Wing Installation

[Skint]

Anyone come across tips or detailed instructions on mounting the wings on an RV7a?

[Mike S]

Hey Tim, welcome to the good ship VAF.

Good to have you aboard.

As to mounting the wings------is this the final mounting, or are you just doing a temp mounting so as to get the alignment done??

I have helped a buddy do his 7 wings 3 times now, on, off, and back on.

3 people is about right, one in the tub with bolts, two on the wing to do the wiggle dance.

Start off with hardware store bolts, get some that are a couple inches too long, cut off the threaded end, and round off the stub in a long taper.

When doing the final assembly------use the supplied close tolerances bolts.
First chill them in an ice chest using dry ice, and use some lube to get them in easier.

Be sure that you have enough washer thickness so the nut will NOT bottom out on the threads, these bolts must clamp down tight when torqued.

There are other RV builders in your area, get some help from someone who has gone there before.

Good Luck.

[Skint]

Hi Mike

Thanks for the input. I am rounding up volunteers. Have bought some bolts and will prep them tomorrow.

Tim

[pierre smith]

We just mounted ours on Sunday and the right wing was a bugger. For some reason, the lower box on the airplane was about 1/16" too narrow for the spar to go in so I cut a wedge of cherry that was a tad wider than the opening and tapped it in with a hammer..voila!! after the wing was in an inch or so, we reached in with a long screwdriver and pried the wedge out...whatever works

We also used some lube and wiped the box/spars clean from debris.

Have fun,

[DGlaeser]

Originally Posted by Skint

Anyone come across tips or detailed instructions on mounting the wings on an RV7a?

1) slide wing into spar
2) insert bolts
3) install nuts
(it's kinda like those lines in the instructions that say: drill, debur, dimple...)

As Paul Harvey would say, here's the rest of the story -

Step 1 - not too bad if you have a couple of friends help. Don't forget about any wires that need to be run, and be careful of the fuel lines. Be sure the aft spar has been trimmed per the plans (shoulda been done long ago, but just in case...)

Step 2 - can be a bit more challenging. Make sure the actual bolts slide into the parts while they are apart. If they don't fit there, they won't fit when it's together either :-) You already know about starting with 'drift pins' made from hardware store bolts.
Don't forget the washer goes under the head on the lower bolts
On the bottom bolts, don't drive them all the way - get the end just past the spar by 1/16", or else step 3 is impossible!

Step 3 - easy for the upper bolts, but the lower ones are a different story (I narrated my story with a lot of 'colorful' words). I literally superglued the large nuts to a strip of aluminum to hold them in place while turning the bolt until it started. Then you need a ground-down open end wrench to hold the nut while tightening. One of your RV buddies will have this wrench.
Note: there is very little throw room on the head side of those bolts. If you have a pneumatic wrench, it makes it much easier to get them started.

I've done this twice - first with my son on his plane, then on mine a couple years later. The second time was not any easier, but the stress level was lower, knowing what to expect...

[RVRC]

Check out this link. I printed it and installed my wings on my -7 10 days ago.
http://www.vansaircraft.com/pdf/Wing_%20Incidence.pdf

Very helpful. I had 3-4 people helping and 20 or so watching.

[Skint]

Thanks, everyone!

I will let you know how it goes....

Tim