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How do I remove the wings off an RV-4?

AX-O

AX-O

Well Known Member
I am building an RV-8 and have not been able to look at the RV-4 plans yet. So I am asking the question to understand how big the task will be and to get any lessons learned before I look at the plans.

My hangar mate ground looped his RV-4 (he is OK) and we need to transport the aircraft from Mojave back home. We have access to a 20 ft enclosed trailer so I am assuming that will be big enough. Can you tell me what all is involved in removing the wings off an RV-4? Also, if you have any advice on transporting the plane, I would be happy to listen. Thanks for any help in advance.
 
Two sturdy trees spaced about 10 feet apart and a reasonable amount of speed should do the trick ;) Sorry couldn't resist.
 
While I've never done it, here's my guess:

1. Remove wing root fairings
2. Empty fuel tanks and disconnect fuel lines from tank to fuselage
3. Disconnect flap linkage
4. Disconnect aileron linkage
5. Disconnect any electrical wiring (lights, pitot heat, etc.)
6. Disconnect rear spar bolt/fuel tank support (possibly just the tank itself)
7. Remove close tolerance main spar bolts
8. Remove wing

Like I said, I have not done an RV wing, but know people who can do this in a few hours without too much difficulty.

Good luck, and glad to hear your friend is okay :)
 
Remove Flaps
Disconnect flap control link from inside the rear cockpit
Remove hinge pin holding the flap to the wing.
The flap will come off​
Remove ailerons
Remove the bolt holding the rod end to the inside aileron hinge
Note the position of the spacers for reassembly.
Support one end and remove the other end?s hinge bolt.
Remove the remaining hinge bolt
Remove the aileron​

You can keep the tips on if you disconnect the wing tip nav and strobe lights inside the cockpit. These could be cut if there is not a connector and reconnected at reassembly time. If the wing tip has antennas it might be easier to remove the tips and disconnect the wires and coax from the wing and reinstall it without cutting it.

Wiring to the heated pitot will need to be removed or disconnected in the cockpit. To get to these wires it might be necessary to remove the floor panels on each side of the stick. The pitot tube connection might also be in this area. It will need to be disconnected also.

Tanks
The tanks should be drained to make handling the wing or tank easier. Remove the sump drain and drain into suitable container. Have a fire extinguisher handy.
Wing removal
The wings can be removed with the tanks on or off.
Remove the top aft wing-to-fuse fairing
Remove the forward tank fairing
Remove the screws holding the bottom wing overlay onto the fuse bottom.
Disconnect the fuel sensor wires.
Disconnect the fuel vent lines.
Disconnect the fuel line at the tank.
Remove the front tanks to fuse support bolt.
If tank is to be removed all screws must be removed. If the tanks were installed and then the wing painted, this will cause some paint damage on the screws and the parting line.
To remove the tanks pull forward on the inboard forward tank edge. As it begins to part, support the inboard edge so the tank does not fall.​
Remove the rear spar-to-fuse bolt.
Remove the floor on each side of the pilot seat to gain access to the lower main spar bolts.
Remove the pilot?s stick boot cover and plate. Disconnect the inboard aileron push-rod ends from the pilot?s stick.
Place some support under the both outer wing areas to relieve the tension on the fuse joining bolts and support the wing not being removed.
There are many bolts. Mark the position of the steel joining plates aft of the stick so they can be replaced in the proper position.
Remove all wing-to-fuse bolts. This will probably require some encouragement with a hammer and a punch.
When removing the last few it will help to have someone support the wing and move it up and down to relieve pressure on the bolts.
When all bolts are removed the wing can be removed by pulling straight out until the main spar clears the fuse.​
 
Fire Hazard

Kenneth,
Awesome procedure write-up! Just one safety add-on. Electrically ground both the airplane and the gas can into which you're transfering the fuel. Don't burn up the airplane!
 
ditto--awesome write-ups guys.

you think he should insert some of the spar bolts back in afterwards or use clamps or dummy bolts? for those reinforcement plates? kind of keep stuff straight?

also, a friend of mine suffered all kinds of rock chips on his cowling from the trailer ride home after a collapsed main gear. they slid the wings under the plane on blankets and they were fine.
 
Trailer size???

:eek:
I just moved my -4 this past weekend with a 8 1/2' by 24' enclosed ramp door trailer and it was a very snug fit and that was without the engine or the tail assy installed. I had the wings in a vertical rack in the very front left corner of the trailer, then the tail went in first and over to the right side of the forward corner just next to the side door beside the wings. Now, we just moved a -3 using the same trailer...The -3 had the tail and engine mounted and it did not fit with the wings stored in the same place. BTW, the tail only had less than 1" of clearance past the ramp door frame.

Now, I really do think if you remove the elev and the horz stab you should be able to slide everything in...worst case you might need to remove the prop. Note: if you remove the tail, STRAP SOME LEAD ON THE TAIL WHEEL! Might be a good idea to do that before removing the wings not knowing what weight hanging on the nose.

#2...If possible and you have an extra driver. Rent a 12' u-haul enclosed trailer and lay the wings flat inside the trailer, it works great! (That is what I used the first time...but I did not have the tips installed. I don't remember if that will make the difference.)

I hope this info is helpful, I hate to see you make the drive and take the -4 apart only to find it won't fit. The good news is the posting above this one is some of the best directions you will find. The wings on a -4 come off real easy. It would be helpful if you buy two folding saw horses from Lowes or Home Depot along with blankets to cover the horses. Best wishes to you.

(I didn't think about sliding the wings underneath the -4)
 
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I just transported a RV-4 in a 20' container. It is snug even if the airplane itself fits just fine it is hard to find a good location for the wings since I didn?t think the wings would handle a long journey in a cradle standing up (I kind of distrusted my construction skills..).
What I found out was that that the wings doesn't fit underneath the fuselage (on the ground) either since two wings on top doesn't fit under the gear. What I did was take two 2x4 and bolt on both sides of the spars with the wings being on top of each other (with a minimum of space between the two) and the fixate the tail wheel between the same 2x4's on top of the wings.
With just a bubble wrapping at the wingtip end to keep them of the floor and provide some distance between the two it proved to be a surprisingly stable way to transport it. Mine survived 4 weeks of transportation. I don't know about your trailer but in a container it is really easy to fixate the whole package sideways against the walls.
If your trailer is wider then 7'11" inside you will save yourself some work since the HS/VS could be kept on. Mine was not so the whole tail had to come of.
 
How bad?

AX-O said:
My hangar mate ground looped his RV-4 (he is OK) and we need to transport the aircraft from Mojave back home. We have access to a 20 ft enclosed trailer so I am assuming that will be big enough. Can you tell me what all is involved in removing the wings off an RV-4? Also, if you have any advice on transporting the plane, I would be happy to listen. Thanks for any help in advance.
Click to expand...

How bad is the damage? Is the airplane absolutely, positively unfliable? You'd be surprised at what you can actually fly. Pictures?

Regards,
Pierre
 
pierre smith said:
How bad is the damage? Is the airplane absolutely, positively unfliable? You'd be surprised at what you can actually fly. Pictures?

Regards,
Pierre
Click to expand...

Plane is not flyable.
 
Already lots of good advice here.

One more thing. Bengay for your wrists, elbows, and shoulders after you take all those spar bolts off. There are a bunch of them.

I've done it. Twice. Never again. :)
 
[. Can you tell me what all is involved in removing the wings off an RV-4? Also, if you have any advice on transporting the plane, I would be happy to listen. Thanks for any help in advance.[/QUOTE]

Simple;

1. remove front seat
2. remove floor pan
3. disconnect aileron push rods, from control stick, remove flap push rod heim end from flap
4. remove root fairings and bottom skin screws
5. remove fuel lines, tank attach and rear spar bolts, uncouple wires
6. remove all but four spar bolts. Gently tap out the bolts, turn bolt while pushing on threads (end)iif they do not want to move by tapping.
7. support wings with sawhorse or something to keep the plane from tipping when one wing is removed
8. remove last 4 bolts and pull wing(s) outboard.....may need to jiggle the wing a little to get the last bolt out....

that's it you should have them off in a few hours....Make sure to mark the steel spar plates so that they go back on in the exact same location.
 
Wing removal

If there is an air compressor available use a 2x or 3x rivet gun to drive out the bolts, you will be surprised at the ease of removal. Also works great to get them back in. The aft bottom steel plate may not come out, so just leave it in the plane. Been there done that. Ouch. 24 ft U-Haul truck. Tail was out the back. Wings stood up on padded leading edges and strapped to side of truck. Get lots of help to lift into the truck if you still have the engine on. Good luck. Clarke
 
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