making a wing wheel

[Tony[_5_]]

I'm going to start making a wing wheel for the Cherokee here shortly.
I have some 9 oz glass cloth and some fiberglass resin from advance
auto parts. I'm curious how many layers of glass those of you who
have done it used?

[mattm[_2_]]

On Jun 3, 11:26*am, Tony > wrote:
> I'm going to start making a wing wheel for the Cherokee here shortly.
> I have some 9 oz glass cloth and some fiberglass resin from advance
> auto parts. *I'm curious how many layers of glass those of you who
> have done it used?

I did this last year with about 5 layers: first laid up 4 layers for
the top
and bottom of the wing (two separate parts), epoxied the two together,
epoxied an aluminum strip over the complete sleeve (so I'd have
something
to clamp it together, and then one additional layer over the whole
thing.
I'll try to get some photos of the thing when I'm out at the airport.

-- Matt

[Bob Kuykendall]

On Jun 3, 8:26*am, Tony > wrote:
> I'm going to start making a wing wheel for the Cherokee here shortly.
> I have some 9 oz glass cloth and some fiberglass resin from advance
> auto parts. *I'm curious how many layers of glass those of you who
> have done it used?

Tony, I assume you're talking about a wing cuff for a ground handling
wing wheel.

For a wing cuff, for reasonable durability I'd be looking for a
thickness of between .090 and .140". You might get by with less if you
tape end dams onto the wing to mold in stiffening flanges at the
edges. But it's a ground handling tool, so I wouldn't be too concerned
about weight.

It's really easy to figure out how thick fiberglass builds. You
generally get a little more than .001" of thickness per ounce/yd^2. So
with 9oz cloth you'll generally get between .010" and .012" of
thickness per ply depending on the weave, how much resin you use, and
whether you are doing heroics like vacuum bagging.

For the part at hand, you're looking at somewhere in the neighborhood
of 8 layers to get a nice durable part in 9oz cloth. You might
consider getting some 18oz woven roving instead; it will only take
four or five layers to be nice and stiff.

For a wing cuff, polyester resin from the auto parts store is perfect.
Just be careful with the MEKP catalyst; it is very harmful if you get
any in your eyes. It's easy to know how much resin is required: Just
weigh the cloth you need to wet out and mix that weight of resin. Most
epoxy and polyester resins weigh around 10 lbs/gallon.

Thanks, Bob K.

[Andy[_1_]]

On Jun 3, 10:01*am, Bob Kuykendall > wrote:

>But it's a ground handling tool, so I wouldn't be too concerned
>about weight.

Maybe not, by my light weight wing wheel is quite popular with those
that handle it.

The extremes of weight management, and the lack of it, can be
experienced by handing wing wheels built by GY and 71, one being about
10 times the weight of the other.

Andy

[Chris Nicholas[_2_]]

I once made a very crude one from about 4 layers, with lots of air
gaps. It was quite stiff enough. You could design in the crude air gap
equivalents with foam to get the same effect.

I had extra layers where the pivots went for the wheel trunnions.

Chris N

[Tony[_5_]]

yes, a cuff for a ground handling wheel. i decided the cherokee needs
tow out gear. next up a clamshell trailer and one man rigger.

thanks for the input guys. Bob especially, thanks for the rough
numbers. I'll keep the MEKP out of my eyes. Used a little of the
stuff last night making a rudder cap. it worked well although pot
life was crazy short in our 95 degree heat. i also probably used a
bit too much hardener. used less in batch two and it lasted longer.
i'll need to refine my "that seems about right" method of mixing i
guess.

i think i'd prefer to have a heavy wing wheel rather than a light one.
heavy helps keep that wheel on the ground. a friend has a sweet
lightweight aluminum frame wheel setup. its great for lifting but in
a good kansas wind sometimes it lifts off.

[Andy[_1_]]

On Jun 3, 12:33*pm, Tony > wrote:
> i think i'd prefer to have a heavy wing wheel rather than a light one.
> heavy helps keep that wheel on the ground. a friend has a sweet
> lightweight aluminum frame wheel setup. *its great for lifting but in
> a good kansas wind sometimes it lifts off.

The wing wheel does not need to be heavy to keep the wing down. Just
add ballast to the wing wheel when it's in use and remove it when it's
not. You'll be taking loads of stuff with you that can be used as
ballast during the tow out. My wish list includes a built in water
ballast tank but until then hanging the wash bucket on it is
effective, if not elegant.

My ballasted light weight wing wheel stays planted on the ground while
the expensive factory wheels are allowing the glider to tip on the
other wing.

Andy

[lanebush]

On Jun 3, 4:02*pm, Andy > wrote:
> On Jun 3, 12:33*pm, Tony > wrote:
>
> > i think i'd prefer to have a heavy wing wheel rather than a light one.
> > heavy helps keep that wheel on the ground. a friend has a sweet
> > lightweight aluminum frame wheel setup. *its great for lifting but in
> > a good kansas wind sometimes it lifts off.
>
> The wing wheel does not need to be heavy to keep the wing down. * Just
> add ballast to the wing wheel when it's in use and remove it when it's
> not. *You'll be taking loads of stuff with you that can be used as
> ballast during the tow out. *My wish list includes a built in water
> ballast tank but until then hanging the wash bucket on it is
> effective, if not elegant.
>
> My ballasted light weight wing wheel stays planted on the ground while
> the expensive factory wheels are allowing the glider to tip on the
> other wing.
>
> Andy

Make one out of aluminum like I did. I have maybe $20 in the
project. It looks very professional and has given me zero problems.
I have attached a link for pics.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StandardCirrus/photos/album/2111945207/pic/1090254134/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=21&count=20&dir=asc

Lane
XF

[Andrew[_9_]]

On Jun 4, 8:16*am, lanebush > wrote:
> On Jun 3, 4:02*pm, Andy > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jun 3, 12:33*pm, Tony > wrote:
>
> > > i think i'd prefer to have a heavy wing wheel rather than a light one..
> > > heavy helps keep that wheel on the ground. a friend has a sweet
> > > lightweight aluminum frame wheel setup. *its great for lifting but in
> > > a good kansas wind sometimes it lifts off.
>
> > The wing wheel does not need to be heavy to keep the wing down. * Just
> > add ballast to the wing wheel when it's in use and remove it when it's
> > not. *You'll be taking loads of stuff with you that can be used as
> > ballast during the tow out. *My wish list includes a built in water
> > ballast tank but until then hanging the wash bucket on it is
> > effective, if not elegant.
>
> > My ballasted light weight wing wheel stays planted on the ground while
> > the expensive factory wheels are allowing the glider to tip on the
> > other wing.
>
> > Andy
>
> Make one out of aluminum like I did. *I have maybe $20 in the
> project. *It looks very professional and has given me zero problems.
> I have attached a link for pics.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StandardCirrus/photos/album/2111945207/...
>
> Lane
> XF

I can't see the picture requires being member of the group
Andres

[Tony[_5_]]

On Jun 3, 5:16*pm, lanebush > wrote:
> On Jun 3, 4:02*pm, Andy > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jun 3, 12:33*pm, Tony > wrote:
>
> > > i think i'd prefer to have a heavy wing wheel rather than a light one..
> > > heavy helps keep that wheel on the ground. a friend has a sweet
> > > lightweight aluminum frame wheel setup. *its great for lifting but in
> > > a good kansas wind sometimes it lifts off.
>
> > The wing wheel does not need to be heavy to keep the wing down. * Just
> > add ballast to the wing wheel when it's in use and remove it when it's
> > not. *You'll be taking loads of stuff with you that can be used as
> > ballast during the tow out. *My wish list includes a built in water
> > ballast tank but until then hanging the wash bucket on it is
> > effective, if not elegant.
>
> > My ballasted light weight wing wheel stays planted on the ground while
> > the expensive factory wheels are allowing the glider to tip on the
> > other wing.
>
> > Andy
>
> Make one out of aluminum like I did. *I have maybe $20 in the
> project. *It looks very professional and has given me zero problems.
> I have attached a link for pics.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StandardCirrus/photos/album/2111945207/...
>
> Lane
> XF

i joined the group and saw the pictures, looks very nice. i'm not
much of a metal worker. of course i'm not much of a fiberglass or wood
worker either...

i think with my wood/fabric wing its really important to have a good
flush fit that i'm not sure i can get with an aluminum band like
that. i've seen several glass ships with wing wheels like that and it
seems like there is always some play which isn't a big deal with the
solid fiberglass wing. what i've heard from a few of the wing rigger
builders though is that is really important on a wood wing to have an
accurate profile so that the load doesnt get concentrated, say, onto
one rib, and then it goes pop.