Jacking your Bird...

[dholly 718]

Just to be clear, I am referring to all the different (best?) ways y'all have jacked your plane up off the ground.

 

I've seen some good, some downright foolish and dangerous. I used an automotive floor jack and 2x6 between the spring gear legs to raise my 4-1200, then set it down on a couple wooden braces for safety and stability while swapping out tires.

 

Share your comments and ideas here if you care.

[dholly 718]

Here are a few more ideas courtesy of the good folks on the 'other' KF site.

[akflyer 1427]

I mad my axles longer on the inside so I can use that for a jack point when going from whels to skis.  if I need to do anything else I just use an engine hoist and pick the plane from the top.

 

[Av8r3400 1179]

I leave my ski axles on all year and use them if I need to "jack" the plane up.  (they are a second set of axles to the inside of the spring)

 

Otherwise I have a tripod stand that goes under the lift strut wing attachment point and just lift up the plane by hand and slide the tripod under it.

Edited 24 Mar 2014 by Av8r3400

[Bandit 286]

This is my tripod lift. I one man job to change to ski's now.

[lostman 198]

I needed to jack up the Avid the other night and found that a good piece of angle iron and two large C clamps worked really well on the Grove gear. I just clamped them on at tight as I could and used a 20 ton bottle jack (it's just what I had with me).

 

I really like the tripod idea. I am needing to pull the left gear off the plane and that would be the ticket to doing that correctly.

[FoxDB 17]

I suspended mine from the hanger rafters with ratchet tiedowns attached at the forward spar carry through just inside the wing attach tubes. This I did while designing and building my bush gear. I did put a 2x4 frame under it just in case. And the wings were folded.

[EDMO 1078]

An alternate method of lifting from above is to put eye-bolts in the spar-attach tubes.

EDMO

[akflyer 1427]

I have the eye bolts in the spars on all 4 corners and use a spreader bar to pick it from the top for most of my work.  If I am just swapping from wheels to skis then picking off the engine has worked well for me.  I am not too keen on just picking from the forward spar mounts as I an chicken about bending up the bird cage area.

 

[EDMO 1078]

Leni,

      do you use eyebolts with threads on the front, or the pin-type with the keeper?

EDMo

[lostman 198]

I know when I was flying and working on a Waco we would just wrap a strap around the engine mount and jack that way, but I don't have access to an engine hoist currently. 

 

I'm curious about using a strap or something through the front spar carry through like Ed was talking about. I suppose I could weld up an eyebolt with a long enough throw to get it to work. I really would worry more about the roof of the barn that I am hangared in that the spar mount for only jacking one side up.

[EDMO 1078]

I think in this case you would be safer to jack and block from the floor.   I was talking about hoisting for people with overhead hoists that are safe.

EDMO

[akflyer 1427]

Ed, I have the an eye bolts on all 4 corners.

[lostman 198]

Not to hijack (no not trying to make it a pun) this thread, but I just saw how you have the skylight extending over the wing a little. I don't have gap seals there or any extension. I think that's a good idea. Maybe when I replace the skylight at a later date I'll do the same thing. Especially since I'd have to cut it to that width anyway. 

[EDMO 1078]

Suber Avid raised his skylight that way too - He posted some photos of his -

Now, Leni has me wondering what the nylon-looking thingy under the bolt head is for???

Wouldn't it be easier to swing your wings using the fast-pin, and only putting the bolts in the front when you want to hoist it?  Don't you trust the fast-pin?  But, knowing how you fly, getting stuck at the edge of a pond, and needing a come-a-long and a tree limb for a hoist, guess the bolts are a necessity! 

EDMO

Edited 1 Apr 2014 by Ed In Missouri