What's new
Van's Air Force

The definitive Van's Aircraft support community! Buying, building or flying an RV? Join our exclusive family of mentors and enthusiasts!

Jack points on fuselage

jcbarker

jcbarker

Well Known Member
I'm getting ready to mount my wheel fairings. The wings and emp are in the hangar waiting for the arrival of the fuselage which is in the shop at my house. While working through the KAI on mounting the wheel fairings I realized that the fuse needs to be jacked up in such a way as to remove the weight from the gear. At least that's what I infer. It's not specifically stated. Of course I could have missed that instruction as well. Anyway, does anyone have a suggestion for where to jack up the fuselage in such a way as to take the weight off the gear and provide room to mount the wheel fairings?
 
John

I’ve jacked my -7 up before by putting a carpet covered board underneath the main spar pass through and then jacking it. If you have access to a motorcycle lift that would work well.

Regards Peter


IMG_0518.jpeg
 
jcbarker said:
I'm getting ready to mount my wheel fairings. The wings and emp are in the hangar waiting for the arrival of the fuselage which is in the shop at my house. While working through the KAI on mounting the wheel fairings I realized that the fuse needs to be jacked up in such a way as to remove the weight from the gear. At least that's what I infer. It's not specifically stated. Of course I could have missed that instruction as well. Anyway, does anyone have a suggestion for where to jack up the fuselage in such a way as to take the weight off the gear and provide room to mount the wheel fairings?
Click to expand...
Is your engine and prop on? Just trying to figure out how heavy you are at this point.
 
jcbarker said:
I'm getting ready to mount my wheel fairings. The wings and emp are in the hangar waiting for the arrival of the fuselage which is in the shop at my house. While working through the KAI on mounting the wheel fairings I realized that the fuse needs to be jacked up in such a way as to remove the weight from the gear. At least that's what I infer. It's not specifically stated. Of course I could have missed that instruction as well. Anyway, does anyone have a suggestion for where to jack up the fuselage in such a way as to take the weight off the gear and provide room to mount the wheel fairings?
Click to expand...
Since your wings are not attached, I recommend jacking the fuselage using the wing root stubs. That is what I did using jack cradles bought from Bogert. Better to install the gear and fairings before you mount the wings.
 
Yes, the engine and prop are installed so if I jack it from the spar stubs there will still be a fair amount of weight on the nose. Maybe not so much that I couldn't use kiwipete's idea.
 
On my 7A, I have a home brew lift built from a HF motorcycle lift. I also have two stands ao I can fine tune the fuse level. Photo below.
By the way, I wrote an article for Kitplanes on wheel pants and fairings. It hasn't published, but I can share the draft. Picture is worth 1000 words. Below.
I came up with a jig. Airplane only needs to be high enough so the tires rotate. Corners are threaded 3/8-16. Bolts act as leveling feet. Unbolt one corner of the jig. Slip in place. Bolt back together. Level it. Jig uses a 3/16" rod either end. Position the pant in pitch and roll then clamp the rods. Rotate the jig in yaw to align to the aircraft center line. Drill the holes.
20230509_153105.jpg20220922_130009.jpg
 
jcbarker said:
Yes, the engine and prop are installed so if I jack it from the spar stubs there will still be a fair amount of weight on the nose. Maybe not so much that I couldn't use kiwipete's idea.
Click to expand...
If the tail is on, you need to tie it down. That is how you will jack it up in the future, using wing jacks and a tail tie-down.
 
Larry:
I like your setup! Where did you get those big screw jacks?
Med:
Tail is not on. They are out in the hangar as well.
 
This is what I've got going on right now. Used my engine hoist to lift the front of the fuse. I used a couple of 4X4s with the end cut to create a tongue that is a close fit between the spar stubs. Drilled a cross hole to stabilize the 4X4s. Those in turn are lifted with a couple of floor jacks to level every thing. That'll work until I get those screw jacks.IMG_2196.JPG
 
jcbarker said:
This is what I've got going on right now. Used my engine hoist to lift the front of the fuse. I used a couple of 4X4s with the end cut to create a tongue that is a close fit between the spar stubs. Drilled a cross hole to stabilize the 4X4s. Those in turn are lifted with a couple of floor jacks to level every thing. That'll work until I get those screw jacks.View attachment 86232
Click to expand...
Maybe you know this, but make sure to lift the front by the engine mount. The lift points on the engine are intended to only lift the engine and lifting the front of the airplane may cause them to tear out. 😱
 
Keep in mind, you’re not lifting on the wing spar. You’re lifting on the skin, spar flanges, and rib flanges. Quite a few folks doing it, so it must be ok. Right? Plenty strong it would seem, but not for me…
I’ve stated this the many times it has been suggested.
If RV’s were meant to lift from the fuselage, they would have dedicated weldments. End rant…..
Your engine mount however is a good location providing it is rigged properly.
I bolted 2x6’s thru the spar and lifted in that manner for pant alignment as shown previously.
My two cents…..
1745793670714.png
 
JonJay said:
Keep in mind, you’re not lifting on the wing spar. You’re lifting on the skin, spar flanges, and rib flanges. Quite a few folks doing it, so it must be ok. Right? Plenty strong it would seem, but not for me…
I’ve stated this the many times it has been suggested.
If RV’s were meant to lift from the fuselage, they would have dedicated weldments. End rant…..
Your engine mount however is a good location providing it is rigged properly.
I bolted 2x6’s thru the spar and lifted in that manner for pant alignment as shown previously.
My two cents…..
View attachment 86240
Click to expand...
My RV-14A QB arrived with quite secure wood installations in the fuselage wing attach locations. I assume jcbarker’s did, too. Not sure about other models, but your solution sounds like it duplicates it.
 
I used a wing jack in the wing tie down and a stack of cinderblocks, wood blocks and carpet. Lifted it up one side at a time and set it on the carpet. Didn't take any pictures.
 
wirejock said:
On my 7A, I have a home brew lift built from a HF motorcycle lift. I also have two stands ao I can fine tune the fuse level. Photo below.
By the way, I wrote an article for Kitplanes on wheel pants and fairings. It hasn't published, but I can share the draft. Picture is worth 1000 words. Below.
I came up with a jig. Airplane only needs to be high enough so the tires rotate. Corners are threaded 3/8-16. Bolts act as leveling feet. Unbolt one corner of the jig. Slip in place. Bolt back together. Level it. Jig uses a 3/16" rod either end. Position the pant in pitch and roll then clamp the rods. Rotate the jig in yaw to align to the aircraft center line. Drill the holes.
View attachment 86189View attachment 86190
Click to expand...
Larry,

I’m just about at the wheel fairing stage and would love to see your Kitplanes article.
Jeff.
[email protected]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top