Wingmate ??

[[email protected]]

Browsing this group seems to indicate that the Wingmate is no longer
built, so, I'm thinking of building one myself.
I trust Chip won't be offended.

If you have one, I'd be interested in learning what dimensions Chip
used . i.e. Aluminium box section size and wall thickness, and length
of each leg.
Also, a picture of the "universal joint" at the cradle junction would
useful.
Please don't ask me to build more than one. I just thing that Chip's
solution is good one, and would like to replicate for my own use.

All help appreciated.

Cheers
Mark

[Barny]

Have you contacted Chip directly? He answered a post here 3/24/2008 on
this subject, I'm sure he'll help you purchase or build one. ~Bruce

[[email protected]]

I am hoping he reads this!

Thanks
Fish
On Apr 9, 9:33 am, Barny > wrote:
> Have you contacted Chip directly? He answered a post here 3/24/2008 on
> this subject, I'm sure he'll help you purchase or build one. ~Bruce

[Chip Bearden]

On Apr 8, 11:37*pm, wrote:
> I am hoping he reads this!
>
I just did! I don't check RAS as often as I once did.

Yours is the kind of email or call that briefly gets me excited about
building more WingMates...before the enthusisam dies in the face of
everything else I'm behind on. :( One day I will (I still have parts
in the workshop); just not now. So here goes.

I'm at the office now (don't tell my employer) but I can answer two of
your questions from memory: the legs and "mast" are 1 1/4" square
aluminum tubing, 1/8" wall. It's very stout stuff, bigger than I
needed but, frankly, it looks a little spindly in the photos as is and
going down to 1" tubing would have made it look ridiculous. The U-
joint is a standard 1" steel universal joint for power transmission
applications. I bought them from an outfit in CT but there were other
sources. It's the least expensive one they offered because I didn't
need high-speed needle bearings, etc. That happens to be one of the
parts I don't have on the shelf or I'd just send you one. Try the
Thomas Register and then call, tell them you work for so-and-so and
you're building a prototype, could you get a sample? Almost everyone I
contacted that way agreed to sell me one or two items on a COD basis
when I was designing the WingMate. I'll try to get you a photo of my
WinMate that shows how I modified the U-joint to add the necessary
additional degree of freedom. Good luck.

For anyone else out there, just how much interest is there in the
WingMate these days? The one-man rigging movement seems to much larger
now than when I first started doing this in the early 80s, or even 10
years ago. If thousands of you want one, I could quit my real job! :)

If not, there are occasionally used WingMates available (Charlie
Minner may still have one that fits smaller wingtips: e.g., Ventus,
Discus, ASW 24/27/28) and several have changed hands that way.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA