Mounting wings

I have previously temp mounted my 9A wing but now this week is the time for the final installation. Any hints or secret handshake on the best sequence of installing those close tolerance bolts? Helped a buddy on an 8A and the bolts were a bear to get in. Wound up having to use a pneumatic rivet gun to drive them home?

Buy some dry ice and put the bolts under it to chill. Make sure you use some lubrication like LPS on the bolts. On the lower bolts, make sure you put the washers under the bolt head and not the nuts, since you have to torque the bolts from the aft end. Don't drive the bolts all the way in on the lower holes, since you won't have enough room on the gear mount to get the nuts started. You may need a variety of wrenches to be able to reach the lower nuts and hold them while you ratchet them tight from the aft side. The top bolts are all very accesible, so get those done first, then do the least accesible nut/bolt on the lower outboard side.

And, yes, you will be sore the next day after doing one click at a time on the ratchet to get everything tightened.

I guess not everyone has the same experience. I was able to tap my bolts home with a plastic mallet. I used Boelube on the bolts. I imagine that the gear brackets on an A model make it more difficult.

Check out my post

Check out my post here:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=77978

In post number 14 I summarize my experience but read through all the tips.

Good luck!

Great info. I'm a ways off from this step, but your previous experience is priceless.

Is it possible to install the wings only once? I'd like to fit the close-tolerance bolts (but hold off on final torque), then do the final drill on the rear spar attachment, final torque on the main spar bolts, then fit the root fairings, etc. Is there anything that absolutely necessitates a trial fit before the final install?

Excellent advice above ....

... especially in the earlier thread noted by Kelly J.

Anyone know if the 7A has the same bolt system as the 9A ?
Thanks

rightrudder said:

Is it possible to install the wings only once?

Click to expand...

I don't think so. You have to match drill the wing gap fairing screws and then install nutplates on the wing. You also have to put on the forward tank attach angles, and get the fuel lines cut to length and flared. You are going to want to deburr the rear spar attach holes.

Get a couple of 7/16" hardware store bolts to temporarily hold the wings in place, then save the close tolerance bolts for final installation. The hardware store bolts hold the wing in place very tightly, so no worries about any slop in the initial installation.

I just completed this task. It is not too difficult to do, I did the entire job unassisted.
I used two sawhorses, an engine hoist, a wing cradle and several ratchet straps to install and remove the wings.
Several tips I used:
1. Buy hardware grade set of the eight wing bolts. Chuck and polish then in a drill press and round the nose of each. You can check the fit in the wing spar and fuselage center section before you start to mate the parts. If the bolts are a slip fit before you start then any interference is due to alignment. Tweek the wing and try again.
2. Measure the distance through the fuselage section of the spar and mark the final bolts with a Sharpe pen to show the distance the bolt must be inserted to allow 3-4 threads to show. On the bottom row of bolts the clearance to install the nuts is restricted. It is easy to stop inserting the bolt where needed, it is very difficult to back up!
3. Harbor Freight forcepts ~12 inch make holding the nuts possible till they are started on the bolt.
4. Lube the bolts before insertion. I used LP3.
5. I found a open wrench to fit the out side two small bolts. It was longer than normal. You only need to hold the nut while you torque the bolt.
6. I ground down an open end wrench to fit the two center larger nuts while I torqued them.
7. I removed the aileron pushrods to allow more room to install the bolt sets.
8. Use drive extensions on the torque wrench to move the torque wrench aft as far as possible. The slot opens up a little as you move further aft and allows a small improvement in the arc available. Still a one or two click operation, takes time and patience till it finally "clicks:.
Good luck!

A couple more tips I missed.

9. When doing the final close tolerance bolt installation. Insert 3-4 of the temp bolts from the front inserting toward the aft about 1/2 way. This confirms alignment.
10. Good insertion tools. I found a small hammer about 1/3 normal size. You do not need a lot of force just a lot of small taps. The small size helps with the lack of access.
The best tool I used was a small cordless fastening driver. It was small enough to fit in the space provided. The combination of turning the bolt and rapping on it at the same time brakes the "sticksion" and allows the bolt to move right in. Don't go too far! See above!

Thanks, Bruce & whd721. Great thread here?helps me get the "big picture" in my head for those future tasks.

Thanks for the info

Hung the wings yesterday and all went well. Froze the bolts for two weeks, not sure it really helped. Lubed the bolt holes and bolts with spray silicone lube and sent them home. Top bolts tapped in with a plastic mallet. Bottom bolts used the rivet gun to run in until several threads were exposed. Still working on bottom nuts but my back had all it could stand for now so I'll go at it again tomorrow.

One point that no one mentioned --- After getting the top bolts in I found the going much easier on the bottom bolts to insert the rear spar bolts. The I started the two lower 7/16 bolts lightly and alternately tap them in in unison with the rivet gun. That seem to work much better that just plane old brute force.

Finished

Finally finished the lower wing spar nuts after a delay with back issues. Took Vlad's advise and bought a cheap Harbopr Freight air ratchet ( $20). I was able to get a straight unmodified 1/4" open end wrench on all the 1/4" nuts. I was able to get a straight unmodified 5/8" open end wrench on the inside 7/16" nuts. Had to cut most of the handle off another 5/8" open end wrench and grind down the flanges for the outside 7/16" nuts. Used a needle nose vice grip plier to position the modified 5/8" wrench onto the nut of the exterior 7/16" bolts. The I used the tap and ratchet method to seat the nut. Believe me, the air ratched really made this much easier as the ratched handle long enough to turn the 7/16" bolts would only allow you to get about a click at a time. To finish the job I torqued the 1/4" bolts to 5 Ft. Lbs plus run in torque and the 7/16" bolts to 40 Ft. Lbs plus run in torque.

Be carefull with tapping in the bolts. It is easy to get a bolt head edge burred up and then you will have to remove the burr to get a 11/16" socket to fit. Don't ask how I know!