Rotissory

[Bcone1381]

Show us your rotisserie, photos or plans. What worked, what did not, improvements... Did you use one for your wings, or fuselage or both? Tell us how your build went if you did not use one.

[Flygirl1]

during the whole process we used several methods. Saw horses with the hardware that secured everything during shipping, save all of those, wings too, and rotisseries. They come in real handy during fabric covering and interior work. Having them on wheels really helps too. For painting the wings we used the hardware that secured them for shipping and fit it to our rotisserie. Also they are height adjustable and have wheels. We did not build them but got them from the airport. They look to have been built in 1923. But beggers can't be choosers! I just saw some yesterday where they had used universal joints, which worked really well. The pipe that surrounds the inner pipe to make it possiible for the thing to turn, was split with a nut and a sinch bolt attached to tighten or loosen as needed.

[Bdflies]

I'm sure an airplane could be built without a rotisserie, but having one certainly makes the process easier!
Mine served the fuselage, through cover and paint. Then it went on to mount the wings (1 at a time) for etch, alodine and paint.
I'm afraid my pictures aren't great, but you should be able to get the basic idea. I modified an engine stand, to be able to extend height - first. Then I made a new spindle, from a piece of pipe. I made a universal joint from a couple of 5/8" nuts welded together. The fuselage and wing adapter were welded up pieces of steel that was laying around. My front adapter fit to the fuselage bushings. The engine mount stayed on the engine during cover and paint. Strategically welding a 5/8" nut to the adapters allowed easy attachment to the spindle. I attached a pulley to the back of the spindle, to allow for a brake/lock mechanism. The brake let me lock the fuse or wing at any point. The universal made the centerline allignment non-critical and allowed the unit to be steered when moving.
The other end was just a wood structure, mounted on a moving dolly. I made a swing arm, from some 1" square tube. I welded a piece of tubing that fit nicely over the stinger, to the swing arm. This allowed the fuse to pivot about it's center, with no attachments except for the stinger mount.
I made a wooden adapter that clamped to the outboard wing rib. This adapter pivoted on the bolt through the wooden upright.
Because the engine stand was also on wheels, I could roll the pieces around the shop and hangar at will.
I know my explanation is just gobledy goop, without the pictures. I hope the pics clarify somewhat.
Some ideas used have probably been stolen from stuff I've seen through the years.

Bill

[Mark Moyle]

https://youtu.be/ozV9k9jGb9g

[robcaldwell]

I just posted a video on my builder blog on how I built my rotisserie. https://bearhawk4place.blogspot.com/

[alaskabearhawk]

Look on Youtube for alaskabearhawk. I have a multiple video series uploaded for the fuselage and wing rotisseries.

[muleyman78]

On my set up I bought two of the small cheap bottle Jack's from Harbor freight and extended them fully. Then welded a U joint union out of a car drive shaft to the end of the jack. I made a mount that fit into the arms of an engine lift so the jack was horizontal and made a mount for the tail and nose. Worked great! Those Jack's spin free and can't come out of the bottleneck. Everything was under 100.

[JimParker256]

So I gotta ask... What are the two flat plate areas on the aft/starboard fuselage top? Antenna mounting areas?

[muleyman78]

Yes. Not sur they will be used but installed just incase