I agree with Todd -- it seems that a pin that rocks
rather than rotates could score the wing pin bushings.
Schleicher provides an offset pin for assembly that
is turned from nylon (or some similar plastic). It
works like a charm.

For a disassembly tool you'd need different offsets
for the front/aft (left wing/right wing) parts and
the design would be a bit different to promote getting
the bushings to 'un-align', but it should work.

At 14:36 18 August 2003, Todd Pattist wrote:
'tango4' wrote:

One of the chaps at our club has a heavily tapered
aluminium pin that he
fits into the mainpin slot of his ventus. The major
diameter is somewhat
less than the mainpin and the tip diameter about 1
cm. By rocking the
tapered pin the last half inch pops into place very
easily. He then removes
the Ali pin and pops the mainpin in. Every time I help
him to rig I swear I
will turn up a similar pin for my Ventus Bt but never
get round to it.


I've got a Ventus, and fortunately, it assembles with
ease.
My personal opinion is that I'd be uncomfortable using
a
'heavily tapered pin' and rocking it to draw the wings
together. This process would place a relatively high
load
on the edge of the bushings that the pin fits into.
Doing
that repeatedly might tend to break the bond holding
the
bushings in place.

If I needed to draw the wings together, I'd use the
tool
I've seen that has the end of the pin turned cylindrically
to a smaller diameter with an offset (but parallel)
axis.
(One side of the pin is smooth and the other side has
a step
at the tip to the smaller diameter cylindrical tip.)

When you insert this pin, the offset lets the smaller
diameter end enter the second bushing fully (provided
the
pin is turned correctly). You then rotate the assembly
pin
180 degrees and it pulls the wings together. The force
is
applied over the entire bushing.

Hope that was clear.
Todd Pattist - 'WH' Ventus C
(Remove DONTSPAMME from address to email reply.)