Whats in YOUR toolbox?

Just got my first sailplane...what kind of tools do
you carry everytime you go to the airfield to fly?
Whats in your toolbox?

Beach

A small sledge hammer.

Useful to adjust the perfomance of your competitor's airfoil or help
drive in tie-down stakes.
You should have a tiedown kit with straps, ropes and a hammer etc. Even
if you don't plan to tie it out, there is always a chance of a fast
developing storm that approaches before you can find 2 other guys that
aren't trying to disassmeble their gliders before the gusts hit.

Also in the trailer be sure you have
fuses
lug wrench for the trailer
not bad to have spare glider tubes

Chris

Whats in your toolbox?

Add an LED headlamp and flashlight. Mine came in very handy a few weeks
ago out at the Wray, Colorado airport, as the light over the gas pump
kept turning off and on.

Gunnar

When I was campaigning the HP-11, I carried in the glider:

1/4" drive socket set, 1/4" through 9/16"
Medium-sized flat-blade screwdriver
Sharp #2 Phillips screwdriver (these get dull faster than you think)
2 feet of .041" safety wire
Wrenches 3/8" and 1/4", box+open ended
Two allen wrenches (for flap handle and instrument panel removal, don't
remember the sizes)
Tube of lithium grease

In the car or trailer, I'd usually carry:

Full 3/8" socket set
14-volt battery drill
Honkin' huge Crescent wrench for O2 and such
Fiber mallet
Pop riveter with several sizes of Monel pop rivets
Volt/Ohm meter
Crimp terminal kit with lots of red-size terminals
Lots of tie-wraps
Lots of wire, 22awg through 18awg
Various AN3 and AN4 bolts and AN395 nuts
A pint or so of epoxy

Travis Beach wrote:
Just got my first sailplane...what kind of tools do
you carry everytime you go to the airfield to fly?
Whats in your toolbox?


Only 2 items - a can of WD-40 and a roll of duct tape. If something
moves and shouldn't, use the duct tape. If some thing doesn't move and
should, use the WD-40.

Tony V.
:-) :-)

Tony Verhulst wrote:
Travis Beach wrote:
Just got my first sailplane...what kind of tools do
you carry everytime you go to the airfield to fly?
Whats in your toolbox?


Only 2 items - a can of WD-40 and a roll of duct tape. If something
moves and shouldn't, use the duct tape. If some thing doesn't move and
should, use the WD-40.

WD-40 does dry out and get sticky as time passes. This can affect
delicate mechanical bits.

In the model plane game we've found that spraying a clockwork timer with
WD-40 to wash out grit, e.g. after the model d/ts on a ploughed field,
is fine for the rest of the day. However, the timer is likely to be
unreliable after enough time has passed for the WD-40's solvent to
evaporate.

I'm not sure how relevant this is to general glider maintenance, but it
would pay to be careful what you use WD-40 on and/or carefully clean it
off once the part is unfrozen. Then lube carefully with the correct
lubricant. Never let the stuff near your instrument panel.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

http://www.lpslabs.com/Products/Lubricants/LPS1.asp

This is what my mechanic uses and recomends...I see
it in a lot of hangars.

The only use I have for WD-40 is as a solvent. It works well to clean
the belly of my towplane. For light lube I use LP products and "Aero
Kroil". "Boeshield" spray for the long term lube. "Flamingo Grease"
for the long term - it is a Florida distributed boat trailer wheel
bearing grease that doesn't harden - and it is flamingo pink.

I have a supply of large ZipLoc type bags for keeping pins and
essential parts together.

In my Blanik toolbox I carry a couple of wooden dowels - actually used
drum sticks - size 5B with the tips cut off. Pro-Mark brand was my
preference in my professional days for the dense white oak - perfect
for encouraging stuck pins if you haven't been greasing them properly.


I also carry the same plastic hammer Fritz Compton used in the 1950's
on his Laister Kauffman LK-10A sailplane wing pins. A family heirloom
- mostly for luck! A vintage tool in your toolbox is good.

Burt Compton
Marfa, west Texas USA


Stewart Kissel wrote:
http://www.lpslabs.com/Products/Lubricants/LPS1.asp

This is what my mechanic uses and recomends...I see
it in a lot of hangars.

For cleaning the belly of the tow plane, try the original Go-Jo hand cleaner
(not the version with pumice!!). It works amazingly well at removing grease
and oil as well as the harder to remove 100LL exhaust stains. Wipe on my
hand or rag, wipe off. (I have tested Go-Jo for compatibility with bare
aluminum by immersing aluminum strips for several weeks - - no problems
detected.)

WD-40 does a good job removing road tar and works acceptably well as a
coolant when drilling steel. I still buy and use it even thought there are
more appropriate things for both tasks. WD-40 sure is not a good long-term
corrosion preventative - - in fact, I suspect that if anything it does the
opposite. It is also not a good lubricant, though it can help unstick things
if you don't have a better penetrating lubricant handy.

For a good spray-on lube, try Super Lube spray by Synco
http://www.super-lube.com/. They also make an excellent synthetic grease
with a broad temperature range that works great for wing pins etc. Super
Lube Gel or Grease.

all the best,

bumper

"Burt Compton - Marfa" wrote in message
oups.com...
The only use I have for WD-40 is as a solvent. It works well to clean
the belly of my towplane. For light lube I use LP products and "Aero
Kroil". "Boeshield" spray for the long term lube. "Flamingo Grease"
for the long term - it is a Florida distributed boat trailer wheel
bearing grease that doesn't harden - and it is flamingo pink.

I have a supply of large ZipLoc type bags for keeping pins and
essential parts together.

In my Blanik toolbox I carry a couple of wooden dowels - actually used
drum sticks - size 5B with the tips cut off. Pro-Mark brand was my
preference in my professional days for the dense white oak - perfect
for encouraging stuck pins if you haven't been greasing them properly.


I also carry the same plastic hammer Fritz Compton used in the 1950's
on his Laister Kauffman LK-10A sailplane wing pins. A family heirloom
- mostly for luck! A vintage tool in your toolbox is good.

Burt Compton
Marfa, west Texas USA


Stewart Kissel wrote:
http://www.lpslabs.com/Products/Lubricants/LPS1.asp

This is what my mechanic uses and recomends...I see
it in a lot of hangars.