Folding wing for Ercoupes?

Fix the high cost [Was:] High Cost of Sportplanes
"Any mass produced successful sport aircraft today ought to have
folding wings, whether it's trailered or if it goes in a community
hanger. There is a folding wing mod for the venerable Ercoupe (it's
STC'd or their equivalent in Canada, I'm not sure here) and five or six
of them will fit in the hangar footprint of a Skylane."


Some Ercoupes have (STC'd) folding wings?

http://www.roadabletimes.com/roadables-integ_bryan.html
(Saw this, for the first time, while hunting in Google)


Montblack

"Montblack" wrote in message
...
Fix the high cost [Was:] High Cost of Sportplanes
"Any mass produced successful sport aircraft today ought to have
folding wings, whether it's trailered or if it goes in a community
hanger. There is a folding wing mod for the venerable Ercoupe (it's
STC'd or their equivalent in Canada, I'm not sure here) and five or six
of them will fit in the hangar footprint of a Skylane."


Some Ercoupes have (STC'd) folding wings?

http://www.roadabletimes.com/roadables-integ_bryan.html
(Saw this, for the first time, while hunting in Google)


Montblack

And!!!

Bryan died in the crash of his Roadable III in 1974. It is reported that the
cause of the crash was the failure of a wing to lock securely in the
extended position.

Montblack wrote:
Fix the high cost [Was:] High Cost of Sportplanes
"Any mass produced successful sport aircraft today ought to have
folding wings, whether it's trailered or if it goes in a community
hanger. There is a folding wing mod for the venerable Ercoupe (it's
STC'd or their equivalent in Canada, I'm not sure here) and five or six
of them will fit in the hangar footprint of a Skylane."


Some Ercoupes have (STC'd) folding wings?

http://www.roadabletimes.com/roadables-integ_bryan.html
(Saw this, for the first time, while hunting in Google)


Montblack

I'm building a Dyke Delta. It has foldable wings. I can testify that
foldable wings will NOT contribute to an affordable airplane.

I spent MONTHS working on all the fittings and the exactness required is
astronomically even by aviation standards.

--
This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."

Ernest Christley wrote:
Montblack wrote:
Fix the high cost [Was:] High Cost of Sportplanes
"Any mass produced successful sport aircraft today ought to have
folding wings, whether it's trailered or if it goes in a community
hanger. There is a folding wing mod for the venerable Ercoupe (it's
STC'd or their equivalent in Canada, I'm not sure here) and five or six
of them will fit in the hangar footprint of a Skylane."


Some Ercoupes have (STC'd) folding wings?

http://www.roadabletimes.com/roadables-integ_bryan.html
(Saw this, for the first time, while hunting in Google)


Montblack

I'm building a Dyke Delta. It has foldable wings. I can testify that
foldable wings will NOT contribute to an affordable airplane.


In a production design, it will. It will add build labor, weight, and
manufacturing time but it will cut hangarage costs dramatically. Figure
a given amount of floor space can hold three times the airplanes,
minimum, if the wings fold.

It will also make interchangeable wings-a long set and a short
set-much more feasible. You start with one, buy the other later: in a
rental situation you could buy just a couple of extra sets for a good
sized fleet.

I spent MONTHS working on all the fittings and the exactness required is
astronomically even by aviation standards.

--
This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."

Bret Ludwig wrote:
I'm building a Dyke Delta. It has foldable wings. I can testify that
foldable wings will NOT contribute to an affordable airplane.



In a production design, it will. It will add build labor, weight, and
manufacturing time but it will cut hangarage costs dramatically. Figure
a given amount of floor space can hold three times the airplanes,
minimum, if the wings fold.


Build one. Then you can tell us how much money it will save in a
production aircraft.

--
This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."

Bret Ludwig wrote:

In a production design, it will. It will add build labor, weight, and
manufacturing time but it will cut hangarage costs dramatically. Figure
a given amount of floor space can hold three times the airplanes,
minimum, if the wings fold.

Not in T-hangars, and they're the most common ones around here. I've seen
someone get two Champs in a single T-hangar by removing the wings of one of
them, but it wouldn't work with a plane the size of a 172.

It will also make interchangeable wings-a long set and a short
set-much more feasible.

I don't see how. You can pull a wing off a Cessna 152, 172, etc. by removing
three bolts. With a Maule, it's four. Can't get much simpler than that. Of
course, you still need to mess around with the aileron cables and flaps
linkages, but you'd have to do that with a folding design too.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

"George Patterson" wrote

I don't see how. You can pull a wing off a Cessna 152, 172, etc. by
removing
three bolts. With a Maule, it's four. Can't get much simpler than that. Of
course, you still need to mess around with the aileron cables and flaps
linkages, but you'd have to do that with a folding design too.

Messing around with aileron and flap cables is not a given, with the right
design features.

I have read about some planes, (in the case I am thinking of, sailplanes)
that have the linkages mate in such a way that no tools are even needed.
Anyone know of what I am remembering?
--
Jim in NC

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"George Patterson" wrote

I don't see how. You can pull a wing off a Cessna 152, 172, etc. by
removing
three bolts. With a Maule, it's four. Can't get much simpler than that.
Of
course, you still need to mess around with the aileron cables and flaps
linkages, but you'd have to do that with a folding design too.

Messing around with aileron and flap cables is not a given, with the right
design features.

I have read about some planes, (in the case I am thinking of, sailplanes)
that have the linkages mate in such a way that no tools are even needed.
Anyone know of what I am remembering?
--
Jim in NC


Kitfox does it.

Morgans wrote:
"George Patterson" wrote

I don't see how. You can pull a wing off a Cessna 152, 172, etc. by
removing
three bolts. With a Maule, it's four. Can't get much simpler than that. Of
course, you still need to mess around with the aileron cables and flaps
linkages, but you'd have to do that with a folding design too.

Messing around with aileron and flap cables is not a given, with the right
design features.

Flaps? flaps? Ercoupes ain't got no flaps.

A few years back I was looking into the Valkyre. They were going to use
carbon fibre wings with linkages between the wing and the body so that all
you had to do was slide the wing into position and lock it. Two min job per
wing.

Neat design, too bad they spent so much time trying to perfect the design
that they went out of business.


"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"George Patterson" wrote

I don't see how. You can pull a wing off a Cessna 152, 172, etc. by
removing
three bolts. With a Maule, it's four. Can't get much simpler than that.
Of
course, you still need to mess around with the aileron cables and flaps
linkages, but you'd have to do that with a folding design too.

Messing around with aileron and flap cables is not a given, with the right
design features.

I have read about some planes, (in the case I am thinking of, sailplanes)
that have the linkages mate in such a way that no tools are even needed.
Anyone know of what I am remembering?
--
Jim in NC