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One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 2nd 19, 03:44 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Paul Kaye
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Posts: 16
Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

My new club seems to have a culture of rig in April and derig in October! Personally I prefer to rig and derig for each flight, unless I know that there is a run of several days good weather and I'm available to fly. I have covers (Cloud-dancers) but I really don't think they offer the protection against UV that is needed for leaving it outdoors for long periods.

Anyhow, as a consequence, it's not always easy to get help to rig/de-rig so I'm thinking of getting a on-man rigging aid. It seems that I can get one from IMI for about €900 that is manually-adjustable for height and sideways alignment, or I could pay around €1500 for an electrically-adjustable version. I'm happy to pay for the more expensive one, if it's worth it. So, if any of you have any experiences/opinions, I'd be happy to hear them!

Thanks in advance.
  #2  
Old June 2nd 19, 03:45 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Paul Kaye
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Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

Oh - the glider is an LS8 and it's in a Cobra trailer, if that helps.
  #3  
Old June 2nd 19, 04:20 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

My homemade one has a manual tongue jack incorporated...shouldn't cost a tenth of that.
  #4  
Old June 2nd 19, 04:22 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Dave Nadler
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Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 10:44:34 AM UTC-4, Paul Kaye wrote:
if any of you have any experiences/opinions, I'd be happy to hear them!


For your LS-8, electric will speed things up a bit.
Because the wings aren't that heavy, its not really necessary like big gliders.

Put the first wing in, while you're at the root adjust height
until just right, then go put wing-stand under tip.
If you're experienced rigging the ship you can do this by feel at tip.
Less experienced, electric will save a trip or two out to the rigger.
Put the second wing in, and adjust until holes are perfectly lined up.
If you're experienced and the wing height is already close,
you can do this by adjusting the fuselage height with the cobra fuselage jack.
Less experienced and needing bigger adjustment, electric helps a lot.

Hope that helps!
Best Regards, Dave (previous owner of 4 different self-rigger styles,
instigator/contributor for IMI electric design)
  #5  
Old June 2nd 19, 04:27 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
jfitch
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Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 7:44:34 AM UTC-7, Paul Kaye wrote:
My new club seems to have a culture of rig in April and derig in October! Personally I prefer to rig and derig for each flight, unless I know that there is a run of several days good weather and I'm available to fly. I have covers (Cloud-dancers) but I really don't think they offer the protection against UV that is needed for leaving it outdoors for long periods.

Anyhow, as a consequence, it's not always easy to get help to rig/de-rig so I'm thinking of getting a on-man rigging aid. It seems that I can get one from IMI for about €900 that is manually-adjustable for height and sideways alignment, or I could pay around €1500 for an electrically-adjustable version. I'm happy to pay for the more expensive one, if it's worth it. So, if any of you have any experiences/opinions, I'd be happy to hear them!

Thanks in advance.


The electric jack is a convenience, but has downside as well. With practice, and especially if rigging in the same place several times, you can get the height set and leave it alone. The electric sideways adjustment is actually more useful. I have both on my Cobra rig.

For height, if you are close simply use the fuselage ramp jack to adjust fuselage height instead of adjusting wing height. You are right there and can see what you are doing and how much.

The downside of electric is it must be kept charged, and it adds significant weight to the one man rig dolly. On the Cobra, it's almost a tossup whether the dolly or the wing is harder to lift out of the trailer.
  #6  
Old June 2nd 19, 04:29 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Paul Kaye
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Posts: 16
Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

On Sunday, 2 June 2019 16:22:03 UTC+1, Dave Nadler wrote:
On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 10:44:34 AM UTC-4, Paul Kaye wrote:
if any of you have any experiences/opinions, I'd be happy to hear them!


For your LS-8, electric will speed things up a bit.
Because the wings aren't that heavy, its not really necessary like big gliders.

Put the first wing in, while you're at the root adjust height
until just right, then go put wing-stand under tip.
If you're experienced rigging the ship you can do this by feel at tip.
Less experienced, electric will save a trip or two out to the rigger.
Put the second wing in, and adjust until holes are perfectly lined up.
If you're experienced and the wing height is already close,
you can do this by adjusting the fuselage height with the cobra fuselage jack.
Less experienced and needing bigger adjustment, electric helps a lot.

Hope that helps!
Best Regards, Dave (previous owner of 4 different self-rigger styles,
instigator/contributor for IMI electric design)


Thanks for the quick reply Dave. I'm pretty experienced in rigging and de-rigging LS gliders and reckon with someone who knows what they're doing on the tips I can get the main panels on in just a few minutes.

I thinking that if I get a manual rigger and normally use it in the same place then I can probably get the rigger setup to the right height without the need to fiddle with it each time. And as you say, I can use the jack on the ramp for height adjustment too. So, I'm leaning to the manual version - €1500 is a bot crazy really!

  #7  
Old June 2nd 19, 04:30 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Paul Kaye
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Posts: 16
Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

On Sunday, 2 June 2019 16:27:04 UTC+1, jfitch wrote:
On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 7:44:34 AM UTC-7, Paul Kaye wrote:
My new club seems to have a culture of rig in April and derig in October! Personally I prefer to rig and derig for each flight, unless I know that there is a run of several days good weather and I'm available to fly. I have covers (Cloud-dancers) but I really don't think they offer the protection against UV that is needed for leaving it outdoors for long periods.

Anyhow, as a consequence, it's not always easy to get help to rig/de-rig so I'm thinking of getting a on-man rigging aid. It seems that I can get one from IMI for about €900 that is manually-adjustable for height and sideways alignment, or I could pay around €1500 for an electrically-adjustable version. I'm happy to pay for the more expensive one, if it's worth it. So, if any of you have any experiences/opinions, I'd be happy to hear them!

Thanks in advance.


The electric jack is a convenience, but has downside as well. With practice, and especially if rigging in the same place several times, you can get the height set and leave it alone. The electric sideways adjustment is actually more useful. I have both on my Cobra rig.

For height, if you are close simply use the fuselage ramp jack to adjust fuselage height instead of adjusting wing height. You are right there and can see what you are doing and how much.

The downside of electric is it must be kept charged, and it adds significant weight to the one man rig dolly. On the Cobra, it's almost a tossup whether the dolly or the wing is harder to lift out of the trailer.


It's funny you mention the weight of the dolly. I did my back in many years ago helping someone rig their Lak 12. It wasn't the wing-panel that caused the issue - it was dreadful one-man rigger he had acquired that weighed an absolute ton!
  #8  
Old June 2nd 19, 04:32 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Paul Kaye
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Posts: 16
Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

On Sunday, 2 June 2019 16:20:36 UTC+1, wrote:
My homemade one has a manual tongue jack incorporated...shouldn't cost a tenth of that.


Do you have any pictures? I've not got extensive workshop facilities but I'm not averse to a bit of DIY. I don't have any welding equipment (or skills!) so that might be a challenge.
  #9  
Old June 2nd 19, 04:33 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Dave Nadler
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Posts: 1,610
Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 11:29:07 AM UTC-4, Paul Kaye wrote:
Thanks for the quick reply Dave.


No problem. Note the electric isn't that much heavier;
IMI doesn't use lead-acid batteries like some older electric units, and
frame is all aluminum - it's quite nice (though non-electric is certainly lighter)
Regarding battery charging: In case of oops, best to have a long
lead on the electric rigger, with the same connector as your ship's
battery. That way you can use ship's battery when you forget ;-)

Always using same height on rigger works great if you always rig on a
nice even surface, however...

See ya, Dave
  #10  
Old June 2nd 19, 04:34 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Steve Bralla
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Posts: 38
Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

What happens when you are in the middle of rigging with no one else around and the battery dies? Does the battery have the same connectors as your glider battery?

Steve
 




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