The gear legs have been to the powder coaters, and are installed back on the fuselage.
I have been debating for awhile how to jack the plane once fully assembled. The issue:
- The Sportsman (or any rod type spring gear) have no natural spot to jack a wheel.
- Bushtires just make it worse. I have the bolt on axles, which gives you a small amount of area to jack on, which is gone with the big tires.
Many folks have been using a jack pad which is bolted onto the inside of the gear leg (same holes as the axle). This will work for me, but I have to make it super wide in order to actually grab onto it with a floor jack.
The plan is to start with some 4"x4"x0.25" 6061 Aluminum L stock.
Angle: With the bush tires, the sportsman sits very nose high. I calculated the angle needed on the bracket to be parallel with the ground and came up with 23 degrees. I checked on the forum, and 22 degrees is the number...
Here is the first one rough cut and assembled just to check for any interference issues. It even lifts the plane (no wings, no engine, partial interior, partial panel), but a 2x4 is needed as my floor jack is not tall enough. Need to finish this one, and then build a mirror image.
I can already hear people asking "what is that for...???".
Both brackets roughed out, ready to head for welding.
Brackets welded and cleaned up.
Per Ted's suggestion, I put a couple AN-4 threaded holes on the 'foot'. Ted uses these so the jack won't slip off. I am planning on using them to mount a hockey puck for the jack to sit on. At least that is the plan....
All primed and ready for paint.
Prior to painting, I ran them through AlumiPrep and Alodine, then primed them.
Finished product. The puck is to protect the finish, stop it from slipping off the jack, and to allow the jack to be a bit shorter. They are temporary... put them in when needed, and remove when not. 2 x AN4 bolts through the bottom. Can be installed and removed in less than a minute.
No comments:
Post a Comment