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Wing removal time

How long should I expect it to take me, with the help of an inexperienced friend, to remove both wings from a fully assembled -6 (not A) sitting on its gear? I haven't seen the plane in person so cannot provide more specifics. I've built a wittman plane but no experience with vans. Thanks !
 
Plan one full day if everything goes well. There are a lot of bolts that are hard to get to and very difficult to remove once they have been installed for a few years.
 
short answer - I can do it in 1.5 hrs, you should plan 5 hrs min.

long answer - it depends

are there any wires going through - was the spar notched in the middle where the wings meet or was a pass through hole drilled - be ready to label and cut.

are the fuel lines running anywhere nearby - if so, take the few minutes to completely remove them.

will you have an air ratchet?

I have removed and reinstalled RV6 wings many times. Call if you like 864-847-6633
 
On a RV-6 (not A)

How long should I expect it to take me, with the help of an inexperienced friend, to remove both wings from a fully assembled -6 (not A) sitting on its gear? I haven't seen the plane in person so cannot provide more specifics. I've built a wittman plane but no experience with vans. Thanks !

Remove the brake lines and wheels, along with wheel/leg fairings - simple work through. The legs are one bolt in the engine mount, but the challenge is whether the legs are going to slip out or be talked-out.

Saw a friend do a 20-yr plus old RV-6 do this --- more than a day and lots of patience. The problem was patience for the penetrant to soak into the mount sleeves and allow the legs to break loose. And he did it by removing the engine/mount/gear together from the FW and then working on the legs with lots of room to work.

Start with the penetrant early and then it will depend. He used a cherry-picker to lift the plane, wing stands to support it, and tied down the tail (with the engine removed it's required). Plan ahead. Choose an approach that works. Safety first.
 
When removing the bolts, leave about every 3rd or 4th bolt tight and remove most of the bolts completely. I tap them back and use a large crow bar to pull them like nails. Protect the spar and the area you are working with sheet metal pieces. The problem when removing the bolts, is the spar layers separate a little when bolts are loose which cause the bolts to lock up and not slide out. Use C clamps to hold the spar layers together when removing the remaining bolts.
 
Thank you.
Really? Gear legs gotta come off and I have to jack/support the plane? Wasn't planning on that. And probably not possible in the situation.
Yes I could bring an air ratchet.
I don't know about wires/notches/gas lines, cuz its far away and I can't look at it.
 
This sounds more like instructions for removing landing gear, not wings.
It should not be necessary to remove the gear at all to remove the wings.


Remove the brake lines and wheels, along with wheel/leg fairings - simple work through. The legs are one bolt in the engine mount, but the challenge is whether the legs are going to slip out or be talked-out.

Saw a friend do a 20-yr plus old RV-6 do this --- more than a day and lots of patience. The problem was patience for the penetrant to soak into the mount sleeves and allow the legs to break loose. And he did it by removing the engine/mount/gear together from the FW and then working on the legs with lots of room to work.

Start with the penetrant early and then it will depend. He used a cherry-picker to lift the plane, wing stands to support it, and tied down the tail (with the engine removed it's required). Plan ahead. Choose an approach that works. Safety first.
 
The main gear legs only need to come off if it is a -6A.

Did that, probably won't do it again. :rolleyes:
 
To add to the to-do list. You will also need to:

Remove a good chunk of the interior
Disconnect or cut wires routed through the wings
Disconnect Pitot line
Possibly drain fuel tanks (don't know how far along this plane is)
Disconnect Fuel lines
Disconnect and probably remove Aileron pushrods (which will require wing tip removal) - assuming you are going to transport a decent distance.
Remove Ailerons
Disconnect and remove flaps

After all that is done, you can start working on removing the wings.

Plan for a full day. Especially if you have to get everything ready for transport.
 
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