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wing mounting procedure

simatos

Well Known Member
I have some questions about how you go about getting the main spar bolts installed when the wings go on. I know they need to be cooled.
Is any grease or oil allowed?
How hard can you hit them to get them in place?? Rubber hammer perhaps?
In the 7A i think the lower bolts need to go in with heads towards the rear, so then how do you torque the nuts.
Since the bolts are so tight what happens if you need to yank one out? Can you destroy the holes?
Looking forward to your comments, Cheers Gary
 
I am looking forward to hearing from the braintrust on this one. A friend mounted and removed his -10 bolts. I checked my 7 and with the layers of material on the spar, there is no way to do that here. I believe that the precision of the positioning is there reason our bolt are so tight. Many have spoken of using a hammer to install them. Lubrication is a must. I plan on using a tad smaller bolts to install wings and start the engine before the trip to the airport. Small enough not to require driving.

Standing by - - - -
 
As a sample of one -

Used a helper for alignment

Cold soaked the bolts in the freezer for several days.

Used BoeLube.

Took a rivet gun with a flat set to which I taped some foam and turned the pressure way down - used that to nudge the bolts.

At least for the A model - don't drive the bolts all the way in - you need to leave room (the weldment is in the way) to start the nut - IIRC, you can push the bolt in so that only about three threads come through and that will get you started (more than that, and the nut cannot be put on the end of the bolt). I made a spacer to fit under the head of the bolt to prevent driving it in too far.

Went to the aviation dept of Home Depot for a couple of sacrificial wrenches (closed end) for the small and large nuts. Cut open the top to get these over the bolt and grind the sides flat to fit where work area. A gas welder or MAPP gas is very hot and you can put the bend in the wrench as necessary. (Use hardware store bolts for temporary mounting and the interference with the weldment will be easy to see.)

Dan
 
Bill & Dan
so lube is legal? Guys around here tell me the bolts must be dry but I hate the idea of pushing these thru the spar and wings that way. You would think it would gall the **** out of everything. If your nut is sort up buried behind the weldement can you really get a torque wrench on them or is "GOOD AND TIGHT" what guys do with the modified wrenches you describe. Anyone know if the bolts could be removed without ruining either the main sprare or wing spar or both?
Thanks Gary
 
Bill & Dan
so lube is legal? Guys around here tell me the bolts must be dry but I hate the idea of pushing these thru the spar and wings that way. You would think it would gall the **** out of everything. If your nut is sort up buried behind the weldement can you really get a torque wrench on them or is "GOOD AND TIGHT" what guys do with the modified wrenches you describe. Anyone know if the bolts could be removed without ruining either the main sprare or wing spar or both?
Thanks Gary

Well, the bolts for insertion will need lubricant, but threads should be "dry" for proper loading according to aviation practice.

Just my opinion, but I think these bolts are only this tight because of the precision holes in multiple layers in the spar and less than identical precision in the placement of the layers. I think the installation effectively burnishes the tiny misalignment and the lubricant prevents galling.

I installed some valve seats in an aluminum head by soaking the seats in a slurry of dry ice and alcohol. Super cool (-77C) . About as cold as you can get without liquid nitrogen. I plan to use it again on the bolts.
 
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Gary, I have tried freezing the bolts with dry ice. It made no difference at all. The bolts have so little mass, they warm up right away. Use BoeLube on the bolts and in the holes. It takes a really large hammer, actually a short handled sledge hammer to ram the bolts home. Be really careful to check the plans for washer placement on the bolts and nuts. Once the bolts are in they aren't coming out easily at all. Don't plan on removing the bolts unless you have an off field landing and need to pull the wings. I have seen some misalignment of the carry-through bar stock. That accounts for the difficulty of inserting the bolts all the way through. There is always some misalignment of the bulkheads riveted to the bar stock. This adds up to a really tight fit. You should have a few bullet bolts to help bring everything into better alignment. Be really careful with a flashlight and mirror to be sure the holes are really lined up. Take a close look at the weldments to be sure the holes line up with the spar carry-through holes. Have a steady handed work crew that understands what you need to do to bring the holes into alignment. Three helpers are necessary to do it right. One on the wing tip, two at the root ( leading edge and trailing edge) and one installing the bolts. It's much easier to install the wings with the fuel tanks removed. That way the root leading edge guy is right on the spar. Installing one 7/16" bolt in the top and one in the bottom will then allow you to knock the others in place. Watch it with the 1/4" bolts, they can be bent easily with one errant blow. It's best to not have any wiring or antennas in the way of the hammer swing. Tape a scrap piece of aluminum to the floor so you don't scratch the inside of the belly skins. I have a small brass hammer that I like to rest against the head of the bolts and swing the big hammer into it. As the others said, don't hammer the bolts all the way through. You will need to install washers and nuts then knock them through some more and repeat until the bolt head is seated. Regarding the wrench, I have several I've made just for that job. I have ground the open end to two wedge shaped points, that allows the wrench to wedge against the weldment on the left and right sides while you torque the bolt end. There's no room for a non modified wrench due to support tubing being in the way. Regarding torqueing from the bolt head, determine the torque necessary to rotate the bolt in the spar and nut. Add that to the bolt torque specs. Repeat for each bolt. That's my method. It hasn't failed me yet. Others may disagree or have different techniques.
 
OK you guys thanks, Last bone headed question. RD you said an option is with the tanks OFF? I have QB wings so is that an option? Thanks again all of you guys for your input cheers (PS if i don't paint the plane, will it still fly??)G
 
Buy some hardware store bolts of the same size. Cut the threads off and grind the ends to put a small chamfered on them.

Install at least two per side and put them in backwards. That way, when you install the final bolts, you can drive them out.

Make sure you know which way you are going to install the bolts. IIRC, some go in from the aft side on the "A". I'm not 100% sure on this since I have a taildragger and I don't have the gear tower to deal with.

Have a friend on the wing tip wiggle the wing, as you use your rivet gun to drive in the permanent bolts.

DO NOT forget the washers or the smaller bolts that go in the middle of the spar web.

Good luck!
 
not all bolts are the same

I have not installed the wings yet but while building the center section bulkhead I used the bolts to hold the parts together and found two of my bolts were easy to push through four doable but two bolts were too tight I went to the wing thinking it was the sandwich of plates but on the wing spar if I put these two bolts in the thick part of the spar and taped them with a small plastic hammer they sounded tight were as the other six would tape right through. I don't know what I will do yet.
 
Wing bolts

I would ask Vans to be sure. They may be within tolerance. Maybe a discrepancy in bolt dimension. Did you try the bolts in different holes to see if it was the bolt or the holes?

When the center section was assembled, mine were binding bad on F704 C&D. I asked and they allowed me to run a drill 1/64th bigger through just the C&D holes. They fit tight after but no more binding. They are also very tight in the spar holes. So tight, I didn't tap them in.
I made a full set of eight drift pins for subsequent assembly.
 
reply to wirejock

at the time I was assembling the 704 bulkhead using the bolts to hold the parts while riveting and noticed the one bolt went in easy so I took all eight bolts to the wing spar and tried them in a wing hole that had no sandwich of two plates and numbered the bolts on ease to go in the hole two dropped right in and four moved with every tape of a plastic hammer but with two the sound was that of a solid object ( very easy taps) they might go in with a real hammer but they are different then the other bolts
 
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