PA24 requires two jacks and a dead weight on the tail of about 150 kg minimum, a good alternative that I use on single engines and is mandatory on Mooneys is to change the tail dead weight for a winch taken from the engine (not from the crankshaft, but from the hook that It has the engine at the junction of the upper casing, clearly without upper cowl)
@LAAERO now that is beautiful. No need to store another item in the hangar. And another use gained for the engine crane
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Good idea I’ll follow. Thanks for sharing this!
A note to say the crane idea is not universal, again aircraft type-dependent and if used, must be done judiciously (ie no climbing on the low wing etc)
On our P210 aircraft, the wing jacking points make for nose-heavy but that can easily change. Two reasons:
-You may have a full baggage fuel tank (or something else in the rear baggage compartment)
-The CG will change aft significantly (especially on a light airplane) when retracting gear: main wheels and brakes (40kg including legs ?) will move aft by around 40 inches.
The manual does not go into the details but just states it is mandatory to use a solid rod (not a chain or a rope) attaching tail to weight.
While the usual load on the tail when jacked up can be up to 100kg pull, aft CG+gear retraction can turn that into zero: the airplane is then quite balanced with gear retracted, so a crane on the engine won’t work on its own. Also, the manual calls for optional sandbags to be placed on the tail to reduce load and strain…which aggravates the situation in case you want to use a rope, crane or chain: you need to use a rod.
Antonio, thanks for the comment, Yes, the clarification is correct, in my case this method is used for Mooney M20 series, PA28 series, PA24-250 and Cessna 172-182 fixed gear. For retractable gears in Cessna series it is not recommended, due to the change in the center of gravity when retracting the main gear and because the height required for retraction will not be sufficient. It is also correct that you have to be careful when climbing the wing, because it falls from the tail as it does not have a tail support. Access to the cabin for gear tests must be done through the leading edge of the wing.
It is the method indicated in the Mooney M20 series maintenance manual, I have used it as an alternative repeatedly in the mentioned models without problems. I hope to be helpful.
In case it is not apparent with my post, this is what we are trying to avoid when we use a solid bar at the tail:
@LAEREO that is a nice clean working place you have there! @Peter, who typically objects about the hangar situation at UK airports, would kill to have such a nice place at his permanent disposal @Shoreham AKA Brighton Intl. When I grow up I also want one like that!
Also clean looking M20J there!
It is the method indicated in the Mooney M20 series maintenance manual, I have used it as an alternative repeatedly in the mentioned models without problems. I hope to be helpful.
It’s the procedure I saw for Mooney while testing gear, section 7-10-00 of M20-MM
Antonio wrote:
In case it is not apparent with my post, this is what we are trying to avoid when we use a solid bar at the tail:
Low-wings typically retract the main LG to the side, not to the back. So the change of CoG is not so huge during retraction, it’s only the nose wheel.
My father and I thought about it a bit and will do a nice couple: a ground fix bored through the concrete and glued in epoxy resin that should be strong enough by at least an order of magnitude, but additionally loosely connecting the engine crane as a safety measure. So, still, I don’t have to “park” a ground weight that’s eating up hangar space. But as my plane is parked on an auto lift, it’s not possible to position the engine crane directly up front.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
Makes sense…
What model is that? @Mooneydriver would know…it reminds me of a Mustang…
