Right Wing Sling
December 14, 2013
The right wing was done almost a week ago and I have done little on the plane since then. Mostly because work has really been taxing at the end of the year and I need to take my remaining vacation or lose it by December 31st.
I am off until the end of the year (at which point I will likely be traveling for the first three weeks of the year for work so whatever I don’t get done through the rest of December will sit until February.
A few small things did get done during the week. I cleaned out the lower section of my work bench (all 12 feet of it) and moved the aluminum angles off the 12′ rolling material rack. This left room on the rack to hang the complete right wing. I struggled for a few days after the wing was completed trying to come up with an elegant method to store the wing. I wanted it secure and safe but still be relatively easy to get at for reference while completing the left wing. I came up with using a canvas tarp and with a few simple ropes making a sling that I could either hang on the wall or as I alluded to above, hang on the back of my material cart.
Slipping the wing into the sling was a two man job and Tim was able to stop over Wednesday night after work to lend a hand. I have a few shots of the tarp with and without the wing on and I think it worked out pretty well. I have a better idea for the next wing, which is to buy another tarp and secure the tarp around the wing while the wing is on the bench and provide a rope handle to simple pick up the wing near the center of gravity. I could then just carry it over to where I want to hang it and hook the handle on whatever I have decided will work best (a set of hooks on the wall or off the material rack).
So, my goal for the next two weeks is to see if I can assemble the left wing and get it hanging on the wall before I have to return to work. Tim had a couple days off last week where I was stuck finishing things up for the year end and i know he was dying to come over (while his kids were still in school and he had time off). Hopefully this coming week will work out better and we can make some real progress with two of us in the shop.
We might add a wing walk to both sides if we modify how the canopy opens.