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Lifting Without a Jack

Tony_T

Tony_T

Well Known Member
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I can hardly believe it has been almost a year since airworthiness and that I have to get ready to do an annual next month!

Part of the annual will require inspection of the gear and for this the whole plane needs to be off the ground. I have a jack system to lift individual wheels up, but would like to build the heavy stands and use the method shown in the Maintenance Manual:
776011954_nfrYJ-M.jpg

Has anyone built the stands and used this method? How much effort is required to lift the tail to put in the stand below the rear wing-spar receptacles? The reason I ask is because the both of us who will be doing the work are geezers (fairly good shape tho').

Tony
 
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Tony,
I tried this method with just some of the yellow steel folding saw horses found at Lowes or Home Depot. They have adjustable legs, and I believe if you use the size adjustment that allows the legs to fold into the top they will be the required 25 inches tall. These worked great with some carpet duct taped on for padding. Once the front steps were installed the horse proved to be too wide to now fit between the steps. We then just angled it between the steps and it worked okay. As far as the effort, it is amazingly easy, one person can easily push down on the tail while the othe slides the front saw horse between the steps. Now the plane almost counterbalances on that front horse, you then lift the tail to place the other horse under the aft spar bulkhead. Very easy to do, even a "caveman" or "geezer" can do it!!!

Regards,
 
Thanks Mutha

Answers my concerns perfectly :D, and I'll check out the yellow horses too.

Tony
 
If the stool is too wide and clashes with the steps, maybe the stool could be made lower and wider so that the steps sit on top od the stool, in some padded recepticals. If the steps will handle a 200lb guy standing on them, surely they would share the forward weight of the aircraft!!:confused:
 
Heavy Stands for lifting

I decided to build the heavy stands shown on page 1-9 of the RV-12 Maintenance Manual rather than buy sawhorses. The hardware store sawhorses did not seem really steady to me, they are a bit too wide to go between the boarding steps and they are expensive. The lumber to build the stands only costs about $20 and I had deck screws on hand. I used (6) 2"X4"X8' lumber and 2-1/2" deck screws.
[url=http://tonytessitore.smugmug.com/RV-12Project/RV-12-Tools-Work-Fixtures/7992519_GYr3k#1270510571_nmDZKXS-A-LB][/URL]
Here are the completed stands:
[url=http://tonytessitore.smugmug.com/RV-12Project/RV-12-Tools-Work-Fixtures/7992519_GYr3k#1270510683_btzssLc-A-LB][/URL]
These stands are very sturdy. I'll be doing an annual next month and once I have the fuselage on the stands, I'll post a picture.
I have made a drawing with dimensions and as soon as I've made sure the stands work, I'll post the drawing.

Tony
 
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It's easy

I just did it to install the wheel pants. Pushing down on the tail takes no effort. A friend had a small bench which was the correct height to put under the fuselage between the steps. I did not measure the height. Two of us lifted the rear while a third put a saw horse under the rear fuselage under the spar carry through. It took 2 minutes.
 
The stands work well...

These are the stands pictured in the Maintenance Manual, made 25 inches high.
CTT4320-M.jpg


Plans:
IMG0005-M.jpg


Tony
 
With my engine on and the tail not yet installed, I think if I used this method my nose would tip over the front sawhorse. I am thinking of maybe a board thru the spar holes and support on each side perhaps.

Tony_T said:
I can hardly believe it has been almost a year since airworthiness and that I have to get ready to do an annual next month!

Part of the annual will require inspection of the gear and for this the whole plane needs to be off the ground. I have a jack system to lift individual wheels up, but would like to build the heavy stands and use the method shown in the Maintenance Manual:
776011954_nfrYJ-M.jpg

Has anyone built the stands and used this method? How much effort is required to lift the tail to put in the stand below the rear wing-spar receptacles? The reason I ask is because the both of us who will be doing the work are geezers (fairly good shape tho').

Tony
Click to expand...
 
DonFromTX said:
With my engine on and the tail not yet installed, I think if I used this method my nose would tip over the front sawhorse. I am thinking of maybe a board thru the spar holes and support on each side perhaps.
Click to expand...

I would suggest you don't support the fuselage weight with a board lifting against the side skins at the spar opening.:(

You could always put holes in the board for the spar pins so that the loads are transfered though them, but that wont work if you are doing this for installing the landing gear S.B. The pins need to be out of the way, and one of the bushings on each side needs to be temporarily moved.

Why not just put a 20 pound (or so) ballast weight at the far aft end of the fuselage?
 
Geezer - NOT

I define a 'geezer' as a person who is too old to do much except complain about 'whatever'. There are a few geezers here but only a very few.

Tony, you are definitely NOT a geezer.:)
 
Tony-- does it roll?

Thanks for posting the excellent drawings, but I'm concerned about the airplane rolling when climbing in/out. With the canopy up and the gear off the CG will be pretty high. Is there any tendency for the fuselage to roll as you climb:confused in while it's on the horses?

Wayne 120241/143WM :confused:
 
yankee-flyer said:
Thanks for posting the excellent drawings, but I'm concerned about the airplane rolling when climbing in/out. With the canopy up and the gear off the CG will be pretty high. Is there any tendency for the fuselage to roll as you climb:confused in while it's on the horses?

Wayne 120241/143WM :confused:
Click to expand...

Hey Wayne,
I can't completely answer this as I have not had the gear off with it on the stands. With the gear on, there is no tendency to roll with my weight of 180 Lbs. Proceed with caution advised.

Tony
 
Is there any need to enter the plane with the gear off and on the stands for installing the gear service bulletin? I did not think so. And there is certainly no need to take the gear off for annual condition inspection.
 
My airplane was on (Tony's) stands for about 4 months with wings off, and I spent much of each day horsing myself around inside the airplane with nary a wiggle of the airplane (or concerned thought on my part).

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
Bill_H said:
Is there any need to enter the plane with the gear off and on the stands for installing the gear service bulletin? I did not think so. And there is certainly no need to take the gear off for annual condition inspection.
Click to expand...

Yes, you have to get inside to do the MLG Service Bulletin. You will have to drill 4 new bolt holes in the main channel from the top. You will have to be in the cockpit to do this and other work.

Tony
 
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Remove the step.

jthocker said:
Tony,
I tried this method with just some of the yellow steel folding saw horses found at Lowes or Home Depot. They have adjustable legs, and I believe if you use the size adjustment that allows the legs to fold into the top they will be the required 25 inches tall. These worked great with some carpet duct taped on for padding. Once the front steps were installed the horse proved to be too wide to now fit between the steps. We then just angled it between the steps and it worked okay. As far as the effort, it is amazingly easy, one person can easily push down on the tail while the othe slides the front saw horse between the steps. Now the plane almost counterbalances on that front horse, you then lift the tail to place the other horse under the aft spar bulkhead. Very easy to do, even a "caveman" or "geezer" can do it!!!

Regards,
Click to expand...

Removing the step on one side allows for correct placement of the wider saw horse.

RL
 
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