On Apr 1, 9:09 am, wrote:
I'm interested in being able to rig my glider by myself and have been
looking at the various kinds of equipment out there for this purpose.
Does anyone have any experience with Chip Bearden's WingMate? It
looks like an interesting design. Does anyone have one they are not
using and would like to part with? I tried contacting him about his
WingMate but haven't got a response.

Thanks,
Bob

I have made and/or used 4 different types of one man rigging systems.
All were quite different. All worked but some required a lot more
effort than the others. The first was one that was made by Minden Fab
and came with a Minden trailer. It consisted of two stands with
rollers on the top, one for each wing and a small tip dolly for each
wing. The second was a Udo type system that I made out of a Home
Depot outfeed stand, a Volvo jack, two bicycle kick stands and wheels
and axle. The wing saddle was made out of fiberglass with a small
steel frame. It was quite easy to make. The third was a system with
a "U" shaped saddle on a stand that was place next to the glider to
hold the spar and also let the wing be rotated into the horizontal
position. There was a tip dolly and a stand with a roller on the top
placed at the wing CG like the Minden stands. The fourth was used on
a Libelle and consisted of a fuselage dolly that allowed the fuselage
to tilt to one side. The wing was wheeled out of the trailer and with
a tip dolly the wing was wheeled around to the side and the spar put
on the tilted fuselage. The small wheels of the tip dolly required a
smooth surface. The tip dolly permitted the wing to be rotated into
the horizontal position almost lying on the ground. The wing was
lifted to the horizontal and put on a wing stand. The other wing was
wheeled out and into position and simply set on the fuselage and then
the tip was raised and pushed into place and a stand put under the
wing. This system took lots of lifting but worked. The Udo style
system was the best as long as the field was flat enough for the
wheels to roll OK. The biggest wheel possible would be best. The
Minden and "U" saddle systems worked best if the field was rough since
that was not an issue but the rollers tended to be hard on the wing
lower surface if the rubber rollers were not in perfect condition.
There is another Minden type that has two stands with tracks on the
top and little padded shuttle cars that go on the tracks. It is a big
system that disassembles for storage but it works on rough fields and
has no rollers to damage the wings. Both Minden types require that
the spar dollies in the trailer be designed to enable rotating the
wing to the horizontal while still attached to the trailer spar
dollies.

Greg