width of wing cradle

[prkaye]

I'm going to build a wing cradle very much like the one suggested in the plans, and shown on several builder's sites (e.g. http://smittysrv.com/more_stuff.asp?ID=380).
One question - the wing cradle is about 3 feet wide, and leaves quite a bit of space between the wings. Floor space is at a real premium, so I would like to shave 6 inches off the space between the wings, making my cradle only 2.5 feet wide. Does anybody see a problem with doing this?

[Mike S]

One possible area of concern-----narrower cradle forces the wing chord line closer to vertical. Your wings may be more prone to falling off the cradle-----rig up some kind of safety strap to hold the wings together at the top, or directly to the cradle.

Good luck.

[IowaRV9Dreamer]

Hi Phil - I'm building in a single stall side of a garage, so I have the same floor space premium you have. I was going to hang the wings up high, but it was just too scary for me... I could see them fallling

So I built a very simple cradle out of scrap 2x4s. The wings are top sides together (bottom sides out) and there are only about 6 or less inches between them. The spars rest on a 2x4 platform, and at the other end a single 2x4 goes up between the wings. I used a strip of carpet attached to this 2x4 to hold the wings. Whole thing is on casters and is pushed up against the wall under a shelf. I put a big piece of styrofoam on the outside to use as a plans hanger. Came out good. Although now with the fuse coming together it's getting crowded again. I'll look tonight for a picture to post.

Good Luck,

dave

[hydroguy2]

My cradle is only 2' wide. Works fine and yes I have them secured from falling over.