Building your own Mooney aircraft jacks?

[Vref]

Would like to share on this thread experiences on building your own Mooney aircraft Jacks and best practices on using them!

Two weeks ago I started constructing them myself with a set of car axle stands (don't know the correct English word for it) and two 4 ton hydraulic car Jacks.... They are almost finished and ready for action X-fingers...

Just wondering if anybody used the same idea/system..?

Cost until now is 100 euro's for both...

Skills required basic welding and some motivation..;-).

If there is interest for it I can give a technical description and some pictures...?

cheers!

Luc

 

[thinwing]

Luc...you are really a hands on guy!!!Lets see 200 euro for the pair vs 169 usd each from aircraft spruce....its almost a wash...make sure the base of your jack is wide enough for good support,mine are about 2 foot square...kpc

[carusoam]

Luc,

Lasar sells a combination tie down ring and Jack point that is worth considering.

They stay in all of the time in place of the big round eye bolts.

-a-

[Vref]

Take customs and VAT plus transport and your up to 700 euro before your Jacking up anything on the good old tectonic plate of Europe..;-)......

[Parker_Woodruff]

I know where some Mooney jack stands can be bought for a few hundred dollars if anyone wants them...

[Vref]

Anthony, thanks for the tip it's indeed an interesting option I would have liked. I ordered the normal once though from Aicraft Spruce Europe since I needed some other stuff also (Landing light, new battery)...transport,VAT and customs are a real downer when ordering anything from outside Europe...

 

[thinwing]

Luc...on second read thru...I think you used automobile jack stands,....in the US these are triangular and only about a foot wide.I assume you than welded 4 ton hydraulic bottle jacks on top of the "axle jacks" up to about 29 or 30 in needed to engage wing hardpoint.Not good imo....not enough base support unless you welded up a wider base...good luck..kpc

[Vref]

Can't use the quote feature, this Forum is behaving strangely..anyway..

Kpc yes I used car jack stands but I extended the legs and mounted a support under the coaxial tube....the base is about 45cm= a foot and a half...Normally the main forces are vertical only, no..?...

There was a thread on jacking up the aircraft which technique is the best ...I think I will use the official one using the engine lifting point with a hydraulic small giraffe

[Magnum]

I bought two jacks in the US for around US$ 350, shipping and customs were another US$ 300 :-(

[Vref]

Magnus, yepp...for this sitting we are living at the wrong enf of the pond. Btw how much fore you need for lifting the nose on a m20j when using the hydr jacks...

[thinwing]

Vref...thats better,but remember this scenario....you got that new bird of yours on the jacks you made inside the hanger,the hanger floor is tarmac or macadam not concrete if its like my hanger.Its a real hot day in Belgium due to all the European carbon offsets,you are ready to swing the gear and you have a buddy with a 12in length of surgical tubing and a clothes pin on the pitot tube.You start to carefully climb up the wing walk so that you can hit the retract switch and you can fell the wing quivering....your buddy yells out the left jack is sinking!!!!!....kpc

[Vref]

brrrrrrrrrrr.....cold sweat...your right I am having second thought on the base width, but the wing won't sink as there are safety pins in place ..;-)..these are not available on the normal jacks I believe....

[DonMuncy]

Luc,

Yes I would like to see pics, plans and specs. I suspect you are like me; it isn't just about saving money, but also for the satisfaction of designing and constructing them yourself.

Don 

[thinwing]

safety pins???do you mean where the jack contacts the wing hardpoint???The laser or stock jackpoints are cone shaped...on top of the jack should either be a "cup"or a hole in the middle of the hydraulic ram that engages that cone and allows that point to rotate while jacking.The sinking in is the jack base itself....mine leaves definite impressions in the pavement inside my hanger...I like to see pics to please..kpc

[N601RX]

By safety pins I think he means a mechanical pin that will stop the jack from leaking down over time.  All the decent store bought jacks have some kind of mechanical safety lock that will prevent them from lowering down unexpectly due a hydraulic seal leaking or something.

[thinwing]

N601rx...You must be right...mine use collars that tighten and form a safety stop for the same reason...I was more concerned about the jack footprint itself...kpc

[OR75]

Any suggestion for a yoke frame jack to lift the nose ?

I understand MAC do not recommend tying down the tail (although they do not forbid doing it if needed)

 

 

[jetdriven]

use a cherry picker like for removing a car engine. 

[OR75]

does that mean lifting the front using the hook  on top of the engine ?

where do I get one of those cherry picker ? 

[thinwing]

fortunately my Bravo has a 3rd jackpoint welded to the engine mount .It is really stable and takes up some of the load...I understand older models use a sling lift on the prop or chain on the lifteyes top of the engine crankcase with an engine hoist...k

[N601RX]

They also have some 24" jacks for making the main gear jacks.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-capacity-foldable-shop-crane-93840.html

 

 

[N601RX]

Main gear jacks

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-super-heavy-duty-long-ram-hydraulic-flat-bottom-jack-36468.html

[OR75]

I guess i could attach one of those pulley / chain on the steel beam of the hangar. would save space and easy to install if I can find one. Anyone know if we can that at Home Depot or Kragen ?

[Magnum]

>> Magnus, yepp...for this sitting we are living at the wrong enf of the pond. Btw how much fore you need for lifting the nose on a m20j when using the hydr jacks...

 

You dont need much force, I bought an engine hoist like this one http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-capacity-foldable-shop-crane-93840.html for around 150 Euros. It is also good to change the shock mounts or to shim the engine (hopefully you won't need to replace your engine soon).

Using the engine hoist has IMHO one disadvantage: The aircraft is not as stabilized as using a weight on the tail tiedown. Be very careful when entering the cockpit while on jacks.

[OR75]

Probably best to hoist the engine AND tie down the tail (with very simple hardware and a sandbag or 2)

Good point about climbing in the plane while it is on jacks 

In any case, lifting is a 2 persons job.