Worried about a leading edge crack in the fiberglass wing laminate ofmy PW-5

"I'm curious what Mark of MM recommends on this, i.e. setting the Wing Rigger directly over a wheel."

Charles- There is no problem with positioning the chassis and wing cradle all the way to one side or the other to counter a crosswind. The PW-5 has a lightweight wing, and when rotated to the vertical position, it becomes a pretty big sail. Moving the vertical column to the UPWIND side and locking the axle (!) can help by giving more lateral support. Remember that you are not actually "setting the WingRigger directly over a wheel." The axle support tube is ten inches long, so the vertical column is offset. (Not so much on the side the saddle is rotated to.) The most important step is securing the lateral movement with the axle lock knob (and checking it before moving!)

However, if you want a longer axle, contact me and we can discuss options.

On Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 6:48:32 AM UTC-6, wrote:
"I'm curious what Mark of MM recommends on this, i.e. setting the Wing Rigger directly over a wheel."

Charles- There is no problem with positioning the chassis and wing cradle all the way to one side or the other to counter a crosswind. The PW-5 has a lightweight wing, and when rotated to the vertical position, it becomes a pretty big sail. Moving the vertical column to the UPWIND side and locking the axle (!) can help by giving more lateral support. Remember that you are not actually "setting the WingRigger directly over a wheel." The axle support tube is ten inches long, so the vertical column is offset. (Not so much on the side the saddle is rotated to.) The most important step is securing the lateral movement with the axle lock knob (and checking it before moving!)

However, if you want a longer axle, contact me and we can discuss options..

Yes, Mark and I go a long ways back on riggers. As he said, one key to the design is to make it so you CAN NOT get the CG of the wing over a wheel when the wing is either level or leading edge down. You can accomplish this by not putting the vertical member of the chassis on the center of the axle support tube. I haven't seen one of Mark's recently, but I know I did this on mine something like 15 years ago. And most importantly, LOCK the the rigger to the axle. If not, it will have impressive velocity when it hits the other end of the axle, and away she will go!

If your trailer does not have a "jockey wheel" on the front of it, I would encourage you to consider adding one. This makes it so you can push your trailer out of the row, turn it 90 degrees (if the wind says you should do so), put the plane away, then push the trailer back into the row.

Oh, and I think I have a longer axle on my rigger than most. It isn't an issue for storage as it is still shorter than a collapsed wing stand.

There have been many improvements and refinements over the years as these designs have evolved. And there will continue to be more as time goes on. Good that yours has the support of Mark Mocho. Mine is a one off and it is all on me to refine!

Steve Leonard

I'm happy to have a helper when I'm derigging in a breeze.

Station the helper on the downwind side of the rigger when you're rotating
the
wing to vertical so he can keep the rigger from blowing over.

Simply put if there's a good breeze, you must point the trailer into the
wind or
find at least three strong helpers.