I really need to remove and strip/paint my gear legs on a straightail 182. No seaplane eyebolts or factory jack points on the wing like a 210. Any clever do it yourself type of ideas for holding up a wing w/o damage to the skin? Thinking building a saw horse type wooden frame that runs along the rib just outboard of the strut, then dense foam padding but no need to reinvent the wheel. obviously there is a way. One side at a time is fine. thanks

Lift one gear leg at a time -take off wheel and strip -paint to your harts content. Then do the other one .2 pieces of 2x4 8-10 inches long ,large "C" clamp , 4x4 to put axle on while you do your "artwork"

That's been done for sixty years. Really need to pull them out once every 50yrs or so and do it right. Well maybe I do, maybe it will go another 50. What do I know. Have heard of a few braking. N that would be bad! Removing the step is going to be harder than removing the gear once I figure a way to lift it.

BigRenna posted some photos a long time ago of a lift he has in this hangar, this big Harbor Freight monolith that looks like the Arc d'Triumph called a gantry crane. You lift at the base of the engine mount (after de-cowling of course.) It seemed like a solid and stable method to me. If your hangar has well positioned I-beams you might lift from those with a block and tackle or a fancy remote controlled hoist. Whatever it is, it should be something you can lock/secure.

If it hasn't been done, a good inspection of the gearbox and gear leg might be in order. Probably fine but you never know and what better time to do it?

More ideas:

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/ ... aggs-15976

Zzz wrote:BigRenna posted some photos a long time ago of a lift he has in this hangar, this big Harbor Freight monolith that looks like the Arc d'Triumph called a gantry crane. You lift at the base of the engine mount (after de-cowling of course.) It seemed like a solid and stable method to me. If your hangar has well positioned I-beams you might lift from those with a block and tackle or a fancy remote controlled hoist. Whatever it is, it should be something you can lock/secure.

If it hasn't been done, a good inspection of the gearbox and gear leg might be in order. Probably fine but you never know and what better time to do it?

More ideas:

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/ ... aggs-15976

Not sure if this process will work with a 182, you know, since the little wheel is on the wrong end.

I saw a 180 fuselage in a shop that was being supported by two jackstands placed underneath a beam (6x8 maybe?)-- as I recall it was placed across & under the door openings in the forward door post area. However, no wings & no engine so not nearly as much weight as you're talking about.

bart wrote:Not sure if this process will work with a 182, you know, since the little wheel is on the wrong end.

Ha... good point. Maybe it's time to put one on!

We went through exactly this exercise last winter with my old 180 Cessna. There are several tall strong beams on our hangar, so I rigged a chain hoist with a heavy duty tow strap wrapped over one of them. From the upper engine mount attachment points, surprisingly little force on the tail or prop was required to balance the aircraft when suspended.



We had a floor dolly with four heavy duty casters. So I used some 2 by lumber to beef up the frame and then put three 1.5 inch sheets of polystyrene foam to get some extra height. The foam yielded enough to distribute the load of the airframe to the bulkheads and stringers. It sat there for a month and there was definitely no damage from setting the plane on its belly. Although I didn't, I was able to move the plane around the hamgar on the dolly if necessary while the gear was off.



I also rigged up a backup sling system with 4000# climbing rope in case the primary lifting rig failed. This worked well.

If you go this route and have any doubts about the ability of all links in the chain supporting the weight, look at a plan B. The consequences of dropping the plane with the gear removed are huge.

I do have 8+ hrs of fuel and a 150mph convertible. Looks like only a couple bolts, could always just rush them off to the paint shop and keep flying! How long does two part epoxy take to dry? LOL I did consider about 10 of those bean bag chairs under the belly. Looking like that may work. Just seems easier to jack up one side to pull the wheel and while the wing is up make up some kind of jack stand thing w some surface area and try the foam thing. Thanks for the ideas

Yeah, the inspection is pretty much the point

Not a Cessna but, ....

A couple of portable aluminum gantry cranes use the engine mounts and a hard point on the empennage. The only caveat is the center of gravity is above the lateral lifting line. Which is why I drain the tanks and attach small weights on ropes to the wing tie downs (keep things stable). I can use just the engine mounts to lift and remove the MLG only. Very happy with the arraignment and it is semi-portable. I have lifting rings installed but, do not like using them (hard to center).

Circa 2013, amphib swap 8GCBC:

8GCBC wrote:Not a Cessna but, ....

A couple of portable aluminum gantry cranes use the engine mounts and a hard point on the empennage. The only caveat is the center of gravity is above the lateral lifting line. Which is why I drain the tanks and attach small weights on ropes to the wing tie downs (keep things stable). I can use just the engine mounts to lift and remove the MLG only. Very happy with the arraignment and it is semi-portable. I have lifting rings installed but, do not like using them (hard to center).

Circa 2013, amphib swap 8GCBC:

Another thing that works. . See if anyone around has any old bent gear legs so you can pull the good ones out. . Inspect the gearbox, install the bent ones. . Clean up the Good ones and reinstall. I always hate leaving things hanging off of stuff made by me. If I could weld better and trust that an earthquake wasnt going to hit while I was at home, I'd trust my contraptions a little more. . . And then the job can take a couple days or even weeks of you end up needing gear box fittings etc and the aircraft isn't as precarious.

One of my hangar neighbors has a GlasStar with lifting eyes. He used an overhead chainfall & a spreader bar arrangement to hoist it up to change wheels or something and left it that way overnight. Came back the next day to find the airplane heeled over to one side and a whole lotta gas on the floor. Not good!

hotrod180 wrote:One of my hangar neighbors has a GlasStar with lifting eyes. He used an overhead chainfall & a spreader bar arrangement to hoist it up to change wheels or something and left it that way overnight. Came back the next day to find the airplane heeled over to one side and a whole lotta gas on the floor. Not good!

Yep...

If you take a look at my picture, above, it shows TWO (5) gallon jerry jugs lashed to each tiedown ring. Center of gravity is an issue lifting high wing aircraft from the engine mounts. I am very careful. Draining the tanks helps with COG, it is also a good time to recalibrate the fuel gauges if the aircraft is leveled.

I NEVER lift unless there is positive lateral stability!!!!

You may have already successfully completed lifting your Cessna but if not I would like to suggest that you follow the recommendations of Cessna which can be found in later model 182 Maintenance Manuals in chapter 2, available to down load for free at http://www.redskyventures.org by clicking on "Free Stuff". There are recommendations for both hoisting and for jacking. Using separate lifting slings of at least 60 inches attached to each upper engine mount at the fuselage attach point will answer the stability problems if they are connected to a single lift point. There are also recommendations for jacking. It is important to note that they recommend NOT jacking one side only do to the flexibility of the gear. Please note if either hoisting or jacking that you will have to support the tail as the center of gravity of the aircraft is forward of the main landing gear unlike the case of the Cessna 180's discussed in many of the earlier replies. Hope this helps.

Tim
A&P IA

Thanks, I really do need a newer maintenance manual as the original one lists some questionable procedures. Interesting about not lifting one side.

SKYLANEDAVE wrote:Thanks, I really do need a newer maintenance manual as the original one lists some questionable procedures. Interesting about not lifting one side.

As you jack the plane the spring gear can bend on the other side as you lift, this has the tendancy to shove your lifting jack to the side, Also this will happen when you have it up in the air, just as you pull the tire and wheel off, it kind of just sets there and waits for you!!

SKYLANEDAVE the manual for your year, 100 Series 1962 and Prior Maintenance Manual does not have the jacking instructions it does have hoisting instructions. I referred to the manual for a 1969 thru 1976 182 to find jacking recommendations. I think that jacking just one side would tend to push side ways on the jack when using the gear leg or wing spar as a lifting point. You would want to purchase the correct manual for your year, some of these manuals have not be revised in years but updates which you place in your current copy are available from Cessna. You would want to check with them before buying a new manual, might save a few bucks.

Tim

Thanks, I understand now about the gear springing back. I just use a floor jack w a bracket on the leg. Always moves but even if the jack came off the wheel is only just off the ground. Usually I wiggle the plane around some to settle it before I pull a wheel but as the jack is on rollers it doesn't really move once the weight is off the one side. A little scarier once the whole leg is gone. Just saw a pic of one jacked up from the wing just outboard of the strut w just a 4" square wooden block as a pad on the wing rib. Looked scary to me but I guess it worked. I did have another jackstand on the wing but but he had to lower it on to that one. Had planned on jacking from the gear but building a jackstand for the wing but w a lot more surface area n padding than a 4" block of wood.

Unless you have a perfect match to shape and angle of the wing rib you could bend the rib or stringers or the skin. The 4 x 4 inch block is what Cessna recommends as it places the load directly on the forward wing spar, there are photos on the Cessna Pilots Association forum showing where a larger block forward and aft was used and the resulting damage to the wing.

Tim