Brake Job

[allen]

I have ordered a brake kit from MAtco. It should be here soon. I have a trivial question here: how do you jack up the plane to pull the tire.

We are planning to place a jack under the gear leg on the bottom and take the weight off of the tire.

Anybody have some pictures on how to do this?

[Drew]

I have a stand that goes on the axle when the wheel is off the plane.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/lgsafetystand.php


For a Longez, I would put my back between the strake and wing junction and pick up the wing with my legs (just like you do when you park the Long to relieve the main gear bow stress)---then have my wife remove the wheel and then slide the jackstand on the axle.

The Cozy is too hard to pick up using this method.  I use this jack:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/lillifter.php

But also take a look at these:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/tribaljack.php (might be too tall)

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/rvjack.php (note that this is both a jack and a stand).

[allen]

Thanks Drew, again.

The shop has some manufactured wood blocks that slip over the axle and they plan on using those. This avoids metal on metal contact. I will head over to the hanger tonight and lift the plane for them.

Have a nice vacation home with the wife and baby?

Allen

[Waiter]

I use a jack I made out of 2x4s and two door hinges:

Look at the drawing and you'll get the idea.

Glue a piecs of rubber to the top surface.

The plane must be parked on its nose and the gear unsprung.

Place the jack near the Centerspar/wing junction. The pad must rest against the spar cap area of the centerspar or the wing. The top of the jack should tilt slightly inward and forward.

Press down the long arm until its overcentered.  As you press the arm down, it raises the plane. The tire should lift off the ground just enough to service tires, brakes, etc.

Waiter

[Drew]

I did have a good time---2 weeks home.  Just got back to Iraq (started from Dulles on Tuesday morning----back in Baghdad on Thursday around noonish).

[flyingwaldo]

For a Longez, I would put my back between the strake and wing junction and pick up the wing with my legs........

I gotta see a picture of this for a tire change!   :shock:

I've changed several tires on my Long EZ and that is the craziest idea I've ever heard.  There are a couple excellent little jacks made for just this purpose and they work very well. Safe and simple, what more can you want?  You're going to do this more often than you think.  Why try the caveman approach?    :?:

[Bruce Hughes]

I have had wheels off several times in the last couple of years.

To make it quick and simple I just used the available materials which
turned out to be a 2 X 4 about 12 feet long (obviously a guess) and
a small piece of something hard as a fulcrum.   One end of the of the
2X4 went over a sawhorse.   The other end went under the gear leg.  
Then the fulcrum was placed as close as possible to the gear leg.

Then I moved the sawhorse and pushed down.   The gear came off
the ground nicely.   The first time I did this the WEIGHT of the 2X4 was
enough to hold the gear off the ground.   That was because I happened
to get the right size fulcrum and got it close to the end of the 2 X 4.  
The next time I put an old battery on the end of the 2 X 4 because
I was using a different fulcrum.

If you have a buddy around, just lift the aircraft by the end of the
wing while the buddy puts a block under the gear leg.

Don't make this job harder than it is.    

Bruce Hughes    

[Radioflyer]

And along the same lines as Bruce's...Gather four short 6-12" lengths of 2x4 and another longer length 4 feet or longer. Stack two blocks close to the inboard side of the gear leg to use as a fulcrum. Place tip of long 2x4 under the gear leg under the axle, wood bearing on glass. Use as lever against fulcrum to raise the wheel. Then place 2nd stack of short 2x4s under the tip of the lever, thereby keeping the wheel up. I saw a pic of this method somewhere, but can't recall.

I like the hinged 2x4 idea. Sometimes you need to unweigh the entire gear leg to test for looseness and I think that would be the least expensive jack method.