Van's Air Force
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Wing building
- Thread starter mbetti
- Start date
Kyle Boatright
Well Known Member
There is no big advantage to building them together. In fact, there might be the disadvantage of having 2 wings in your way, rather than 1.
What situation prevents you from attaching structure to the ceiling? In my case, I screwed 2x4's through the sheetrock and into the trusses. Then I kludged up a way to attach the 4x4's to those.
What situation prevents you from attaching structure to the ceiling? In my case, I screwed 2x4's through the sheetrock and into the trusses. Then I kludged up a way to attach the 4x4's to those.
RV7Ron
Well Known Member
Here is a post to pics of my rolling wing stand. I built mine together, the biggest advantage is efficiency...doing them both at the same time will go faster in my opinion. The downside is...doing everything twice, at the same time, gets a little old. However, I would do it this way again, it worked well for me.
I was fortunate to have another local builder lend me his movable wing jig. This was made from some aluminum channels with some sort of spring loaded nuts that you could bolt into and adjust easily. Very strong and lightweight. The lower braces were ripped from the spar shipping crate.
I ended up ditching the cross braces. Too cramped to work on that side of the wings with them in place. With both wings clamped on, it is pretty stiff and sturdy (as long as the wing skins are on).
Whatever you make, be sure to set the height of the main spar at chest high. Otherwise when you start driving rivets on that rear spar, you'll be laying on the ground.
Being able to move this around as needed while building was great!
Lots more photos on my web pages.
I ended up ditching the cross braces. Too cramped to work on that side of the wings with them in place. With both wings clamped on, it is pretty stiff and sturdy (as long as the wing skins are on).
Whatever you make, be sure to set the height of the main spar at chest high. Otherwise when you start driving rivets on that rear spar, you'll be laying on the ground.
Being able to move this around as needed while building was great!
Lots more photos on my web pages.
You can see what i've done here: http://plane.datsclark.com/2011/01/14/wing-stands/
I'm pretty far along on the wings now, and for the most part, i don't have a problem with them being so close together. I'd prefer another foot or two, but my shop just isn't big enough. I plan to hang the arms away from each other for an extra 2 feet once i'm to riveting.
I'm also doing both at the same time. I like the idea of being done with each task for both wings at the same time. I feel it is more efficient that way -- no idea if it really is.
I'm pretty far along on the wings now, and for the most part, i don't have a problem with them being so close together. I'd prefer another foot or two, but my shop just isn't big enough. I plan to hang the arms away from each other for an extra 2 feet once i'm to riveting.
I'm also doing both at the same time. I like the idea of being done with each task for both wings at the same time. I feel it is more efficient that way -- no idea if it really is.
The lower brace can go on after you get the basic skeleton put together and are ready to fit the skins. At that point, you will want to get the sag out of the center of the wing, and get any twist out before you start match drilling. Just run a plumb bob down each side of the wing from the main spar, measure and make sure each side is equal after you have leveled everything. Finally, clamp the rear spar down to the lower brace to keep it there while you work. Check it again before you rivet because it will probably move a little with the jig being made of wood.
Rick6a
Well Known Member
With limited shop space available, I approached the job of wing construction a bit different than anything I've read here. I only built one wing jig. The upright 4X4 posts on the jig were simply clamped to the overhead joists in my basement. I have some really large C-clamps that allowed me to do that. The bottom of the vertical posts rested on the concrete floor but were not attached to it. I might have wedged a shim or two underneath to help keep the posts from shifting around but that's about it.
After I framed the first wing which was nothing more than permanently riveting the main spar, ribs, and rear spar together as shown above, I removed that assembly from the jig and it aside on the floor out of the way. At that point, the "wing" is reasonably light and flexible so I had no trouble moving it around the basement by myself. With that framed wing out of the way, I went on to build the second wing. When the second wing was completed, I removed it from the jig, then reinstalled the first wing back into it to complete that wing's skinning and other assembly.
What is important to remember is that we are dealing with pre-punched parts. Crucial alignments have already been thoughtfully provided by Van's so a precise wing jig is hardly important. That "jig" is more of a work stand than anything else.
After I framed the first wing which was nothing more than permanently riveting the main spar, ribs, and rear spar together as shown above, I removed that assembly from the jig and it aside on the floor out of the way. At that point, the "wing" is reasonably light and flexible so I had no trouble moving it around the basement by myself. With that framed wing out of the way, I went on to build the second wing. When the second wing was completed, I removed it from the jig, then reinstalled the first wing back into it to complete that wing's skinning and other assembly.
What is important to remember is that we are dealing with pre-punched parts. Crucial alignments have already been thoughtfully provided by Van's so a precise wing jig is hardly important. That "jig" is more of a work stand than anything else.
