Pulling wings

[procharger]

Do the flaps just slide out when pulling wings or do you have to disconnect something? thanks

[Tom Baker]

They just slide out. I secure them with a couple strips of duct tape across the gap on top. This prevents them from flopping down and possibly gouging the fuselage. I also use one strip in the ailerons. Them flopping down is not an issue, but it makes reconnecting the controls easier when it goes back together. 

[Tom Baker]

26 minutes ago, WmInce said:

If this is your first time doing it, highly recommend a partner to help out. 

Or two!

[ct9000]

Only Roger is super human and can do a wing pull on his own, the rest of us mere mortals are best with three people.

[Roger Lee]

A single person wing pull really isn't that hard. LOL

Just use a support for each wing. To help align the spar holes to insert the pins I use an engine lift under one wing you the spar can be moved up or down to align the holes. I have a 6' ladder with a pad between the ladder top and wing so not to cause any marks.

[Tip]

I have pulled wings by myself using a Harbor Freight scaffold under each wing. You can pad it up really well and the caster wheels will roll and also lock.

[mchou83]

It will slide down, careful with fingers

 

[MileHighCTLS]

You would think that since wing pulling is a regular/periodic maintenance requirement on the CTLS, that there would be a detailed set of instructions, with diagrams, or even videos to reference!

 

[Tom Baker]

9 hours ago, MileHighCTLS said:

You would think that since wing pulling is a regular/periodic maintenance requirement on the CTLS, that there would be a detailed set of instructions, with diagrams, or even videos to reference!

 

Unless the airplane is a ELSA the training comes from meeting the requirements of CFR 65.107, (d) for a light sport repairman. If you are a A&P mechanic you may perform the work, but you may not supervise or approve for return to service unless you have performed the work at an earlier date. To be able to approve the work you will have to show your ability to perform the task to the administrator, or perform it under the supervision of an A&P who has performed the work before.

As a mechanic I have called people with more knowledge than me to ask questions about a specific task before, but I do find some of the questions asked about maintenance on the forum concerning. I know many people are quite capable, but the lack of knowledge can cause issues. Over the years I have fixed several thousand dollars of work on CT's that was performed by people who were rated mechanics or repairmen that didn't know what they were doing. Some of these were safety of flight issues. And this is just with the few airplanes that I have seen. 

[Roger Lee]

"As a mechanic I have called people with more knowledge than me to ask questions about a specific task before, but I do find some of the questions asked about maintenance on the forum concerning. I know many people are quite capable, but the lack of knowledge can cause issues. Over the years I have fixed several thousand dollars of work on CT's that was performed by people who were rated mechanics or repairmen that didn't know what they were doing. Some of these were safety of flight issues. And this is just with the few airplanes that I have seen. "

 

I fully agree with Tom. Phone calls are cheap and easy plus they hopefully reduce repair cost from things done wrong. Like Tom I have seen many LSA come from a mechanic that just didn't learn about a procedure first.

[Roger Lee]

Next time I pull a wing I'll see if I can remember to do a video. The remembering part is the hard part. LOL

[Tom Baker]

I'm doing one at the moment, and taking pictures. I have the wings ready to slide out as soon as my son gets back.

While the video or picture will help, but they will not meet the regulatory requirements for experience to perform the work.

[procharger]

Worst part of that job is fuel lines that have to be replaced.

[Roger Lee]

Both the sight tubes and the rubber fuel line is fairly easy. I do drill a hole to get to the rubber fuel line just past the sight tube opening and replace any clamp with a fuel injection clamp and use an Allen head screw in it. That makes tightening or future replace very easy.

[Tom Baker]

I've never drilled a hole, and have never had an issue. 

[Roger Lee]

Bill Ince posted the LOA for the hole.

When you slide the wing out just drill a 3/4" hole through the fuselage right on top of that inner rubber hose clamp. Then it's easy to remove the rubber hose clamp. Then I replace that with a fuel injection clamp using an Allen head screw. Then from now on all I have to do is use my 6" Tee handle Allen wrench that will not slip out of the hole in the head like a flat tip screwdriver and you don't have to fight to use a socket. This makes it a piece of cake to tighten or remove in the future. Then I place a piece of the white Bolus tape over the hole.

If you don't put a hole there how do you get to the hose clamp inside the "A" post area to remove or install one. The hole makes life easy and you never have to pry or possibly damage the metal tube it slides over.

I place my finger inside the fuel sight tube to guide the first drill hole with a small drill bit to make sure I'm right over the clamp area. If the small hole is dead on a follow up with the 3/4" bit

[Tom Baker]

When I removed the old Oetiker clamps I simply opened up the crimped ear and slid the hose off, easy peasy. I also use an injection clamp to replace the original Oetiker. I use a hex head screw so a 7mm socket can fit over it. The screws from the old oil line clamps work well. I access from the same direction that you install the hose. No big deal. To tighten the clamp I use a 1/4" rotator ratchet, but a high tooth count ratchet should work. I have changed hoses on one that had the holes drilled, and personally it is not worth the extra trouble drilling the holes in my opinion.

[Roger Lee]

Tom, the hole only takes 15 - 30 seconds to drill and allows much easier access to remove the old clamps and far easier when it needs to be done later.

[Tom Baker]

59 minutes ago, Roger Lee said:

Tom, the hole only takes 15 - 30 seconds to drill and allows much easier access to remove the old clamps and far easier when it needs to be done later.

Roger, again having removed the old hoses and clamp, and changing hoses on airplanes both with and without the holes it is not worth my time to bother getting the drill and bits out to drill the holes. I can have the old Oetiker clamps off and the hose removed in less time than it would take me to get the drill and bits out. You have to remember that I have been working on these airplane just about as long as you have. I was one of the first to do a hose changes on a CTSW, CTLS, and CTLSi. It is not my first rodeo. 

[MEH]

New CTLS to the fleet.  Yikes.  On delivery, the fuel level in the sight tubes is not perceivable. Wonder how many years this "safety of flight" issue was passed over.  

Recommendation: even if your A&P or LSRM is lazy, have them replace the sight tubes when you can no longer see the fuel level in them.  You might need to see the level some day.

sight tube 1.HEIC Sight tube 2.HEIC

[Roger Lee]

My .02 cents............

I see this on CT's I haven't personally seen and customers always complain they can't see the fuel level in the site types that have used the yellow Tygon tubing.. FD a long time ago used clear tubing, but along the way they switched to that yellow Tygon tubing. When I did a research project back in 2008 I called 4 of the leading tubing MFG's. The issue is the brown staining from auto fuel. I ask all of them about this. They all told me all their tubing's will stain over time (including the yellow Tygon folks) and get cloudy because they are porous. Not to the point of leaking just on the surface that allows the staining to happen. So the yellow Tygon tubing already has reduced visibility and now add the brown staining from auto fuel and it is far worse and happens quicker than just plain clear poly tubing. The clear tubing FD used in the early days and that many of us use today usually last easily between wing inspections. I had a few people used to say it get hard and will break. So I made a video of clear poly tubing that was 3 years old from a wing inspection that used clear poly tubing. The poly tubing just like the Tygon tubing gets more rigid over time, but neither one will break. I have a video of me bending that old 3 year tubing completely over backward 180 degrees. It's stiffer than when new, but WILL NOT BREAK.

Here is a video of a three year old poly tube. It is clearer than the yellow Tygon tube and still flexes.

"Tygon is a brand name for a family of flexible polymer tubing consisting of a variety of materials to be used "across a range of specialized fluid transfer requirements".^[1] The specific composition of each type is a trade secret. Some variants have multiple layers of different materials. Tygon is a registered trademark of Saint-Gobain Corporation. It is an invented word, owned and used by Saint-Gobain and originated in the late 1930s. Tygon products are produced in three countries, but sold throughout the world. Tygon tubing is used in many markets, including food and beverage, chemical processing, industrial, laboratory, medical, pharmaceutical, and semiconductor processing. There are many formulations of clear, flexible, Tygon tubing. The chemical resistance and physical properties vary among the different formulations, but the tubing generally is intended to be "so resistant to chemical attack that it will handle practically any chemical", whether liquid, gas, or slurry.^[2] While largely non-reactive, Tygon has been reported to liberate carbon monoxide and is listed among carbon monoxide-releasing molecules"

 

[Tom Baker]

To the best of my knowledge Flight Design has never sold the yellow Tygon tubing. Lockwood used to use it, Airtime uses it, but I have never received any from Flight Design. The only time I have used the yellow Tygon is when Flight Design was out and I ordered some from Lockwood, and that has been years ago.

I have encountered some that was hard, brittle, and it had shrunk. It broke removing it from the nipples.

[Roger Lee]

I have always used the clear polyurethane tubing and never had an issue. I keep seeing yellow tubing coming into the shop from all areas. Some are sure using it. I had one just two weeks ago and it was so dark you couldn't see anything.

[FlyingMonkey]

Like Roger, I use the Ace Aviation tubing.  I have found that when you first install the tubes and fuel comes into contact with them, they actually get *more* pliable (almost "soft") for a week or two, then they slowly start to stiffen over time.  They easily last two years and are perfectly readable at that interval, and can be bent in half with no cracking.

This time around I'll let them go three years (two years plus 100hrs as allowed by FD), and I'll see how they do.  I expect no issues.

[Tom Baker]

1 hour ago, FlyingMonkey said:

This time around I'll let them go three years (two years plus 100hrs as allowed by FD), and I'll see how they do.  I expect no issues.

Flight Design does not give 2 years plus 100 hrs. They say 2 years or at the next 100 hr inspection. We don't do 100 hr inspections, we do condition inspections. Even when used commercially it is still a condition inspection, but it must be done within the past 100 hours. Basically it makes it so you can do the wing inspection at the next scheduled inspection, and not immediately at the 2 year mark. For most people that will be at every second condition inspection.

Andy, I know you are experimental, so depending on your operating limitations this may not apply to you.