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Date:  3-9-2018
Number of Hours:  0.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Fuselage Rotisserie

One of the significant problems with my earlier painting attempt (about 19 years ago) was the fact that much of the surfaces had to be painted in a vertical orientation. While spraying, I was constantly trying to walk the thin line between paint runs and an orange peel effect. This was aggravated by the sensitivity of the paint I chose at that time. Paint technology has improved since then, but I would like to paint the Panther components in a horizontal orientation wherever possible to accommodate my amateur status as a painter.

With the Panther, the wings and all the control surfaces are easily removable, and can be painted in a horizontal position if fixturing is available to hold them properly. This leaves the fuselage to be fixtured so each of its surfaces can be presented in a horizontal orientation. The engine has been removed to ease the task

A simple rotisserie is the obvious answer, but I don't want to remove the main gear unless absolutely necessary. This means that the front of the fuselage will need to be elevated to allow the main gear and wheels to rotate under the fuselage, then lowered back down for a comfortable working height.

The solution for the front end is made up of various plumbing pieces and a floor jack with a plywood outrigger on the bottom to provide lateral stability.

The rear half of the rotisserie consists of a floor stand with a phenolic fork on top, mounted to a furniture dolly. The tailwheel spring rests in the fork, and the dolly allows the rear of the plane to move fore and aft when the floor jack is raised or lowered at the front.

It is very stable, and the fuselage rotates easily.
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Front Lift and Pivot

Front Lift and Pivot

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Rear Pivot Axis

Rear Pivot Axis

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Flying Inverted

Flying Inverted

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