No more borrowed airplane jacks

[Chris newton]

I couldn’t see paying big$ so fabricated  these up since the annual is due soon. Fairly inexpensive to do and long over do. 

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Chris newton said:

I couldn’t see paying big$ so fabricated  these up since the annual is due soon. Fairly inexpensive to do and long over do. 

Be sure to add some form of locking/safety device to the extended ram.

Clarence

[Guest]

If you aren’t able to drill a hole through the ram for a bolt, something like this might work.

Clarence

[RLCarter]

Nice work.....+1 for safety locks, the oil level is way below where you would need to drill the ram, be sure to chamfer the hole so it doesn’t damage the seal

[steingar]

Last summer my airplane needed some minor repairs.  The guys at the local shop weren't able to get to it for awhile.  Apparently a Mooney fell off it's home made jacks, and one of them wen through the wing.

[MARZ]

12 hours ago, Chris newton said:

I couldn’t see paying big$ so fabricated  these up since the annual is due soon. Fairly inexpensive to do and long over do. 

Looks like you have great fabrication skills!  Nice Job.

[peterl]

Nice work, Chris! What size are the hydraulic jacks you used and what did you pay for them?

[V1VRV2]

Every time I see one of those jacks I have flashbacks to this! 

[carusoam]

The FedEx plane is easier to look at than a Mooney doing the same trick...

Falling off jacks happens a lot... in general...

the Mooney world is pretty big.  There are plenty of those oops opportunities...

Always use caution... especially while you or others are under the plane...

There are proper jack points to help keep the plane from slipping off the jack...

Collars and other methods to keep the jack from lowering on its own...

Weights and tail tie-downs to keep the tail from coming up...

Think about it... if anything starts to move... slipping off the jack becomes a big possibility....

PP thoughts only, not the safety engineer...

Best regards,

-a-

[larrynimmo]

When homemade jacks are made well, they are as good as any professionally manufactured jack...especially when you use the locking rings

[Guest]

6 hours ago, larrynimmo said:

When homemade jacks are made well, they are as good as any professionally manufactured jack...especially when you use the locking rings

Made well is the key.  I’ve seen some pretty scary ones post here in the past.

Clarence

[RLCarter]

Well made AND well designed 

[GeeBee]

One of the best jacking systems I ever saw was a hangar at LAX. You put the airplane on stands, but you did not raise it.  The floor then was lowered around the jacks. That way you did not have the airplane teetering high in the air on the jacks. Very pricey, very secure.

 

[Chris newton]

On 12/2/2020 at 10:37 AM, peterl said:

Nice work, Chris! What size are the hydraulic jacks you used and what did you pay for them?

They are 3 ton 24” jacks from Harbor Freight. I paid $50 each for them

[Chris newton]

I countersunk the top of the rams so they fit perfectly into the cone style jack mounts. The collars are a good safety idea and won’t scar the shaft. When fully retracted they only have to be raised about 1 inch to come into contact with the jack points. Then another 1.5 for the gear retract test

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Chris newton said:

I countersunk the top of the rams so they fit perfectly into the cone style jack mounts. The collars are a good safety idea and won’t scar the shaft. When fully retracted they only have to be raised about 1 inch to come into contact with the jack points. Then another 1.5 for the gear retract test

You’re right that only a few inches are required for a gear retraction, but if you want to remove belly panels, clean the belly or work in the wheel well, extra height is always nice.  
 

Some form of ram lock is vital.  I always remember an elementary school classmate who’s father died in the family driveway when a jack failed with him under the car.  I don’t want that to happen to anyone.

Clarence

[PT20J]

Don Maxwell has a car lift he modified that will lift the entire airplane up about five feet so you can work underneath it standing up. It's pretty cool.

[Hank]

40 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

You’re right that only a few inches are required for a gear retraction, but if you want to remove belly panels, clean the belly or work in the wheel well, extra height is always nice.  

Huh! I always pull the belly off on a creeper before annual, sitting on the gear.

[Sixstring2k]

On 12/6/2020 at 9:52 AM, GeeBee said:

One of the best jacking systems I ever saw was a hangar at LAX. You put the airplane on stands, but you did not raise it.  The floor then was lowered around the jacks. That way you did not have the airplane teetering high in the air on the jacks. Very pricey, very secure.

 

We have that system at my job and they are impressive, having a plane just hanging there a few feet above your head with the gears stowed gets your heart pumping. 
 

I second clearance, seen to many things go wrong with an airplane on jacks and the more security you can have the better.

[RLCarter]

I helped my IA jack a C-210..... that will tighten your pucker string

[tmo]

8 hours ago, Hank said:

Huh! I always pull the belly off on a creeper before annual, sitting on the gear.

When we (you, me, etc) do one plane per year, we can afford to take our time; in a shop like Clarence's, he's in the big leagues. I used to creep under the car to tinker with things, nowadays I go to a friendly neighborhood shop and use one of their lifts on a day off. The creeper moved to the hangar.

I suspect a tangent is him wanting his people to have more comfort, I know I would.

[Hank]

1 hour ago, tmo said:

When we (you, me, etc) do one plane per year, we can afford to take our time; in a shop like Clarence's, he's in the big leagues. I used to creep under the car to tinker with things, nowadays I go to a friendly neighborhood shop and use one of their lifts on a day off. The creeper moved to the hangar.

I suspect a tangent is him wanting his people to have more comfort, I know I would.

True dat!

[Yetti]

Safety stands.  Saw horses with moving blankets under the wings.