What Jacks do you Reccommend?

[carusoam]

Great first post, JC.

Best regards,

-a-

[ArtVandelay]

That way of jacking up the nose wheel would make me nervous, seems like it would be easy to roll off with the slightest bump.

[DaV8or]

On 12/21/2018 at 11:35 PM, ArtVandelay said:

That way of jacking up the nose wheel would make me nervous, seems like it would be easy to roll off with the slightest bump.

The key is wheel chocking as you can see he did. Also only lifting the minimum needed to get the job done. I personally wouldn't be comfortable with JC's method because I don't trust cheap Chinese hydraulics at all. They are crap even when brand new and do often leak slowly. That's why once I get the lift done, I replace the jack with stands, or I lock the ram with a locking ring.

[jcolgan]

It looks worse than it actually is.  When doing the nose wheel, tightly chock both mains and as soon as you slide the nose wheel off, put a block topped with soft wood under the shaft so in the unlikely event something goes wrong the nose drops a total of about an inch and the wheel shaft is stopped by the wood.  The rubber discs in the nose gear would do their job absorbing the blow.  That system takes worse impacts with during a marginal landing, and the wood makes sure the shaft is not scuffed.  

[Hank]

4 hours ago, jcolgan said:

It looks worse than it actually is.  When doing the nose wheel, tightly chock both mains and as soon as you slide the nose wheel off, put a block topped with soft wood under the shaft so in the unlikely event something goes wrong the nose drops a total of about an inch and the wheel shaft is stopped by the wood.  The rubber discs in the nose gear would do their job absorbing the blow.  That system takes worse impacts with during a marginal landing, and the wood makes sure the shaft is not scuffed.  

A couple chunks of 4x4 work well as "bump" insurance. 

[steingar]

Of course, I should mention that had I the skills to fabricate some of the amazing jacks in this thread I'd not fly an airplane made by someone else...

[Hank]

3 hours ago, steingar said:

Of course, I should mention that had I the skills to fabricate some of the amazing jacks in this thread I'd not fly an airplane made by someone else...

Fancying up a set of jacks is a short afternoon's work, worthy of a cold, frothy beverage. Building an airplane is a couple thousand hours labor, although some of the quick-build kits are "only" 1000 hours . . . Divide that up by 3 hours twice a week and 8-10 hours every other weekend [14 hours per week], then apply 50% factor since you will have some time away, and that's a minimum of 143 weeks, almost three years. Not many people with full-time jobs finish their planes that quickly. And there are precious few 4-place kits available, too . . . .

--an insufficiently motivated skill possessor

Edited January 22, 2019 by Hank

[DonMuncy]

10 minutes ago, Hank said:

Fancying up a set of jacks is a short afternoon's work, worthy of a cold, frothy beverage. Building an airplane is a couple thousand hours labor, although some of the quick-build kits are "only" 1000 hours . . . Divide that up by 3 hours twice a week and 8-10 hours every other weekend [14 hours per week], then apply 50% factor since you will have some time away, and that's a minimum of 143 weeks, almost three years. Not many people with full-time jobs finish their planes that quickly. And there are precious few 4-place kits available, too . . . .

--an insufficiently motivated skill possessor

Don't you just hate it when someone interjects reality into dreams.  

[Hank]

4 minutes ago, DonMuncy said:

Don't you just hate it when someone interjects reality into dreams.  

I just know myself . . . . It takes lots and lots of motivation to finish building an airplane, and I don't have it. Just look at how many partially built kits are for sale; if I bought one, that's how it would end up. Well done, but incomplete. It would start out fun, but turn into work. Plus, I hate wiring!! The idiots who write the manuals never include all of the wires--for example, I ran 4-conductor wire from a switch at the front door to two ceiling fans and a switch at the back door, but the diagrams only showed where three of the wires went. So I asked an electrician at work, and he drew the exact same diagram from memory, which was no help. I was finally able to get across to him that a wire was not shown, so he started over and put all four wires down. That enabled me to get everything working correctly, instead of sorta-working. Don't want to do that when building a panel!

[xcrmckenna]

Fancying up a set of jacks is a short afternoon's work, worthy of a cold, frothy beverage. Building an airplane is a couple thousand hours labor, although some of the quick-build kits are "only" 1000 hours . . . Divide that up by 3 hours twice a week and 8-10 hours every other weekend [14 hours per week], then apply 50% factor since you will have some time away, and that's a minimum of 143 weeks, almost three years. Not many people with full-time jobs finish their planes that quickly. And there are precious few 4-place kits available, too . . . .
--an insufficiently motivated skill possessor

Every journey begins with a single step, but I’m pretty sure no one is jumping at the chance for me to build them a plane...


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[Healthpilot]

Anyone selling these great looking DIY jacks by now?!

 

These look pretty sturdy: 

 

[M20F-1968]

On 3/14/2018 at 5:00 PM, M20Doc said:

Your airplane is worth tens of thousands, your life and that of anyone working on your plane worth even more.  Buy some real jacks, build a real tail weight and don’t risk getting injured working on you plane.

Clarence

I keep referencing the words, consider the "risk/reward ratio."  I have 2 Meyers jacks bought on e-bay (about $700 for the pair). They are the best jacks I could have found in the industry.  Engine hoist at Harbor Freight $175.  A fabricated concrete tail stand on rollers made for the aircraft (made when I did my rebuild) - $100 in supplies.

Everything has mechanical locking collars and locking pins.  I have left the aircraft this stable 4-point set-up for extended times without a concern.  Do not be penny wise and pound foolish.  You will use this stuff for a long time.

John Breda

[Skates97]

2 hours ago, M20F-1968 said:

I keep referencing the words, consider the "risk/reward ratio."  I have 2 Meyers jacks bought on e-bay (about $700 for the pair). They are the best jacks I could have found in the industry.  Engine hoist at Harbor Freight $175.  A fabricated concrete tail stand on rollers made for the aircraft (made when I did my rebuild) - $100 in supplies.

Everything has mechanical locking collars and locking pins.  I have left the aircraft this stable 4-point set-up for extended times without a concern.  Do not be penny wise and pound foolish.  You will use this stuff for a long time.

John Breda

I bought a set of the Alpha Aviation jacks about three years ago. I think it was just under $800 for the pair. In the grand scheme of aviation expenses that's not a lot of money. I spend that much in fuel for a couple trips to Salt Lake to see family and don't think twice about spending the money on fuel. I have seen a couple of very stout home-made jacks, but most I see are not something I would trust my plane on.

I have a friend who often would say "Buy the best and cry once." In this case, buy jacks made for a plane.

[EricJ]

I had purchased the jacks on aircraft spruce with the big banner across the top of the page that says, "AIRCRAFT JACK FOR PIPER / MOONEY / ASSORTED LIGHT TWINS AND SINGLES".    They were too tall and there was no way they could be used on my airplane, so I suffered through a bit of a nightmare returning them.    The alpha aviation jacks that I got instead have been great.    The vid above of the DIY jacks looks pretty good to me, though, for somebody so inclined to make their own.

 

[Healthpilot]

Nothing on eBay that could work for a Mooney. Is anyone here selling his jacks?
I cannot find anything (Alpha 2 jacks) below $840. Meyers are $900... Each. Expensive. No?
The same Harvey Freight 3 ton flat base jacks are just $53 each. No wonder people try the DIY route!!
If there was a reasonably priced option out there people wouldn't even think about building their own. 

[Healthpilot]

Done. Very sturdy, welded steel base and brackets, short and easy to disassemble. 

[jetdriven]

On 3/14/2018 at 12:20 PM, cnoe said:

And don't forget you're going to need a tail-weight as well. I'd suggest at least 200#. 3 bags of concrete (240#) would be better. 160# is dicey at best.

I made a portable tail weight  system that I’ve been using for over a year. It consists of some 1x2’s and a 24 in. Square of three-quarter inch plywood it has a two or 3 inch hole in the center.  Get a 3/8 inch diameter steel bar also about 2 feet long. And the length of chain is rated for about 1500 pounds get 3 feet of that and then a master link that will fit through the eye of the chain and also fit through the tail tiedown that you can screw closed. So you sit down the one by twos put the plywood on top of that, and put the steel bar in the center of the plywood. Drill a 2 inch hole there pass the bar through the chain, then stack up about six 50-pound bags of sand on the platform with a chain between the bags of sand. It hold it down really good. Be sure to use a tow strap strap all the bags together because if they start falling off it goes bad.  

Edited January 9, 2022 by jetdriven

[mooneyflyfast]

After looking unsucessfully for reasonably priced used jacks, I had a set built ( I am lacking in the necessary skills and equipment to do it myself).  I still need to figure out a locking method.  Thinking if a locking collar or possibly drilling the jack rams for a cross bolt.  Cost was 150 for the jacks and 300 labor and materials.  New Jack House jacks are up to around 400 each plus tax and shipping so I think I saved some money and still have adequate jacks for my limited use.

[SSimpson77]

I don’t think drilling the jack rams is gonna work to well. Once that ram extends past the top ram seal, you’ll have a bit of mess on your hands. An axle collar could work but risk damaging the shaft. I would find the length needed and cut down abs or pvc to that size, slot it to slide around shaft and clamp with hose clamps. I tried this to a backhoe ram and even with fluid released, the ram said not compress…remember compression is the key, not shear.

[KB4]

On 6/11/2018 at 10:25 PM, M20Doc said:

I’m aware of the jack points on a Bravo, what I was getting at was Mooney’s suggested method of raising the nose by the engine lift ring and risking a cracked crankcase.  I don’t know how the Bravo I mentioned was raised, but it did have some pretty good cracks in the lift ring area of the case.

Clarence

 

Alpha aviation are good, go with those. But if cost is prohibitive, here is a set of plans found on Inner web. May need beefing up floor supports. @xcrmckenna knows how to weld so resources are out there for that part. 
 

https://www.kitplanes.com/do-it-yourself-aircraft-jacks/

 

 

[WAFI]

Looks like a pair of these, a floor jack with some minor fab work to receive the triangle lift point and you're done. 

Am I missing something? The low and high length looks good. 

No need to worry about leak downs, it has locking pins and its way over rated at 10 Tons. 

[67 m20F chump]

This is on csobeech.com.  It’s a write up of the jacks I made for my Debonair.  I now use that on my Mooney.  I have made 3 sets of them for friends.

[67 m20F chump]

Some of you were talking about how to keep the ram from going down.  I had a friend turn aluminum caps that fit on the top of the ram and bolt on.  I made a U shaped bar the length that the plane needed to be raised to swing the gear.  I put a hole in the U Chanel that I run a pin through to hold it on the ram then take the pressure off the ram so the plane settles and lock the ram back in.  
 

This is an easy fun project.  I have had kids at the youth program I volunteered at weld it up.  The thick metal is great for learning on.  

Edited February 22, 2022 by 67 m20F chump
Added photo

[EricJ]

2 hours ago, 67 m20F chump said:

Some of you were talking about how to keep the ram from going down.  I had a friend turn aluminum caps that fit on the top of the ram and bolt on.  I made a U shaped bar the length that the plane needed to be raised to swing the gear.  I put a hole in the U Chanel that I run a pin through to hold it on the ram then take the pressure off the ram so the plane settles and lock the ram back in.  
 

This is an easy fun project.  I have had kids at the youth program I volunteered at weld it up.  The thick metal is great for learning on.  

Nice!   Looks like it scratched all the paint off the bottom of your wing, though. 

FWIW, good locking collars work well.   People worry about them marring the shaft, but the parts of the shaft that are exposed don't go into the wet part of the jack, so it won't cause a leak even if it does get marred.  And a good collar won't damage the shaft.

 

[CMMPilot]

On 3/14/2018 at 10:28 PM, RLCarter said:

3-d rendering but I have the CAD drawings along with a cut sheet and assemble process if you want it

Robert,

I am interested in fabricating a set of these as you did. I like the design and think it looks solid.  Please send me the CAD and cut sheet. 

 

I can send you my e-mail if it's easier.  Thanks, Chris