What Jacks do you Reccommend?

[MBDiagMan]

I am coming up on annual and will do it in my hangar.  I would like to invest in a set of Jacks, but I hate to lay out $700+ from aircraft spruce.  What kind of economy jacks have you bought or fabricated?  I am a good fabricator/welder if anyone has any suggestions.

[N6758N]

You can buy the $45 bottle jacks from harbor freight and some steel and make the same thing that the jack house sells for $350. I'm currently working one a set as we speak. Make sure you get the jacks that are flat on the bottom.

 

Edited March 14, 2018 by N6758N

[cnoe]

You can buy the $45 bottle jacks from harbor freight and some steel and make the same thing that the jack house sells for $350. I'm currently working one a set as we speak. Make sure you get the jacks that are flat on the bottom.
 

What he said! And while you’re at HF pick up a big step bit to drill out the top of the ram to more securely accommodate your jack points. There are lots of examples of how to DIY online; search around. Mine are based on a 2’ square of 3/4” plywood, 4 support legs made from EMT conduit, and a large muffler clamp that secures the supports to the top of the jack. Works great and is rock solid. Sorry I don’t have a pic right now.

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-heavy-duty-long-ram-hydraulic-flat-bottom-jack-60393.html







Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DonMuncy]

23 minutes ago, MBDiagMan said:

I am coming up on annual and will do it in my hangar.  I would like to invest in a set of Jacks, but I hate to lay out $700+ from aircraft spruce.  What kind of economy jacks have you bought or fabricated?  I am a good fabricator/welder if anyone has any suggestions.

Take a look at the ones I built in my "album" in my gallery. The Harbor Freight (or other) jacks are easy. The bases are easy. The conduit braces are easy. The top "collar" may a little difficult to access. The little fitting on the top (to keep the jack point from slipping) is a minor problem.  I'll be glad to share any other info.

[cnoe]

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.

[MBDiagMan]

OUTSTANDING guys!  I fully expected to get a good solution from you guys!

I am in Galveston this week!  We had too much stuff to bring and couldn’t fly.☹️  Will be back home Monday and start on this Tuesday.

[MBDiagMan]

43 minutes ago, DonMuncy said:

Take a look at the ones I built in my "album" in my gallery. The Harbor Freight (or other) jacks are easy. The bases are easy. The conduit braces are easy. The top "collar" may a little difficult to access. The little fitting on the top (to keep the jack point from slipping) is a minor problem.  I'll be glad to share any other info.

Don,

How do I find your particular album?

[DonMuncy]

1 minute ago, MBDiagMan said:

Don,

How do I find your particular album?

Click on my picture; click on albums; click on Don Muncy's album, I think. Or get back to me.

[MBDiagMan]

Okay Don, Got It!

That clears it up well.  You guys are the best!

[DonMuncy]

19 minutes ago, MBDiagMan said:

Okay Don, Got It!

That clears it up well.  You guys are the best!

When you come for the April Fly-in, we can go down to my hangar and let you look, take measurements. etc.

[Piloto]

I made this tail hold down by screwing a screw bolt onto the concrete to hold down a piece of wood that anchors to the tail bracket. Easy to install and remove by 65+ pilots.

[RobertGary1]

2 hours ago, 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.

The method Mooney recommends today only uses the tail stand for stability. A hoist is used to lift the nose at the engine. 

-Robert 

[Guest]

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

[MBDiagMan]

4 hours ago, 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.

How many gallons should the washtub be to hold three bags?

[cnoe]

2 hours ago, RobertGary1 said:

The method Mooney recommends today only uses the tail stand for stability. A hoist is used to lift the nose at the engine. 

-Robert 

You are correct, but it is still very common to see even reputable shops lift a Mooney with under-wing jacks and an appropriate tail-weight.

This has been discussed extensively on MS and I am not making personal recommendations for the OP or anybody else to jack up their plane this way. He asked about jack construction and I felt obligated to mention the necessity of a tail-weight. I should have also mentioned the option of using a hoist on the forward frame too. I would advise against using the hoisting ring on the engine though.

20 minutes ago, 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

Absolutely Clarence; I agree that anything fabricated should be up to the task and of adequate structural integrity. Many of the MSers are likely capable of constructing something satisfactory while some are likely not. My comments about sacks of concrete were meant to describe a necessary weight and I apologize for giving anyone the idea that raw sacks of concrete should be employed. Still, concrete is an excellent source of mass for constructing a real tail-weight (if done properly with rebar and properly mounted hardware).

If any of you are going to do this, DO IT RIGHT or know the risk you take. Even though my bases are constructed out of 3/4" plywood I find it more stable than some of the 3-leg versions I've seen. YMMV.

[cnoe]

11 minutes ago, MBDiagMan said:

How many gallons should the washtub be to hold three bags?

An 80# bag of high strength concrete mix yields approximately 0.6 cu. ft. of volume, which is approximately 13.5 gallons.

I shouldn't have to say this but... be sure to add some rebar or other reinforcing steel into the mix. Also, make sure that your attachment hardware is appropriately attached to the embedded reinforcing steel.

Lastly, also note that even 3 bags (240#) wouldn't be enough weight on any Mooney other than a 4-banger. And with that much (engine) weight on the nose I would seriously consider using a hoist up front as noted above.

 

[hypertech]

I bought a set from Alpha Aviation.  The cost was reasonable for something marketed for "aircraft" and the quality is good.  

 

@cnoe - why do you advise against using the engine hoist ring?  That's what Mooney says that you should use.  http://www.mooney.com/en/si/M20-114.pdf  I got a 2 ton hoistfrom harbor freight.  Works great and didn't cost all that much.  

[cnoe]

19 minutes ago, hypertech said:

I bought a set from Alpha Aviation.  The cost was reasonable for something marketed for "aircraft" and the quality is good.  

 

@cnoe - why do you advise against using the engine hoist ring?  That's what Mooney says that you should use.  http://www.mooney.com/en/si/M20-114.pdf  I got a 2 ton hoistfrom harbor freight.  Works great and didn't cost all that much.  

After viewing much discussion here I was swayed that the engine-hoist ring may impart too much stress on the aluminum engine case. The hoist ring was designed to lift the "engine" only, not a ~2,000# airplane.

I believe a soft harness around the engine mount is preferred by many if using a hoist.

[cnoe]

Interestingly, the J's service manual originally stated "Use a yoke-frame jack under the propeller to lift the nose."

[Yetti]

I found that four bags of 80lbs saccrete is best.   I use a 4 foot steel tubing with pieces of plywood laid across it and then the saccreate on top of that. You don't want the bar pulling through the sacks.

Then 6000# 1" tubular webbing on a steel carabiner to attach to the tail tie down ring.

[RobertGary1]

30 minutes ago, cnoe said:

After viewing much discussion here I was swayed that the engine-hoist ring may impart too much stress on the aluminum engine case. The hoist ring was designed to lift the "engine" only, not a ~2,000# airplane.

I believe a soft harness around the engine mount is preferred by many if using a hoist.

Oh I don’t think you want to lift an entire plane by the hoist but this isn’t nearly that. Maybe a couple hundred pounds. Most of the weight is on the wing jacks. 

-Robert

[Bryan]

Yep, like others: Harbor Freight, Home Depot.

[MIm20c]

1 hour ago, RobertGary1 said:

Oh I don’t think you want to lift an entire plane by the hoist but this isn’t nearly that. Maybe a couple hundred pounds. Most of the weight is on the wing jacks. 

-Robert

I agree with Robert. Once the engine is out the tail almost drops to the ground.  As long as you are not jumping around in the plane the engine lift should work fine. I’m planning on picking up a harbor freight one in the next week or two. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Bryan said:

Yep, like others: Harbor Freight, Home Depot.

I wouldn’t put anything on that thing, certainly not an airplane.

Clarence

[Bob_Belville]

There's a tee at the bottom of the embedded rectangular tubing. I sized to fit my M20E, the shop has one with adjustable height.