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Old June 5th 11, 01:32 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Tony[_5_]
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Posts: 1,965
Default making a wing wheel

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/Standa...um/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.