Hard to assemble glider

Dennis,

There is the tube that is the airbrake handle. It slides over another tube which is basically a guide. If you open the airbrake handle 2-3 inches you should see that the guide tube has a roughly 1/4" diameter hole drilled in it. You can put any metal rod in this hole and it will prevent the airbrake handle from moving forward to the full closed position. Many people use the tail assembly threaded tool. With the airbrakes held partially open, you won't be fighting the airbrake over-center lock when you push the wings together.

The next thing is to make sure that the end of the spar of the first wing is centered vertically in the opposite spar cut out and is aligned forward/aft and up/down such that the pin on the end of the spar will line up with the socket in the opposite root rib.

The last trick if you can get the wings to start to go together (end of spar pins are engaging the root sockets) is to use a metal pry bar to pull the wings together the last 3/4". To make one of these pry bars, go to lowes or home depot and buy an 18" piece of 1/2" round bar. Use a grinder and aggressively grind one end so that it starts to look like a flat blade screw driver. Be sure to remove any sharp edges. Cover the bar with a piece of tygon tubing except for the last 1-2". Be sure the last 2" are well rounded and very smooth so you don't put any marks on the inside of the main pin bushings. When you can see the aft main pin bushing hole through the near bushing, insert your new rigging tool and you can lever the wings home with minimal effort.

Mark

My Ventus 2 does not have this airbrake hole, although the POH still
mentions it, so I set the air brakes about 2.5" open for rigging. Mark,
if you have this guide hole. can you measure how far your brakes
have to be open, exactly, so I can use that in future?

I thought the suggestion of taping the first wing sounded a good
idea, I'll try that.

My experience is that its 99% a matter of wing alignment, plus
having the cockpit levers set according to the POH. I've found that
anything lying in the cockpit that causes the control column to sit off
center will also cause a problem. I check the wing-fuselage gaps,
both on top and lower surfaces, as an aid to wing alignment. If the
wing pins are aligned, and all controls set right, very little force is
usually needed to pull the wings together on the Ventus. If
something isn't aligned, no amount of force will help.

The final inch does have more resistance, I guess because the pins
are naturally made to be tight-ish fits. I find an plastic eccentric tool
helps a lot with the last 1/2" with no chance of damage. I got mine at

http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=145



At 02:30 22 July 2014, wrote:
Dennis,

There is the tube that is the airbrake handle. It slides over another
tube=
which is basically a guide. If you open the airbrake handle 2-3
inches
yo=
u should see that the guide tube has a roughly 1/4" diameter hole
drilled
i=
n it. You can put any metal rod in this hole and it will prevent the
airbr=
ake handle from moving forward to the full closed position. Many
people
us=
e the tail assembly threaded tool. With the airbrakes held partially
open,=
you won't be fighting the airbrake over-center lock when you push
the
wing=
s together.

The next thing is to make sure that the end of the spar of the first
wing
i=
s centered vertically in the opposite spar cut out and is aligned
forward/a=
ft and up/down such that the pin on the end of the spar will line up
with
t=
he socket in the opposite root rib.

The last trick if you can get the wings to start to go together (end
of
spa=
r pins are engaging the root sockets) is to use a metal pry bar to
pull
the=
wings together the last 3/4". To make one of these pry bars, go to
lowes
=
or home depot and buy an 18" piece of 1/2" round bar. Use a
grinder and
ag=
gressively grind one end so that it starts to look like a flat blade
screw
=
driver. Be sure to remove any sharp edges. Cover the bar with a
piece of
=
tygon tubing except for the last 1-2". Be sure the last 2" are well
rounde=
d and very smooth so you don't put any marks on the inside of the
main pin
=
bushings. When you can see the aft main pin bushing hole through
the near
=
bushing, insert your new rigging tool and you can lever the wings
home
with=
minimal effort.

Mark

I found with the Ventus and Nimbus it is good to clean the pins on the end of each spar root and wing root should be cleaned with 00 steel wool every few years and then lubed carefully. The spherical bearings on the fuselage and on the wing roots should be cleaned until they move freely. They can be rotated and removed if installed correctly (incorrectly and they go into the tubes). Q-tips and solvent will help free then up.

I have found many ships have never been cleaned in years.

Usually the tightness for the last 1/4 to 1/2 inch are from lack of cleaning as long as the flaps, spoilers and dump valves are set correctly.

The big Kestrel is a pain to rig. Fortunately it happens relatively
seldom. Somehow it never seems to just come together.

That said, the tight fit means that even after 30+ years there is no
play at the wingtips, and she feels rosk solid. YOu just have to have
very good friends if you want help rigging.

On 2014-07-22 06:37, Tim Taylor wrote:
I found with the Ventus and Nimbus it is good to clean the pins on the end of each spar root and wing root should be cleaned with 00 steel wool every few years and then lubed carefully. The spherical bearings on the fuselage and on the wing roots should be cleaned until they move freely. They can be rotated and removed if installed correctly (incorrectly and they go into the tubes). Q-tips and solvent will help free then up.

I have found many ships have never been cleaned in years.

Usually the tightness for the last 1/4 to 1/2 inch are from lack of cleaning as long as the flaps, spoilers and dump valves are set correctly.


--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771

I find my Discus 2 can be a dog to get the last inch of the wings in on a hot day (common in Arizona), but much, much easier on a cool day. Presumably thermal expansion plays a role?

The spoilers are what usually hang up, so I give the handle a last tweak to clear them before the final push. The manual says to rig the left wing first, but most owners do it the other way round so they can easily access the cockpit. Otherwise, clean, grease and push!

Mike (WA)

Apart from being heavy I always found my old Kestrel 19 a very
easy rig. You can see and get to the top of the spars so you
can see where all the pins should be and there are studs on the
top of each spar stub so that you can use the special rigging
lever to draw them together. I sold the glider almost 30 years
ago but still have the lever. If you have the studs but not the
lever let me know Bruce.

John Galloway

At 04:44 22 July 2014, BruceGreeff wrote:
The big Kestrel is a pain to rig. Fortunately it happens
relatively
seldom. Somehow it never seems to just come together.

That said, the tight fit means that even after 30+ years there
is no
play at the wingtips, and she feels rosk solid. YOu just have
to have
very good friends if you want help rigging.

On 2014-07-22 06:37, Tim Taylor wrote:
I found with the Ventus and Nimbus it is good to clean the
pins on the
end of each spar root and wing root should be cleaned with
00 steel wool
every few years and then lubed carefully. The spherical
bearings on the
fuselage and on the wing roots should be cleaned until they
move freely.
They can be rotated and removed if installed correctly
(incorrectly and
they go into the tubes). Q-tips and solvent will help free then
up.

I have found many ships have never been cleaned in years.

Usually the tightness for the last 1/4 to 1/2 inch are from
lack of
cleaning as long as the flaps, spoilers and dump valves are
set correctly.


--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771

I don't have my Ventus so I can't measure where the hole is located. The location is not critical however. From the fully locked position, pull the airbrake handle aft so that it is not locked. From this position, pull the handle aft gently to where you just start to feel resistance against the airbrakes. This position is the sweet spot. If you don't have a hole, another option might be to cut a piece of small aluminum angle to the correct length and use this to block the airbrake handle open to this position.