yesterday i installed the wings on my plane. it is pretty much done, hope to fly this year. just passing along some observations to maybe help the next guy.
i have a 4' square bench with legs cut to size that i used to support the wing in place before the spar was slid into place. styrofoam and movers pads were used to cushion the wing. at the outboard side of the table i made a set up with a scissors jack and i could slowly and precisely control the alignment of the spar as i slid it into place. everything was dead nuts stable and time spent lining things up was not an issue or a rush. after i had help taking the wing off the trailer and on to the table the wings were installed 100% by only myself. i could take the time to check every spot for clearance and look down the spar and move wingtip fore and aft so alignment looked perfect as i went along.
i was told by another builder to expect clearance issues at the nylon block at spar end, the vertical ''U'' channel that is below the rollbar and the lower wing skin where the doubler is 2 thicknesses on the fuselage. all these areas needed filing or sanding on one wing or the other. wing never had to be removed to do this, just slid out a foot from fuselage as all was stable and in alignment on the table.
i gave a lot of worry for months as to how to secure wings on a large flat trailer i could borrow. pretty stiff ride . in the end i put 3 atv ramps across my 16' ''rowboat'' and hauled the wings one at a time. it worked perfect. nice soft ride and wings were very easy to secure.
anyway, a first time wing installer may find something useful out of this.
i have a 4' square bench with legs cut to size that i used to support the wing in place before the spar was slid into place. styrofoam and movers pads were used to cushion the wing. at the outboard side of the table i made a set up with a scissors jack and i could slowly and precisely control the alignment of the spar as i slid it into place. everything was dead nuts stable and time spent lining things up was not an issue or a rush. after i had help taking the wing off the trailer and on to the table the wings were installed 100% by only myself. i could take the time to check every spot for clearance and look down the spar and move wingtip fore and aft so alignment looked perfect as i went along.
i was told by another builder to expect clearance issues at the nylon block at spar end, the vertical ''U'' channel that is below the rollbar and the lower wing skin where the doubler is 2 thicknesses on the fuselage. all these areas needed filing or sanding on one wing or the other. wing never had to be removed to do this, just slid out a foot from fuselage as all was stable and in alignment on the table.
i gave a lot of worry for months as to how to secure wings on a large flat trailer i could borrow. pretty stiff ride . in the end i put 3 atv ramps across my 16' ''rowboat'' and hauled the wings one at a time. it worked perfect. nice soft ride and wings were very easy to secure.
anyway, a first time wing installer may find something useful out of this.
