Hi folks. First post from a new-to-me RV-6 owner. Purchased in May (made the front page when Doedo Schipper posted me picture) and have about 120 hours or so on "Kismet."
The other day I took a tow-pilot friend for a ride and in his exuberance to get going and help me move my plane from grass to pavement, he picked up my horizontal stabilizer to move my non-castering tail around. All before I could say anything.
In this gentleman's defense, he carefully placed his open palms under the inner-most and next to inner-most rivet lines corresponding to the nose ribs on the right stabilizer. I calculated that he had to lift about 75 lbs across his two hands in total. He said there was no creaking, oil canning, or anything untoward. He only did this because he was taught to move all tailwheel aircraft this way.
I've been losing some sleep over concerns of damage, despite having carefully inspected for any signs of tweaking or cracks by removing the rear fairing. All looks good. But the unsupported nose-ribs forward of the front HS spar give me pause and would certainly discourage me from ever lifting the plane the way he did.
I would never think to lift my tail this way, of course, having only resorted to lifting the tailwheel spring to manhandle the aircraft when left without a towbar. My napkin math after looking at drawings and my stabilizer suggest it ain't a good idea, but that the nose-ribs can support such a load without bending or fatiguing the attachment to the spar. The load is ideally partially shared by all rivets under compression on the top surface and tension on the bottom of the horizontal stabilizer skin, and the nose-rib is a solid plate that would be resistant to bending up or down.
Can someone reassure me that this load placed directly on the two inboard noseribs is probably fine "just this one time" so I can put it out of my mind.
It is for this very reason that I would never manhandle someone's plane (or even open their ****ing canopy) without asking them first.
The other day I took a tow-pilot friend for a ride and in his exuberance to get going and help me move my plane from grass to pavement, he picked up my horizontal stabilizer to move my non-castering tail around. All before I could say anything.
In this gentleman's defense, he carefully placed his open palms under the inner-most and next to inner-most rivet lines corresponding to the nose ribs on the right stabilizer. I calculated that he had to lift about 75 lbs across his two hands in total. He said there was no creaking, oil canning, or anything untoward. He only did this because he was taught to move all tailwheel aircraft this way.
I've been losing some sleep over concerns of damage, despite having carefully inspected for any signs of tweaking or cracks by removing the rear fairing. All looks good. But the unsupported nose-ribs forward of the front HS spar give me pause and would certainly discourage me from ever lifting the plane the way he did.
I would never think to lift my tail this way, of course, having only resorted to lifting the tailwheel spring to manhandle the aircraft when left without a towbar. My napkin math after looking at drawings and my stabilizer suggest it ain't a good idea, but that the nose-ribs can support such a load without bending or fatiguing the attachment to the spar. The load is ideally partially shared by all rivets under compression on the top surface and tension on the bottom of the horizontal stabilizer skin, and the nose-rib is a solid plate that would be resistant to bending up or down.
Can someone reassure me that this load placed directly on the two inboard noseribs is probably fine "just this one time" so I can put it out of my mind.
It is for this very reason that I would never manhandle someone's plane (or even open their ****ing canopy) without asking them first.
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