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Old June 5th 19, 11:59 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Tango Eight
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Default One-man rigging aids - is the electric up/down control worth it?

On Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 1:12:06 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 3:06:03 AM UTC-5, Gary Wayland wrote:
On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 10:44:34 AM UTC-4, 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.


I have a Fonz-Mobile one man rigger... No Motors! Use the cradle carriage pump to do the up and down when adjusting for the final pin in the spar....

Gary

"SQ"


Looks like we have a bunch of girly luddites on this topic. Two points: the linear actuators are dirt-cheap and easy to fit even to existing riggers.. I built my own. Second, remote control of those actuators cost you a whopping $10-20 and makes it super easy to get the pins in. Here is my rigger whirring away in my basement (no wing saddle fitted).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N43YMoq2h7s&t=3s
Now watch it in action, ~7 min for the inside wings. Try to beat that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnmaUsPtvSI&t=1s


That looks pretty sweet Herb. What's the mode of failure if the reduction gears break? Does the lead screw unwind under load and drop your wing to minimum height?

best,
Evan Ludeman