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Bob's Searey LSX Web Site
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Date: 10-29-2023
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Number of Hours: 3.00
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Manual Reference: *Chapter 12.4
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Brief Description: Landing gear checks - picking up the plane
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Time to check that the landing gear (main wheels and tail wheel) deploys properly. First I have to get the plane up into the air, not a take-off from the runway, but up in the air in the hangar so that I can retract the wheels without the hull crashing to the ground.
Right from the start of the build I have had a pallet with some carpeted 2x4's on the top of it, and dolly wheels under, to fit under the hull. However, when the pallet is under the hull the plane's wheels are still on the ground. So I have to get this pallet elevated to safety cup and carry the plane such that the plane wheels are off the ground.
I have a chain fall hanging off the hangar roof steel right above the engine. By placing lifting straps around the engine and under the horizontal pylon tube (taking care not to allow the straps to press against hoses, spark plugs, etc) I can lift the plane with the chain fall. But it doesn't lift evenly as I can't get the straps positioned at the plane's centre of gravity... it is nose heavy, so up goes the tail and down goes the bow.
Next I used the simple manual car jack out of my Ford Flex, placing it under the pallet's back end right under the "transom' of the hull. It did the job, sort of, but I think it was right near its capacity limit. So I bit the bullet, really not wanting to spend anymore cash on this project so many years into it and splurged about $100 on a hydraulic lifting jack that has little wheels on it. Placed under back end of the pallet. as it only needs about 3" to get itself under, it lifted the plane easily, raising all three wheels above the ground.
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Hull carrying pallet
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Chain fall above engine
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Wheeled hydraulic jack
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