Wing Mounting Jigs
TLDR
- Made a jig to carry the wing for easier mounting
- Made some “bullets” from sacrifacial AN7 bolts
Details
Wing Jig
Inspired by a fellow builder, I decided to make a jig to carry the wing flat to make the mounting easier later.
Preparing
The materials:
- 2x4x8ft wood from Home Depot
- Deck screws
- 3m woolen mat from Amazon
- 4x Trailer Jack with Wheel from Amazon
The idea is: the wing should lay flat on the jig, and the 4 legs are all height adjustable to I can wiggle the height when aligning the wing to the fuselage.
The total length of the jig is roughly 8 foot. One side (root) is wider than the other side (mid span of the wing) considering the taper of the wing. Also, the wider side is lower than the the other due to the dihedral wing design.
I stetched the design and calculated the height difference between the low side and the high side based on the presumed 8ft length and dihedral degrees from the POH. Gemini told me it’s supposed to be 210mm difference.
Cutting and Buildubg
So I started to cut and assemble the materials based on my stetch. This part is mostly just labor and no brain. The day in San Martin gets to 90 degrees so I took my time to stay out of heat stroke.
Putting on Wheels
The wheels are surprisingly heavy. It was quite difficult to put on. Each wheel took me at least 15 minutes.
Putting on Straps
Last step, putting a strap on each end to hold the wing.
Bullets
In order to help punch the AN7 bolts through the wing spar, I made 2 bullets from sacrificia AN7 bolts. A bullet is essentially a tapered AN7 bolt. It’s grinded thinner than a real AN bolt and therefore easier to insert into the bolt location. I can use it to temporarily align the bolt holes, install the bolts, then just punch it out.
The process is fairly straightforward - it’s just a lot of grinding on my bench grinder. There is not much precision, just turn the bolt around and grind as long as the bolt is still cool enough for my hands to hold it.
