Fuse Construction

[danweseman]

The wing comes off the slides with one bolt ,or could be a quick pin. Open trailers are no problem . Rest the wing on the previously mentioned foam blocks for moving around. when on trailer lift wing a bit and place in cradle. For enclosed trailers the cradle will need to be low enough so the wing clears ceiling. one prospective builder suggest using a wide padded strap from ceiling with a safety cradle ,probably not a bad idea. The over fuse saddle is not a bad idea either and have a CAD file for one we will likely try in the coming months. If it works well we will have plans and CNC routed parts available. Like any folding wing light plane ,the proper technique and system will need to be learned and adjusted for the individuals needs. We will post our system as we update things and prepare for travel to air venture. I can assure you we don't want N515XP damaged in our travels and will put in the extra hrs. to have a efficient quick easy setup that protects the Plane!

[GlenNJ]

Rick,
I thought about that, but them it becomes a 2 man job. The wing is bulky, and you have the fuel weight added to the wing weight. Glen

[Rpellicciotti]

One question or idea I have about the wing fold and transport would be to fold the wings and rest on the stab when handling the airplane by hand and rolling in and out of a hangar. If hauling for some distance on a trailer, perhaps it would be better to simply remove the wings completely and put them in racks or something? How difficult would that be?

[GlenNJ]

Dan,
The wing cradle is going to be a tricky thing to design. It has to be removable to roll the airplane past it. And if one uses an open trailer, it has to be able to handle crosswinds and turbulance from trucks on the road. Pazmany designed a neat trailer for the PL-4a, but that plane has a high T-tail and the wings are under it parallel to the fuselage. His trailer design had clamps that wrapped around the wings. The wings rested along side the fuselage, trailing edge down.

[danweseman]

Glen , the forward spar of the horizontal stab was designed for the loads anticipated while moving around a hangar etc. It is the same part as the rear spar and for flight loads could have been smaller. That said when transporting we will use cradles resting on trailer floor . they will have wide contact area with wing so PSI and dent possibility is low. for rolling around hangar a double notch chunk of shipping foam will spread the load out so it cannot damage the skins. This is one of the areas that will likely see some cool "tricks" from builders as the set the system up to work well for them!

[rlweseman]

Return it if you think you need it for Panther parts, although I find it to be a great tool for other things. Like smashing my finger while driving a square peg into a round hole.

[RonFranck]

Just a quick question concerning building from a kit. I reviewed Tony's excellent collection of construction photos. With the recent release of plans/tail kit costs and description of components I was wondering if the kit builder will need to form any aluminum components or will all necessary forming already be completed? I guess what I really want to know is: Should I keep my 1# deadblow hammer or return it to Harbor Freight for refund?

[rlweseman]

Shipping/transport brackets will be designed for this. We will have more pics up soon - will be designing them for transport to Oshkosh.

[Tony Spicer]

Glen,

In every photo I can find, there is temporary padding where there is metal to metal contact. I'm sure that when time permits something more permanent and substantial will be designed. Most of the weight in the wing is in the inboard 1/3, so it's the fuselage carry-thru that has the big load.

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Tony

[GlenNJ]

Paul,
I understand how the wing fold works, but I have a question about transporting the Panther with the wings folded. You say when you fold the wings, you lay the leading edge of the wing on the horizontal stabilizer. Doesn't this put a lot of stress on the horizontal stabilizer (especially with full wing tanks, and a rough road)? If the leading edge of the wing rests on the stabilizer, can't it dent the leading edge of the wing or stabilizer (even if you put cushions between the two)? Is there a way to cradle the wings to the fuselage, instead of laying them on the stabilizer?
Glen