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6A Temporary Gear Install

NYTOM

Well Known Member
To all my 6A brothers out there, would it be acceptable to install the gear on a wingless plane using short wooden faux spars to get the engine mounted and to generally move it around and then transport to the airport. I'm thinking of using maybe 50% of the bolts ( temporary HomeDepot stuff) and then after transporting to the airport, setting the whole fuselage in a support cradle to pull out the wood and install the wings with the permanent AN bolts. Has anyone attempted this and if you did was there any possibility of serious damage to the spar sockets? Really getting jealous of those 7A guys. Any advice would be appreciated.:)
 
I feel your pain. To properly install the gear leg mounts for the first time, the wings must be installed. This will allow you to drill all the gear mount holes using the wing/spar holes as a guide. This also allows the mounts to be properly positioned and shims fabricated (if needed) for the fus side attach points.

If all of this has already been done, then yes, you can attach the gear leg and mounts using the wooden spar substitute to move the aircraft as you are contemplating. However, if the engine and mount are on the AC before the final wing and gear attach, I think you will have a risky task of attaching those items afterwords. Just my opinion.

Also, the first time the wings go on, you can set the incidence angle, fabricate the wing gap fairing with corresponding plate nut holes, and drill the wing bottom skin-to-fuselage skin holes for the plate nuts that get added when the wings come back off.
 
With a support under the spar bulkhead, where the wing spars attach, and a engine hoist supporting some of the engine weight, it's no problem to pull the temp wooden spar, and install the wings. The fuselage, aft of the "support" blocks, will be offsetting much of the engine weight.

I used a heavy wooden support structure with carpet and heavy pillows, under the fuse.
 
A full false spar is not necessary.
Just something big enough to fill the space between the weldment and the center section bulkhead.
You also don't need lots of bolts. Install all of the fasteners that come in through the sides, and a couple top and bottom at the far inboard end, and you will be fine.
Remember, it will not be making any hard landings, just sitting on the wheels (and at a lower than normal weight). The applied loads will be very small compared to what it is designed to take in service.
 
I have had a wood "spar" for a couple of years with the gear and the engine are on. Your may have to route the wood so that some of the middle of the spar "web" do not interfere and your can remove the wood easily. Store bolts work fine.
When you do the stiffeners on the gear, the weight must be off the wheels.
 
Thanks to all

I've already fit the wings and all holes are drilled. Seems like I did that decades ago. Building in a basement workshop and the fuselage has been sitting in foam rubber bench supports while I finish up the panel, wiring & canopy. Time to move it up into the sunlight and garage to mount the firewall forward. Then the big move to the airport. Was hoping that those who have gone before me have successfully accomplished this method of moving a 6A without any horror stories. Your experiences and advice is very helpful and reassuring. :)
 
"I'm thinking of using maybe 50% of the bolts ( temporary HomeDepot stuff) and then after transporting to the airport, setting the whole fuselage in a support cradle to pull out the wood and install the wings with the permanent AN bolts."

That's pretty much what I did. In fact, I was under the impression that a "temporary" wooden spar was required to maintain the proper spacing on the 604 bulkhead so that the builder didn't get a nasty surprise when installing the wings and finding out the opening shrunk during the building process. My wooden spar halves spent the best part of 8 years in there with some brief interludes to drill the rear spar and the landing gear clusters, etc. A few of the big bolts scattered around the spar and center section are more than adequate to hold everything together (make sure some of them are through the gear clusters). Then the wooden spars will support the weight of the fuselage with the engine and everything else installed.

When I permanently installed the wings, I jacked up each side of the fuselage (using a hard point under the 604), removed the hardware store bolts and spar half and plugged in the wings, one at a time. After that, prepare to spend a LOT of time standing on your head installing the wing bolts. I don't work too fast so it took me an entire winter in my chapter's heated hangar. The ones that go through the gear clusters are especially a pain in the backside. THAT is where I really envied the -7A folks. If somebody told me I would have to remove the wings, I would probably light the whole thing on fire.

Jim Bower
RV-6A N143DJ
Flying since 2011
 
Yes

To all my 6A brothers out there, would it be acceptable to install the gear on a wingless plane using short wooden faux spars to get the engine mounted and to generally move it around and then transport to the airport. I'm thinking of using maybe 50% of the bolts ( temporary HomeDepot stuff) and then after transporting to the airport, setting the whole fuselage in a support cradle to pull out the wood and install the wings with the permanent AN bolts. Has anyone attempted this and if you did was there any possibility of serious damage to the spar sockets? Really getting jealous of those 7A guys. Any advice would be appreciated.:)

That is what I did.

Bob Axsom
 
My opinion, but wait as long as you can before installing the gear. Yes, it feels great to have it on the wheels, but it makes things more difficult. Of course at some point to have to put it on wheels to finish, but you can mount the engine and run all the plumbing without the gear. I should have waited a little longer on mine, it would have made it easier to work on later. If possible, try to run as much electrical as you can before getting on the gear. It is much easier to mess around inside the fuselage while it is low to the ground.

If you are considering using a taper-pin for the nosegear, do it now also!!!!!!!
 
Expanded response

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Unless you are prepared to build in your private hangar you are going to have to transition back and forth a bit especially with an RV-6A. I made a false wooden spar and installed the gear and engine and worked on it for years in our garage before it was loaded on a tilt/flatbed tow truck and taken to the airport. That move was delayed until the plane was completely ready for flight except for final assembly.

You do have to come up with a method for supporting the fuselage and wings in a stable manner to do precise rigging and final assembly. My method was to build sawhorses and attach carpeting to the top for padding. The height and strength depended on the application. For example the wing horses were made from 2"x4"s and the fuselage 2"x6"s. I placed the two fuselage horses on a 3/4"x4'x8' sheet of high quality plywood and bought 4 scissor jacks from an auto parts store to place under the corners of the plywood to elevate it to the proper height and level for rigging and assembly. Then I stabilized the plywood base with wood between the jacks.

It is not a simple process that you can do well without thinking of ways to accommodate the work that has to be done in the most convenient work place. For example I installed the wings with the plane turned sideways in the garage on my collection of custom made horses and after the rigging was done I removed them and placed them on shelves I made for them on our garage wall.

When doing wiring that went between major (fuselage and wings)assemblies that were not connected I installed the wiring in the major assemblies independently and coiled the excess at the interface where splicing was done after final assembly. I always planned ahead and tried to come up with the most stable work environment for completing the work in a precise manner.

Bob Axsom
 
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I made a set of wooden false spars - they are currently loaned out to another builder - should be back soon if you wanna borrow.....
 
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