And that is why It's good to ask. Thanks. Had planned on following that rib with say a 1"x6" and 6" dense foam. Supports at front n back spar but think I better leave it to the experts. No way I would trust just that 4x4 square. Appreciate the help and knowledge

Not wanting to tell you how to do it but if I was doing a plane of mine I would follow the hoisting instructions in the Cessna manual. Lift the front at the upper engine mount to firewall attach points and the aft fuselage at the first bulkhead forward of the horizontal stab. Use two slings forward to a single lift point and a strap and spreader bar aft. A good engine hoist would work on the tail and may work forward if the actual lift point is above the center of gravity as pointed out by 8GCBC. A gantry crane forward would be better. Actually that is what I plan to use when I pull the gear on all of these projects.

Tim

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

I'm guessing you are a climber. Rule #1, never trust one piece.

Very clever system. Thanks for posting.

Backing up the rig is a good idea. Very good idea.

The lifting rings are hard to use on the Scout. I used the lifting rings a couple of times and switched to my current rig shown above (this thread). I called the factory and asked about lifting from the engine mounts and was told there would be no structural problems. The tail is lifted at a section on the empennage consisting of a tubing (4130) cluster which is strong. Centering the fuselage for float changes is really easy compared to the double lifting eye system which required balast forward of the natural COG. The gantry cranes are ISO certified to 2000#, built of aluminum, and are semi-portable. I do not recommend this rig for any other purpose but my aircraft (SN 508 8GCBC).

I use hydrolic car lifts in my auto restoration business. I rolled one under my 180, put two 6"X6"X4' peices of lumber on it spaced to contact the fuselage at the bulkheads. I put thick foam between the lumber and the fuselage, pushed the button on the lift and had the plane in the air in no time. To keep it from tipping sieways, I placed two 6' ladders under each wing to strut attachment point, cushioned it with foam, and let the lift down until the ladders were snug against the wing. I then locked the lift so it couldn't bleed down and removed my gear. It took me about a half hour the first time, I think I could do it in 10 minutes the next time.

Here’s what I built to get the gear off and sent out for refurbish. Took about $200 in parts and a day’s work. Ironically I couldn’t find any “bundling straps” anywhere in my city. Everything has hooks on it and I just wanted a plain 20’ strap with a ratchet. I finally ordered online from Rachet Straps USA. The straps are great. 2500 lb working load and nice heavy rachets. Only about $15/ea. I figure I can give them to my mechanic when finished in exchange for a few sign-offs. These can be used on any number of 182’s and smaller. Make them a little wider for anything larger. The airplane ended up with about 80 lbs on the nosewheel and everything else balanced nicely with 1/2 tanks. Tied the wings to the end of the forward floor base so the plane won’t rock much. I can climb in and easily work on it. The cradles are positioned under the 3 major cross-pieces of the cabin area. I also made the load distributing pads (12” square) for the stands to go into. 2 pieces of 3/4” plywood glued together and topped with a piece of glued on ensolite pad. I have to give the jacks back until the gear returns so I needed this kind of alternative for the next month.

BirdyinBOI wrote:Here’s what I built to get the gear off and sent out for refurbish.

That is awesome! I saved the photos for future reference. Do you happen to have any others showing different angles?

I must admit that is an admirable setup you built. As with many engineering problems there are several ways to achieve the same result. We had several solutions to deal with aircraft that needed to be gearless. On larger aircraft, like Twin Otters we made fitted cradles from plywood with carpet for padding, usually 8-12" wide. For smaller aircraft we used the simplest solution, giant foam blocks we acquired salvage from floating lake docks. They where 36x36x120. So something like a 182 we would lower it on two with some smaller foam block to meet the curve. As far as an aircraft was concerned, it was like laying on a big marshmallow. If they still ad wings attached, then we used some wooden pogos on the outboard ends of the wing, usually just clamped to the end wing rib with the tip removed. We even transported damaged aircraft on trailers on these foam blocks. They had the advantage of absorbing shocks from our deteriorating roads..

Thanks!

Another pic or two...