Anyone have an IMI Power Rigger for sale?

[Larry Ruggiero]

Need one for a single-place ship.

Larry Ruggiero
Spartanburg, SC

[Moshe Braner]

And I'm looking for such for a 2-place glider.

[gfon...@xtra.co.nz]

I have just built my own one , they are quite easy if you can weld and figure out a wiring diagram
so you can use remotes
total cost US about $700
some parts would have to be posted in from overseas for best price or buy US for the linear drives + $100
the wing cradle just glass molded on the wing covered in plastic , the felt padding stuck on with glue later.
One tip :the main vertical lift linear 15-20 mm per second and rated to lift at least 5 times the dead weight
of the wing , I am using a 6000 kg rated lift linear off a 12 volt battery , it has no problems ,it lifts 200kg easily
my wing is 86kg
Most parts needed are available at your local hardware, electrical from the local electronics store.
Need any info, pics email me gfoneill at xtra dot co dot nz

Gary

[shaun_...@hotmail.com]

Look up Herb's videos on youtube - "One Man Rigger for Sailplanes, scratch built, LS8-18"

I emailed him and he graciously provided a very detailed build list in Excel along with photos including links to buy the pieces/parts.

[waremark]

Surely if there was one for sale it would be a poor recommendation for the device, if it does the job well the owner would want to keep it! Or a purchaser of the glider would want it.

Personally, I had a Cobra power rigger for my previous glider, and the IMI one looks like an improvement. I have an IMI non-power rigger for my current two seat glider, and I am happy with it but would not rig without one helper (if I don't use the rigger it is three helpers).

[Soartech]

I built one for less than $100 by using a Harbor Freight 2000 lb winch to raise and lower the wing. These are on sale for as low as $50 at times and they come with a pocket sized wireless remote control. Just be sure to use steel, not aluminum for the critical stressed parts like the main support! Don't ask how I know that. :-) Here are the details: https://www.instructables.com/Sailplane-Wing-Installer-with-electric-lifting/

[Larry Ruggiero]

On Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at 4:13:48 PM UTC-4, Soartech wrote:
> I built one for less than $100 by using a Harbor Freight 2000 lb winch to raise and lower the wing. These are on sale for as low as $50 at times and they come with a pocket sized wireless remote control. Just be sure to use steel, not aluminum for the critical stressed parts like the main support! Don't ask how I know that. :-) Here are the details: https://www.instructables.com/Sailplane-Wing-Installer-with-electric-lifting/

Thanks all, I appreciate the DIY approach especially since I do a fair amount of this myself. I also expected finding one used is a long shot. As far as DIY, I really need the multiple axis movement capability that the commercial units offer. My new-to-me SZD-59 is a bugger to assemble and has tried my patience (and club mates) every time. The wings mate differently than most and it’s got really tight tolerances. The one-man rigger I have now helps but not enough.

Larry Ruggiero

[2G]

Most of us ASH 31 Mi owners have been pulling our hair out trying to rig the 31. I have bought extra tools in addition to the eccentric provided by Spindleberger, which work with limited success. I rigged the 31 over the last two weekends (and derigged it once because of the bogus fuel pressure warning). The first time it took me the usual 2 hours; the second time about 40 minutes, start to finish including taping. Besides having to adjust the wing dolly and forgetting the fuel lines, the big difference was using a spirit level (or smart phone spirit level app) in the following way:

1. I made certain that the tail fin was vertical. The slope of the sides tapers in, so you have to equalize the off-vertical amounts equally on both sides. I used the position of the bubble in the level as a measure of this near vertical angle. A digital level would be ideal for this (the digital portion of this level had stopped working). The importance of this will soon be apparent.

2. I had previously made marks on the aft baggage bulkhead of the spar position when assembled. This allows be to adjust the vertical position of the right wing to the correct dihedral angle.

3. The fore/aft position of the wing must be exactly correct as measured by the gap between the wing and the fuselage even if the wing is not fully abutted to the fuselage - close is NOT good enough.

4. When the left wing is inserted adjust the dolly such that the tip is approximately the same distance off the ground as the right wing. Then use the spirit level to get the angles identical. Because we setup the fuselage so the tail was vertical these angles will be the same (hence the reason for adjusting the tail's verticality). You will also have to adjust the fuselage dolly to get the left spar even with the right.

5. Use the eccentric tool to pull in the spars the rest of the way.

6. Raise or lower the fuselage dolly to match the bushings on the two spars. I use my fore finger as a gauge during this adjustment. Insert the first spar pin - it may not go all of the way, so slight fuselage dolly adjustments will be required. I find that the resistance I feel while rotating the pin is an excellent gauge of if I am adjusting the fuselage height in the correct direction. Grease and insert the first pin (I do the left pin first). If the pin strikes the inside bushing then more adjustment of the fuselage dolly is necessary (don't adjust the wing height at this point because you have already got the wing dihedral angles equalized). If the pin will not go in regardless of all possible adjustments then one wing is probably misaligned fore or aft - check the gap between the fuselage and the wing root. While adjusting the fuselage height it works best if you are a little too low and it has to be raised. You can use light foot pressure while simultaneously feeling the bushing alignment with your finger. While lowering the fuselage carefully open the valve slowly so that it does not suddenly drop. NEVER use your foot to open the valve.

7. Once the first pin is all the way in remove the eccentric tool. It is very likely that the bushings will not be aligned and the fuselage height will need to be changed in the same manner as Step 6.

I do have an IMI remote controlled wing dolly and find it very helpful as well as being very well built.

Tom

[Larry Ruggiero]

Tom, I feel your pain. Sounds like my Acro, which I continue to dial in. Plus the horizontal tail is in two pieces and is almost as challenging to rig as the wing is, but I have a gizmo in mind which should help and hopefully allow for 1-person rigging.

Larry

[2G]

Larry, it rigs much easier now. Also, another 31 owner had a couple of special rigging tools made, which I have a set. One is an eccentric tool similar to the Cobra tool, but with tighter tolerances. The other is a double taper drift pin that can pull the wings together that last millimeter. I find that I can rig the 31 w/o these tools thru very careful alignment of the wings as I detailed. The key is getting fuselage perfectly level with the spirit level. Otherwise, I found myself chasing the proper height of the two wingtips.

Tom

[Mark Mocho]

I recall from my early days of flying sailplanes (2000, so not THAT long ago), when I was trying to help a friend rig the wings on a brand new HpH-304. Nothing was cooperating- we could get it within a fraction of a millimeter, but the pin simply would NOT line up. One of our club members, a longtime glider pilot, offered some sage advice:

In his elegant British accent, he said. "If and when you ever get it properly assembled, I suggest you just go out and ground loop it once or twice. It will loosen right up and rigging will be much easier."

In his book "After All," author Gren Seibels wrote, "Although I have not flown with him, I strongly suspect that Gerhard Waibel has never actually assembled a sailplane in his entire life; certainly not one he himself designed....I picture Waibel lolling around in his customized van in some shady dell, while over in the assembly area his crew of factory grunts yell and curse at each other throughout the morning. By the time Waibel reaches the grid, however, all the cuts and bruises have been neatly bandaged and everyone is breathing normally again, so he hasn't a clue."

Note that this was written about a new ASW-20A. (Introduced in 1977)

Just look at how technology advances since then have enhanced the simplicity of glider assembly.

That was a JOKE!

(For the clueless who take RAS too seriously.)

[Michael Fadden]

I fought with my Pegasus (again) yesterday. A one man rigger that doesn't allow the saddle to slide along the axle, lumpy and very uneven rigging area and bendy wings conspire to make assembly an unpleasant experience, even with a helper. Every now and then the pins go in with almost no fuss. Replicating the conditions is mostly a matter of luck, despite marking rigger, wing stands, eccentric tool etc. There's gotta be better way! I don't have the skills to make my own, better rigger and I don't know that its worth $2000 for fancy remote rigger. I'm not really looking for a solution (although one would be welcome), just venting.

BTW, it was a great soaring day in SE Pennsylvania yesterday with bases near 7000' and no Presidential TFR - a rare combination indeed.

Mike

[Herbert Kilian]

Just to make a counterpoint to Tom's lengthy and complex '31 assembly instructions: I rig the inside wings of my '31 without help and without observing any of the points Tom is making in about 15 min using my home-made electric and remote controlled rigger. I don't touch the hydraulic ramp lever, I do use the Spindelberger black eccentric tool in the right pin hole and tape the right wing after insertion. You really can skin a cat in many ways, find your own poison.
What I need after throwing out my back pulling the wings out of the trailer onto the wing rigger is a device that takes that rolls the wing easily into the saddle of the vertically positioned rigger. I rig/derig most every day I fly and I prefer to do it by myself. Here's the video of my ASG29 wing rigger that I sold with the glider. Had to build a new one for the '31. Notice: elapsed time for inner wings only is a little over 7 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnmaUsPtvSI
Herb

[Frank Whiteley]

Anecdotally, PIK-20's and others are reportedly very difficult to rig once the temperature gets much above 70F in the sun due to fuselage expansion. Critical alignment is needed in many, but has anyone noticed whether it's easier with some of these when it's cooler?

Frank

[Larry Ruggiero]

Thanks guys, seems I’ve touched on one of the Achilles heels of our great sport. As a couple more experienced club mates have told me, it takes awhile to get a routine dialed in. I’ve decided spending some money is worth it if I can spend more time flying.

Larry

[Moshe Braner]

On 6/24/2021 9:32 AM, Herbert Kilian wrote:
> ...
> What I need after throwing out my back pulling the wings out of the trailer onto the wing rigger is a device that takes that rolls the wing easily into the saddle of the vertically positioned rigger. ...

I've been wondering about that, given the very heavy wings of the
2-seater I need to find a way to rig without hurting people's backs. Is
it possible to use another (lighter-duty) wing rigger to hold the tip as
the wing rolls out of the trailer, and then put the main rigger's saddle
under the wing's CG? Or, use the same rigger, first under the tip, then
move it to the wing's CG while the tip is briefly held by a person
and/or resting on a wing stand? I am not looking for a solo rigging
method, a 2-person operation would suffice.

[Dan Marotta]

Technique plays a great part in rigging.

It used to take an hour or more to rig my Stemme and now it only takes
about 10 minutes.  Find the tricks and it will become much easier!

Dan
5J

[Herbert Kilian]

Moshe,
Having had a couple of weeks of pain in the back, looking at perfect soaring skies here in IL, grinding my teeth, I have come up with a possible solution. It involves indeed a light device that pivots (lifts up) the end of a wing (easy in my case given the 40 mm dia and 9" long aluminum pipe that is forming the end of my '31 inner wings). The device then allows me to roll the wing out of the trailer past the ramp all the way to the end stop. This device is commonly known as a hand truck and I will in time show its function - if it does in fact work as intended. I have it at the glider club, ready for testing. Stay tuned...
Herb

[5Z]

My back decided to have spasms preventing me from even light lifting such as the wingtips of my ASW-27. The solution I came up with was a "sash" I made from nylon webbing that I put over my shoulder to support the wingtip while I stand straight up, so putting almost no side load on my back or via my arms. I run the strap through a large diameter surgical tube to provide a friction hold of the wingtip. The length of the sash is adjusted so when I stand, the wingtip is just high enough to pass through the rigger's saddle as I walk it out.
So now I can do all the lifting with my legs and my back straight.

5Z

[andy l]

On Thursday, 24 June 2021 at 18:07:46 UTC+1, Dan Marotta wrote:
> Technique plays a great part in rigging.
>
> It used to take an hour or more to rig my Stemme and now it only takes
> about 10 minutes. Find the tricks and it will become much easier!
>
> Dan
> 5J

Our club owns 3 Discuses, which are kept in the trailers. I'm surprised that some club members rank them in order of difficulty to rig. Conversely some of them are surprised I and others have no problem with the supposedly difficult one.

There are also 3 Grob 102 III. These are kept rigged in the hangar ...

[2G]

Sorry to hear about your back problems, Herb. We missed you at Parowan.

Tom

[Jonathan St. Cloud]

If only someone could invent a tapered wing pin.

[Steve Leonard]

On Thursday, July 1, 2021 at 7:49:22 AM UTC-5, jonatha...@gmail.com wrote:
> If only someone could invent a tapered wing pin.

Schleicher used them on at least the Ka-7 and Ka-8. Schweizer used them on the 1-23. The Olympia uses tapered main wing pins. But, they aren't used for that last bit of alignment. They are used to assure all the layers of fittings are pulled tightly together.

I agree it would be nice to have a bit more taper on the ends of those pins, but if things are out enough that you need that much taper, you really can't use that taper to pull things into alignment. Learn the tricks of your plane. On my Concept 70, I can run a finger across to feel alignment for one pin, but need a long screwdriver to slip across the spar stubs joint for the other. When I get them right, the pin just slips right in.

Oh, and wing rigging dollies hold the wing in position better than just about any person I have encountered.

Steve Leonard