Hi all,
I am wanting to build a wing rotator, for my 172 restoration project. I have seen a few pics of rotators for cub type wings, that have a hoop that attaches to the wing strut mounts. I would like to fabricate something up out of engine stands. I have a good plan for attaching the fuselage side of the wing to an engine stand. When it comes to the wing tip side, I was wondering if anyone on here has a picture or a drawing of how a wing rotator would mount to the end rib when the wingtip is removed.

I'll be watching this. I'm also curious as to how this has been done...

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Might not help but on my Stinson all metal wing the wing tip light when removed gave me a hole just about right to put a large wooden dowel in, the dowel was then mounted to a plate that was mounted to my stand. The fuselage end I mounted to a frame then a plate so it would pivot and then to the stand.

Here is the best I can do on short notice, weekend and not feeling well.....
If there is interest, I can get better pictures at work.

Here is a picture of my 1960 Cessna 182 wings in a wing rotator. A Cessna 150 is nice, but you can't bring family or even a friend along. I like the Cessna 182, they will go lots of places from what I understand. I'm actually on the home stretch, but I've been telling Flying Hawkes Jan for a few years now.

I'm anxious to test out the Sportsman Stol, with varied flap settings.
Willie Stene, he sure puts out a nice product and what a great guy. Not a bad 185 he flies either for that matter.

The wing rotator is great for installing the above mentioned Stol Kit, swapping out a fuel bladder and painting. It's perfect for installing the flaps and ailerons, the list goes on and on.


A little better picture of the tip end. Pretty simple really. The tip attach screw tinnermans are all in the same location. In this photo the infinitely adjustable rotation option had not been added as seen in the first picture. (jam bolt) That's the cat's meow! The truck with pads on the sides is also a great way to haul the wing a short distance.




A couple of other wings in the rotational unit.



Oops, Didn't realize it's almost tomorrow.
Richard

Hi Richard! These pictures are perfect! Thank you very much for your detailed reply. I was thinking of some kind of large dowel to fit in the rib holes, but this looks like it would hold pretty well. I was thinking cheap engine stands modified for this purpose would work pretty well, but I might reconsider that idea and fab up something like you have. I might revise it and have some locking casters for mobility though. Thank you again for your help on this!

Once used a couple engineered truss joists to stiffen a deteriorating Dehavilland Mosquito fuselage for preservation. They worked really well.

I like working in steel, but for this application I'd consider making a torque box out of two TJI and some plywood. PL400 and screws. Then I'd add a steel post with rotator at each end.

Why so much trouble? I wouldn't want the stands to come out of alignment and allow damage to the end ribs.

If you want to stick with the engine stands, consider joining them with a 4" pipe welded to the base of each.

I went with a more redneck version and created these in about an hour. I used two engine stands from harbor freight and a piece of fence tubing connecting the two together so that I could move everything in and out of my garage by myself. Be careful with the end rib, but other than that, it worked for me for over a year and allowed me to install sportsman, paint, polish, strip, etc all by myself.

I did a 150 paint job when I was in high school. I had never seen the tooling like what is shown here. I just threaded a piece of PVC into the wing ribs and used the ends to hang from the ceiling, and had a person rotate it briefly to get the right angle for the for the leading edge for each coat.

Hi all, Thanks again for all the examples of wing rotators that you’ve shared! I built one up using the pics everyone posted, and it is working great! I can attach each side and lift it out of the wing rack by my self pretty easily. Got one wing stripped the other day, and thought I’d try and post some pics of it all.Thanks again for your help!

Is that citrus stuff safe around plexiglass?
When I stripped my plane I used a pressure washer to be sure to get all the stripper out of rivets and lap joints, while doing it I splattered some on the doors that were clear across the hanger and of course damaged the windows.

Is that citrus stuff safe around plexiglass?
When I stripped my plane I used a pressure washer to be sure to get all the stripper out of rivets and lap joints, while doing it I splattered some on the doors that were clear across the hanger and of course damaged the windows. [emoji53]


Great question. Also curious how it is on the concrete? I see you don't have any plastic on the floor, so you must not be too worried about it...

I used it on the fuselage too, and saw no damage to the plexiglass windows. Also, a lot of the paint fell on to the concrete floor. I didn’t see any stains or damage to it either. Seems to be pretty good stuff. You need some heat in the shop, but there aren’t any fumes like with the methyl chloride strippers. You can keep the doors closed and still work around it.