to the airport, it was already painted. Do as much as you can at home, it is a lot easier.

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#16 question ?

Why would the wings need to precede mounting the tail. Top longeron waterline is the datum for both, Correct ???
 
Why would the wings need to precede mounting the tail. Top longeron waterline is the datum for both, Correct ???

On the A model you need to fit the wings to drill the gear towers while the fuselage is inverted (can't have the tail on then, but otherwise there is no relationship or installation order of the wings vs tail.
 
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