Wing attach

[weriderv8a]

Because of the size needed to attach the wings and set the incidence , and the small size of my shop , I'm wondering if it is possible or advisable to delay doing so until I get into a hanger and have the available space. I want to continue to work on the fuselage ,install the gears (RV8A) and then hang the motor while still in the shop.It's 25 miles each way to the airport and with distance and gas prices, would cut my build time considerably , rather then walking out the door to go to work. Has anyone tried doing this and how well did it work out?
Tom Davies
RV8A (N60TD) reserved
Not as far as I would like to be..50%..???

[Rick_A]

This is a common way to do it. I'm about a month away from transporting my plane to a hanger for final assembly and have yet to fit the wings to the fuselage.

I "might" have enough room to install my wings in my 3 car garage which would shorten the final assembly time. However, I'll probably wait until I'm in a hanger and do the wing fitting as one of the final steps in the build.

[Ironflight]

Tom -

Without a doubt, it is no problem to delay the wings until you get to the airport. That's the way I did it, and I probably had the wings mounted permanently within a week of transporting the project to the hangar.

Paul

[Kahuna]

Yes as others have said it will work out fine.
Are you going to fly before paint? If so then no prob. If not, then you will have to take extra care in rigging and drilling when in the hanger. I promise yu you will make that first scratch when rigging and drilling. Whether that first scratch comes before the first flight or after, it will come. Getting it out of the way early is just as good as later.

I would guess that you will paint after flight. The only way to really paint before flight is to get all the rigging, wing roots, transitions, and so forth done before beginning paint. This can only be done by mating the wings first.

Just wanted to throw the paint bone out there for you.

[Kyle Boatright]

Why not roll the beast out into the driveway and do it there? One 8 hour Saturday with the help of a couple of friends and you'll get it done. The great thing will be that every tool you own will be at hand. My experience was that no matter what I tried to do once I moved the project to the airport for final assembly, one of the tools I needed was back in my shop.

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by Kyle Boatright

Why not roll the beast out into the driveway and do it there? One 8 hour Saturday with the help of a couple of friends and you'll get it done. The great thing will be that every tool you own will be at hand. My experience was that no matter what I tried to do once I moved the project to the airport for final assembly, one of the tools I needed was back in my shop.

Why not? I thought about it Kyle, but while I had a big house, I only had single-car driveways - there was no place to spread the wings (that's what it's like living on waterfront where the lot is priced by the square inch!).

You're right about wanting all the tools in one place - of course, I was into a divorce at the time of final assembly, so EVERYTHING left the house and went to the airport with the airplane......

Paul

[weriderv8a]

Got the information I was hoping for. I will wait until I get to the hanger to mate the wings. Driveway is a 12% slope so no hope there. Will fly 1st paint after 40hrs ....Thanks everyone for the info...Tom