Fuselage fixture

I'd like to do some clean-up work on the bottom of the of my glider's
fuselage. Are there any drawings available for for a fuselage rotation
fixture similar to the one shown in the linked video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co4l35Awbtc

Thanks,

Dave

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 10:06:09 PM UTC-6, Dave Rolley wrote:
I'd like to do some clean-up work on the bottom of the of my glider's
fuselage. Are there any drawings available for for a fuselage rotation
fixture similar to the one shown in the linked video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co4l35Awbtc

Thanks,

Dave

You can make a ring out of about 4 layers of half inch plywood. I think the ones I have seen are 4 to maybe 5 foot OD, and about 3 inches deep. Do half circles from the 4 by 8 sheet, and set each one at a different angle on the sheet. Stagger the joints. For the base, make it of 2 by 4s, with wheels on the bottom, and a big wheel on each side for the ring to roll in. Then, make steel fittings to attach the ring to the lift fittings on the fuselage.

Depending on how much work you are looking to do, it might be simpler to take the canopy off, put three or so 2 by 4s together to stick through the fuselage through the wing spar hole, get some friends, flip it over, and put the 2 by 4 beam on saw horses or stands you have made to hold the fuselage at a good working height.

Either way, you are likely going to need help loading the fuselage into your fixture.

Steve Leonard

Steve's way probably would work best unless the ability to rotate the glider so it's angled instead of straight upside down is really needed. With a few friends it's not difficult to invert the fuselage and support it on padded sawhorses with the canopy off. If the top of the vertical fin has a reasonably large and strong attachment point for a T-tail you can use it to support the aft end of the fuse. On my ASW-15 I needed to make a high saddle to sit the rear of the tailboom in because the rudder extends above the top of the fin but a simple 2x4 A-frame with a canvas strap on top to make a support saddle took care of that.

On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 2:29:30 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Steve's way probably would work best unless the ability to rotate the glider so it's angled instead of straight upside down is really needed. With a few friends it's not difficult to invert the fuselage and support it on padded sawhorses with the canopy off. If the top of the vertical fin has a reasonably large and strong attachment point for a T-tail you can use it to support the aft end of the fuse. On my ASW-15 I needed to make a high saddle to sit the rear of the tailboom in because the rudder extends above the top of the fin but a simple 2x4 A-frame with a canvas strap on top to make a support saddle took care of that.

HP 24 website, May 24, 2014 has some pics of a simple one. https://www.facebook.com/HP-24-Sailp...-200931354951/

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 11:06:09 PM UTC-5, Dave Rolley wrote:
I'd like to do some clean-up work on the bottom of the of my glider's
fuselage. Are there any drawings available for for a fuselage rotation
fixture similar to the one shown in the linked video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co4l35Awbtc

Thanks,

Dave

We use a stand that has a top portion that has a box that accepts 2 pieces of 2 inch insulating foam on edge. The stand is 27 inches wide. The foam is cut so it fits on edge and is cut on top to a curve that about matches the curve of the fuselage bottom. The fuselage dolly is a good pattern. The tail boom goes on a padded saw horse. Once in the stand, it is easy to roll on the side and 2/3 around to get at the bottom. This is a one man job.
Making a full rotating tool probably does not pay unless you are doing a lot of these.
Good Luck
UH

Hey Dave,

When I repaired/refinished the under side of my ASW-19b's fuselage, I
simply inverted it on a saw horse (canopy removed) with the tail on a
pad on the floor. I found no need to rotate it. Planning on going into
business?

Dan

On 11/10/2015 9:06 PM, Dave Rolley wrote:
I'd like to do some clean-up work on the bottom of the of my glider's
fuselage. Are there any drawings available for for a fuselage rotation
fixture similar to the one shown in the linked video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co4l35Awbtc

Thanks,

Dave

--
Dan, 5J

Hi Dan,

Nah, just looking for an easier way to handle the fuselage in my shop.

Dave

On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 8:22:36 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
Hey Dave,



When I repaired/refinished the under side of my ASW-19b's fuselage,
I simply inverted it on a saw horse (canopy removed) with the tail
on a pad on the floor.* I found no need to rotate it.* Planning on
going into business?

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 10:06:09 PM UTC-6, Dave Rolley wrote:
I'd like to do some clean-up work on the bottom of the of my glider's
fuselage. Are there any drawings available for for a fuselage rotation
fixture similar to the one shown in the linked video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co4l35Awbtc

Thanks,

Dave

Steve's seen my rings. The first one I made is wood and is made from a single 4x4 foot 3/4" piece of plywood. Six 60-deg arcs were laid out on the sheet and cut with a hand sabre saw. The arcs were glued together in two layers so that the joints on the lower layer are offset 30 degrees from the upper layer joints. Each arc was about 3" wide and the OD of the overall ring is about 54". The remaining piece of plywood I used for the roller base under the ring. I used this wood ring to support a Ka-2b fuselage for repair and refinish. I am now using it to support an ASK-14 fuselage for restoration.

Since making the wood ring, I had four steel tubes formed into circles at a local metal shop. My son helped cut the overlapping ends of the tubes, weld them together, and weld on four tabs to the inside of the ring. Two of these are with friends and the other two are holding up project gliders in my shop.

Two shops that I've worked in use a sling hung from the ceiling. The sling is 2 inch webbing that forms basket under the fuselage. The low tech shop uses a manual block and tackle. The higher tech uses an electric hoist with remote control. The glider is raised up on the sling then lowered down on a sawhorse. The fuselage can be turned to any angle depending on how the tail is supported. For instance, to work on the bottom, you just roll the fuselage onto the cockpit rails and stick a thick foam pad under the top of the vertical stab. For either side, support the vertical stab on a sawhorse.

In fact, I'll be doing exactly this in the coming weekend. In our case, I'll have 4 club members lift the fuselage onto the front sawhorse. Unfortunately, they don't travel well, and we have to feed them.

p3

On Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 8:16:11 PM UTC-5, Papa3 wrote:
Two shops that I've worked in use a sling hung from the ceiling. The sling is 2 inch webbing that forms basket under the fuselage. The low tech shop uses a manual block and tackle. The higher tech uses an electric hoist with remote control. The glider is raised up on the sling then lowered down on a sawhorse. The fuselage can be turned to any angle depending on how the tail is supported. For instance, to work on the bottom, you just roll the fuselage onto the cockpit rails and stick a thick foam pad under the top of the vertical stab. For either side, support the vertical stab on a sawhorse.

In fact, I'll be doing exactly this in the coming weekend. In our case, I'll have 4 club members lift the fuselage onto the front sawhorse. Unfortunately, they don't travel well, and we have to feed them.

p3

You feed your workers?!?!...... where do I sign up?

Never mind, I normally get fed as well.....