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Date:  2-6-2013
Number of Hours:  6.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Wing cradle rebuilt

I am closing in on finishing the wings I have decided to paint the wings early. I want to paint them after I have gone through the process of mounting the wings and finishing the final drilling. I can not leave the wings on while I finish the fuselage, too great a chance of dropping a tool. So while they are just sitting around I will have them painted.

When the wings first came I built a wing cradle to hold them up off the floor. It relied on a simple suspension system using carpet. The carpet was drapped like a sling and the wings hung in that sling. Worked great. However, after the paint job the wings can not go back into that suspension system. The carpet will leave marks in the paint due to the weight of the wing. So I needed a different solution.

Today I finished a new cradle system that relies on the wing spar to hold the wing in place. Image one shows the old cradle. Image two shows the new cradle with one wing in place. You can see the wing is vertical with the leading edge pointed down. In the lower right hand corner you can see a notch where the spar rests. The clamp is there to keep the wing from falling side ways. The wing can not slide out of the cradle (side to side.) I built the cradle with the notch on one end for the spar and on the other end, an ell shaped bracket is bolted to hold the wing. To get the wing into the cradle you must first slide the wing over the bracket and then place the spar in the notch. There is not enough room to slide the wing in either direction causing it to fall. The wing will strike the end pieces before it comes off the bracket or off the slot for the spar.

I also plan on painting the tail after it is mounted. I have a plan for hanging the tail between the wings.
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old cradle

old cradle

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Spar in the slot

Spar in the slot

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Bracket covered with foam.

Bracket covered with foam.

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