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Quick question on RV-10 Jack Points

A

AlpineYoda

Well Known Member
Patron
A quick search didn't turn up easy hits on my query. Apologies if this has been covered 514 times before.

Lucky me. Just got my first flat. Thankfully it happened slowly overnight and not on landing.

I was just talking to the shop that can swap the tire out for me (not something I want to mess with right this minute, given a few other things going on) and the shop guys asked if the tie down rings are a single point jack point. When I built the plane, I supported the entire cabin with a forklift when attaching the landing gear, so I never had to jack one side. I thought that maybe you could get something on the underside of the brake housing, but the shop thinks that is a little tight.

Can they jack the side up on the ring? If not, where do people recommend jacking up a single side for tire / tube / wheel replacement?

Thanks in advance for the help!
 
I use the tie down point with a special insert to keep the wing from falling off.
It sort of looks like a hip joint, cup and ball.
In any case, the tie down is recommended for jacking up the wheel.
Make sure the tail is secure,so it won't swing around as well as the opposite wheel.
Alternatively, I have used the wing spar carry through to jack up the whole plane.
A 2x6 with a foam pad and 2 jacks, works well and is more stable.
What I always do, immediately after removing the wheel, lower the axle down on a solid block of wood to avoid anyone knocking the plane off the jacks.
 
In case you aren't aware, there are aftermarket solutions to allow you to jack using a standard car jack on either main landing gear. We added this to our 10 after our first flat tire on a taxiway at a rural airport.
 
I post this every time someone starts a new thread on Jacking an RV10.
Do not jack it by the wing unless you have REAL jacks, a hangar and skilled help.
Better yet use my method. I tested it by grabbing the wingtips and shaking it as hard as I could to test it's ability to not fall off the jack, and never got it to. If it had failed there would be no damage to the aircraft (like a hole in your wing)
The fixture can be carried in your onboard tool kit, with the tie-downs, and the small bottle jack is available everywhere, so you probably don't need to carry one. Carrying a spare tube may be a good idea if you're off to Antarctica or the Congo.RV jack pad.jpg
 
Carl
The wheel pants have a seam that allows the two halves to be pulled forward and aft to get them off. If you landed with a flat, the pant is probably already toast, but I would sacrifice the wheel pant and cut it off if necessary to get the tire changed, if I was broken down in the Congo. Remove the opposite side wheel pant and fly it home without them. When you get home, fixing a torn up wheel pant is way easier than a hole in the wing.
 
Chukill said:
Carl
The wheel pants have a seam that allows the two halves to be pulled forward and aft to get them off. If you landed with a flat, the pant is probably already toast, but I would sacrifice the wheel pant and cut it off if necessary to get the tire changed, if I was broken down in the Congo. Remove the opposite side wheel pant and fly it home without them. When you get home, fixing a torn up wheel pant is way easier than a hole in the wing.
Click to expand...
I think Carl was referring to getting the bottom screws out (that hold the two haves together). Tough to access when low to the ground (flat tire).
 
Chukill said:
I post this every time someone starts a new thread on Jacking an RV10.
Do not jack it by the wing unless you have REAL jacks, a hangar and skilled help.
Better yet use my method. I tested it by grabbing the wingtips and shaking it as hard as I could to test it's ability to not fall off the jack, and never got it to. If it had failed there would be no damage to the aircraft (like a hole in your wing)
The fixture can be carried in your onboard tool kit, with the tie-downs, and the small bottle jack is available everywhere, so you probably don't need to carry one. Carrying a spare tube may be a good idea if you're off to Antarctica or the Congo.View attachment 95470
Click to expand...
Is this fixture something that can be bought? If so, would you have a link?
 
Based on a Kitplanes article, I built some wing jacks out of a Harbor Freight hydraulic jack. I put a 3/8" carriage bolt in place of the tie-down and lift the tire off the ground jacking the wing up. Works great, very simple, and I use them in the hangar. I also have a set of the Flyboys RV jackpoints. Very clever, I carry them with me for flats on the ramp.

www.kitplanes.com

Do-It -Yourself Aircraft Jacks

Having completed two basic welding courses, I was a solution looking for a problem. By Dave Smith.
www.kitplanes.com www.kitplanes.com
 
TedC said:
Is this fixture something that can be bought? If so, would you have a link?
Click to expand...
Ted
I made this fixture and I don't know of anyone selling them. It was easy enough to make though, if you can weld or know someone that does. Easy one day project. The tube that goes around the gear leg is 2 inches long and I used some 4130 tube I had laying around. I may have to make another one as my Highwing will surely have smaller diameter gear legs than a RV10. Maybe some tape wrapped around the gear leg will allow this fixture to fit the Highwing. The angle of the jack tube relative to the gear leg may also be different enough to require a change. This one was a custom fit for the RV10.


2 inch long.jpeg
 
AlpineYoda said:
A quick search didn't turn up easy hits on my query. Apologies if this has been covered 514 times before.

Lucky me. Just got my first flat. Thankfully it happened slowly overnight and not on landing.

I was just talking to the shop that can swap the tire out for me (not something I want to mess with right this minute, given a few other things going on) and the shop guys asked if the tie down rings are a single point jack point. When I built the plane, I supported the entire cabin with a forklift when attaching the landing gear, so I never had to jack one side. I thought that maybe you could get something on the underside of the brake housing, but the shop thinks that is a little tight.

Can they jack the side up on the ring? If not, where do people recommend jacking up a single side for tire / tube / wheel replacement?

Thanks in advance for the help!
Click to expand...
I've used these and work well. The only issue I have heard of is when used the tire gets a slight twist that does not allow the tire to spin completely free. Works with Beringer wheels also. The inner bracket gets permanently mounted on the wheel

Screenshot 2025-08-20 173040.png
 
Last edited:
Chukill said:
Ted
I made this fixture and I don't know of anyone selling them. It was easy enough to make though, if you can weld or know someone that does. Easy one day project. The tube that goes around the gear leg is 2 inches long and I used some 4130 tube I had laying around. I may have to make another one as my Highwing will surely have smaller diameter gear legs than a RV10. Maybe some tape wrapped around the gear leg will allow this fixture to fit the Highwing. The angle of the jack tube relative to the gear leg may also be different enough to require a change. This one was a custom fit for the RV10.


View attachment 95492
Click to expand...
Thanks, that looks great, but I can't weld it. Looks pretty complicated. Maybe someone will start making them?
 
I jack under the spar carry through in the fuse. I use the hf tall jack with a 2X4 to do this, but in a pinch can use a floor jack with a stack of 4X4’s. I don’t like the instability involved with jacking at the wing tie down.
 
I cary this simple 1 1/8" Muffler saddle clamp. Bolt it on the gear leg and jack away. Perfect for my fly away kit.

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Chukill said:
I post this every time someone starts a new thread on Jacking an RV10.
Do not jack it by the wing unless you have REAL jacks, a hangar and skilled help.
Better yet use my method. I tested it by grabbing the wingtips and shaking it as hard as I could to test it's ability to not fall off the jack, and never got it to. If it had failed there would be no damage to the aircraft (like a hole in your wing)
The fixture can be carried in your onboard tool kit, with the tie-downs, and the small bottle jack is available everywhere, so you probably don't need to carry one. Carrying a spare tube may be a good idea if you're off to Antarctica or the Congo.[IMAGE]
Click to expand...

Yeah, one has to be careful and use common sense when using wing jacks. I also have the Flyboy jackpoints, which I use for things that might require being off the ground for a bit and require some jostling, like brake work. But as someone else noted, getting to some of the wheel pants screws can be hard if there's a flat. The wing jacks are easy and quick, and great for in-hangar wheel and tire work. Cheap, not hard to build, and if one doesn't weld it is a cheap fabrication, easily done by any welding shop. I have found that it's very rare than I ever need two of them.

1755777480370.jpeg
 
dmattmul said:
I've used these and work well. The only issue I have heard of is when used the tire gets a slight twist that does not allow the tire to spin completely free. Works with Beringer wheels also. The inner bracket gets permanently mounted on the wheel

View attachment 95502
Click to expand...
+1 on the Flyboy RV-10 jack points. The inner bracket went in pretty easily with the stock Cleveland brakes but when I upgraded to the Matco wheels and brakes, it was a bit painful to get them back in and required a fair amount of jockeying but we were ultimately successful.
 
If you’re interested in a wing jack solution that is positive locking, and doubles as the strongest, and lightest-weight tie down ring available, check out the Ti-Down ring and locking jack cup.

I designed these to make wing-jacking an airplane a single person, less stressful experience.

New "Ti-Down Rings", Lightest, Strongest, with Locking Jack Cups

Tired of holding my breath every time I lifted an airplane with wing jacks, I set out to design a wing jack system that would be positively locking. If I'm jumping in/out of the airplane, if the hangar door is open and a breeze comes through, or if an overzealous helper leans across a raised...
vansairforce.net


IMG_8824.jpeg
IMG_8851.jpeg
 
dmattmul said:
I've used these and work well. The only issue I have heard of is when used the tire gets a slight twist that does not allow the tire to spin completely free. Works with Beringer wheels also. The inner bracket gets permanently mounted on the wheel

View attachment 95502
Click to expand...
Yep. Commercially made, not terribly expensive, and absolutely works with your jack in your hangar OR with the jack out of the courtesy car at a 3rd world airport. Of course, the kicker is you'll need a tube and possibly tire too. Tubes for 5x5 wheels aren't hard to find, nor are tires. RV-10 main's are not easy to find in the field. I have one friend who's had to be rescued twice because of failed tubes. As I recall, both ended up with rescue missions because getting a tube was the bigger challenge.

As far as removing a wheel pant if the tire is flat, you pull the mounting hardware (the 4 screws that hold the pant to the bracket and the one axle bolt through the pant) and raise the wheel pant as far as you can, then take out the bottom screws with a tiny little 90 degree screwdriver. Alterntately, if you're on grass/dirt, you can dig slight depressions to allow your stubby screwdriver to access the screws.
 
I have two HF long cylinder (like on the engine lift except with a base rather than eye) jacks bolted to a 15x15" double 3/4 ply.
I made a socket that fits the top of the cylinder out of a piece of tubing, capped with 1/4" steel and a bolt welded on. This threads into the tiedown. Easy and very stable.
 
An alternative to Leok's approach without welding is to use a wrench socket with correct depth and size that will fit on top of the cylinder, then insert a bolt through the socket, and use a nut as jam nut to lock the bolt to the socket. Make sure the bolt will have enough length to go into the tiedown screw hole.
 
seattleworm said:
An alternative to Leok's approach without welding is to use a wrench socket with correct depth and size that will fit on top of the cylinder, then insert a bolt through the socket, and use a nut as jam nut to lock the bolt to the socket. Make sure the bolt will have enough length to go into the tiedown screw hole.
Click to expand...
Seem like your idea and Leok’s would put stress on the tie-down receiver since you now don’t have a way for the bolt to “pivot” as you lift because there’s a slight angle to the lift as the wing doesn’t go straight up vertical. Aero garage design allows for that movement.
I took a threaded bolt and formed the non-threaded end into a torpedo shape that fits on a curved top of the jack so that also allows for the angle of the lift to change vs putting stress on the tie-down
 
BobTurner said:
I think Carl was referring to getting the bottom screws out (that hold the two haves together). Tough to access when low to the ground (flat tire).
Click to expand...
Correct, the two bottom screws aren't accessable if the tire is totally flat. A simple tab (I glassed and riveted in an aluminum tab) attached to to the pant in place of the screw does the job of keeping the two pieces aligned. The other screws keep the two parts together.
 
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