R

ron sterba

Well Known Member
Soon I will mount my wings to the fuselage. Heres what I would like to do. Fit the wings and mount them and then take them off and have them painted. Good idea or a pain in the butt? Next question. when you set the wing angles did you built a flat table and set the fuselage on and level? What height was a good height to work with? Just like Rod MaChado would say. L:)ook two steps ahead when flying! Thanks Guys
Ron in Oregon
 
As for painting the wings sometime between setting the wing incidence and before mounting them with the close tolerance bolts, I think it'll work just fine. I wasn't planning to paint until I was out of Phase 1 (and I'm still building....) and an EAA friend, instructor, A&P, and IA suggested I ought to paint the whole plane before final assembly. Considering the source, probably decent information and I may regret not doing it...but I want to finish the 9A and see if I can overtake Vlad's hours of flying....well, maybe not but at least give him a run for his money. In short, it's your call when you paint.

When I set the wing incidence I used a simple jig described in the manual. As I recall it was just a block of wood that you but in a particular location (distance?) to establish a level. I leveled the longerons first and made sure the plane was level longitudinally and horizontally. I felt really good when my bolt holes came out centered....It seemed to be what the plans envisioned.
 
Paint paint paint

I am with Don's friend. Paint before final assembly otherwise... you know what would most likely happen. :) I closely watched Mark Santoleri approach to finishing his 9A and love it. You may have a minor scratch here and there during final fit but fixes are easy talk to you painting partner about it.
 
Paint first

IMHO it makes more sense to paint before first flight, and that's how I am planning to proceed. I fit the wings and set the angle of incidence with temporary, slightly undersized, bolts that I ground down to remove the threads. Easier to install and remove!

I had the fuse then on a cradle that I built that kept it level fore and aft, and side to side. I am building a seven, but I think the nine fuse is similar sized, so if you want my cradle, I am totally done with it (as you can see, I'm in Eugene)

Yours to pick up and take away. If interested, let me know.
 
I set the front fuse on a simple stand I built, and then leveled it by the support under the tail. ... used a digital level in both frt-back and side-side directions. The bottom of the fuse was about 2' or so above the floor. That working height was handy throughout the build. Marked all the req'd perpendicular lines and such on the floor in Sharpie for the wing sweep and incidence measurments. Used temporary wing bolts from Ace Aviation Supply, that I spun in a drill press using emery cloth to make them fit easier in the wings and ctr section. Worked like a charm .
While you have the wings on, don't forget to mark and/or drill the holes at the wing root on the bottom .... they go thru the bottom fuse skin. If you forget now, it's a PITA to do them later.
 
I just went through mounting the wings this last month. I had my fuselage on the rolling stand when the wings were fitted. It was very easy to shim up one of the wheels to get the whole thing leveled out. Get at least 4 plumb bobs and a string for setting the sweep. I used some aluminum angle scraps as my blocks for setting incidence. If you have followed the plans exactly, things should fit pretty well right out of the gate. You might need to pre-trim just a bit off of the rear spar attachment where it butts up agains the flap gap seal.
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The only down side to the stand was trying to get one of the holes drilled underneath, since it was blocked by the support on the stand. Had to enlist my kids to help lift up on the fuselage in order to pull the stand back a couple of inches. There are lots of little tasks to complete when the wings are on. Gap seals get bent and drilled, fuel lines marked, vent lines marked, fuel sender wire penetrations marked, pitot/AOA lines marked, wire lengths determined, flap control rod holes cut, and tank attach brackets drilled.

Lots of photos and commentary about my experience on my site.

As far as painting, it would be nice to get that done before hand. I will probably not paint first. I'm cheap (paying as I go), and just want this thing in the air as soon as possible.
 
Well DON, VLAD, STEVE, TERRY, BRUCE ! Man have you guys come in with a wealth of info. I have reread the section and rereread and still missed some points that you have brought to light. Can't thank you guys enough and Bruce you backed everybody up with pictures that said a million words and thoughts. Also I would like to thank the builders that answered a question about why a FUEL Sender didn't register and it was because the sender was NOT GROUNDED because of the bonding process of the fuel sender to the mounting plate.. Today I checked and found that I showed a short between the Fuel sender mounting plate and the wing tank sink. Whew! Just another item in the wing ding kit of items to check. Thanks (9A)
Ron in Oregon
 
Hey Steve thanks for the offer. I believe I have a bunch of scrap lumber in the hangar to get it up in the air two feet. You have answered my thought of a table dolly (sorta) for the outboard wing for support. It appears if I have several people to help, means just fit the wing spar in put into the fuselage with two of the bolts and that should support the wing at the outboard end. Just wasn't sure how many people I needed for this job to set the wing in place. Did you do any work over at Wally Anderson's place. I went thru his school to build the tail feathers.Thanks. Im in Salem at the airport. Will get together sometime. Theres another two builders of 9's here and one in Corvallis. The word is that the 9A is the Grampa/Gramdma model. I'm all for for IT!
 
Steve, just noticed one of your interests is playing a musical instrument. I think all EAA chapters should sponsor a state held HO-down. Got a few RV pilots in Salem with the Fiddle. The fiddler has a 9A. Just a thought.
Ron in Oregon
 
As far as the paint goes...

Don said:
I wasn't planning to paint until I was out of Phase 1 (and I'm still building....) and an EAA friend, instructor, A&P, and IA suggested I ought to paint the whole plane before final assembly.
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I have had several builders, and one professional builder/restorer ALL tell me to wait on painting until after Phase I. Things will move around and vibrate, and you will re-set some things, make adjustments, etc. after flying, and areas that weren't painted may end up being visible I guess. Things move.

I'm going to wait, anyway.
 
N355DW said:
I have had several builders, and one professional builder/restorer ALL tell me to wait on painting until after Phase I. Things will move around and vibrate, and you will re-set some things, make adjustments, etc. after flying, and areas that weren't painted may end up being visible I guess. Things move.

I'm going to wait, anyway.
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Damon make sure you have those ten+ grand and six weeks after you start flying. Professional builders/ restorers are on different schedules and with different budgets :)
 
ron sterba said:
Next question. when you set the wing angles did you built a flat table and set the fuselage on and level? What height was a good height to work with?
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Ron,
Just did this with our 7. Here's my read but YMMV. Height doesn't matter much. We used standard height (32?) sawhorses under the fuselage and tail and carefully leveled the fuselage with shims. Too low would be difficult to get under to drill belly to wing skin holes and fit the wing root fairings. Only took two of us using woodworking rollers made for large plywood sheets.

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Removal was much easier as I invited the EAA group to help and it only took about 30 minutes to remove both wings put them back in the stand. I plan on painting before final assembly.

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Vlad said:
Damon make sure you have those ten+ grand and six weeks after you start flying. Professional builders/ restorers are on different schedules and with different budgets :)
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Heh! Yeah, the professional builder I spoke of has his own painter I am planning on using. I plan on reserving his service well in advance, but I know how that can go so I am prepared to keep flying unpainted until I can shoehorn my plane in...I would do it myself but after painting two airplanes I am ready to pay someone else to do it now! Plus it will be one of Signior Pecorrari's designs, he and the aforementioned builder are friends, and I want a painter with that particular experience to execute his design!

Thread drift over...:)
 
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