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Replacing one wing on a RV-6

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pacer18a

Member
I am a Wittman Tailwind owner with no RV building experience and have an opportunity to buy a ground looped RV-6. The damage to the airframe includes a wing which most likely has a bent spar. I have purchased the plans CD and thought that I could buy a used wing or a wing kit which someone had not finished to replace the bent spar wing. As I have searched this forum for info on the RV-6 wing removal it became clear that the wings were going to be difficult to remove due to the close tolerance bolts. I also understand that the spars and center section are all match predrilled together at the factory. I am starting to wonder if it will be possible to install a different wing in place of the bent spar wing. Can any of you give me any experiences you have had with this issue? Is it possible to just replace one wing? Is the only fix to install two new wings with a match drilled center section? Any light you can shed on this to keep me from making a mistake is greatly appreciated.

Dave
 
Dave,

You will need a little more info. Not all RV6's were pre-punched/match drilled. An original Builder #, might be the Serial # in some cases could shed some light on this by calling Van's. The original builder name could work too. :) Changing one wing has been done many times. I have a contact on my airfield that has performed this on his RV6 with the right wing due to an engine mount/gear leg failure. PM me if you would like his contact info.
 
pacer18a said:
I am a Wittman Tailwind owner with no RV building experience and have an opportunity to buy a ground looped RV-6. The damage to the airframe includes a wing which most likely has a bent spar. Is the only fix to install two new wings with a match drilled center section? Any light you can shed on this to keep me from making a mistake is greatly appreciated.

Dave
Click to expand...

As a Tailwind owner and RV owner with experience removing and replacing RV-6 wings, I think Reiley is correct. Find your serial number and see if it is real early kit- Most spars where pre-drilled at the factory. This should make a replacement wing a minor issue in the match id you are close in serial numbers. Also find a wing without the rear spar already drilled. You need to set up this new wing with your fuse. The RV-6 wing carry through fuselage spars are built like the Brooklyn bridge with the metal attach plates the crucial link. search for other info on this site. I think it's very do-able.
 
Thanks for the info so far. I have talked with an owner/builder who had the exact damage to repair and was able to successfully replace just one wing.

I would like to hear from others who may have similar knowledge.

Is the gear to engine mount failure a common issue with RV6's?

AZtailwind would you mind telling me more about your experiences with removing and replacing RV6 wings. I have read that removing the close tolerance bolts is normally a pain and a time consuming process. Any lessons learned would be appreciated.

Dave
 
Hi Dave,

The original engine mount did not have the support gussets welded in for the gear leg socket on the RV6. There is a fix for this out there. Van's knows about the issue. Many have come before this one resulting in a failure.
 
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pacer18a said:
AZtailwind would you mind telling me more about your experiences with removing and replacing RV6 wings. I have read that removing the close tolerance bolts is normally a pain and a time consuming process. Any lessons learned would be appreciated.

Dave
Click to expand...

PM sent- One thing I failed to mention is while removing all the bolts- there are a lot of them- save the difficult ones for last. Some close tolerance bolts have a closer tolerance than others. Clean the spar holes. If you don't have to take off the other wing-then don't. I used WD-40 to take them out and boelube to put them in. Good luck
 
Wayne with Phlogiston is the expert on replacing the older matched drilled wing components. It is very likely he drilled the originals as he was doing that for Van's kit's in the day....
He has done many replacements.
 
JonJay said:
Wayne with Phlogiston is the expert on replacing the older matched drilled wing components. It is very likely he drilled the originals as he was doing that for Van's kit's in the day....
He has done many replacements.
Click to expand...

I agree, I recommend you call Wayne.
If you give him the spar serial # he might even have a record of details.

There are a lot of different factors that can come in to play when replacing an RV-6 wing.... it is not a plug it in and install the bolts type of repair.
 
JonJay said:
Wayne with Phlogiston is the expert on replacing the older matched drilled wing components. It is very likely he drilled the originals as he was doing that for Van's kit's in the day....
He has done many replacements.
Click to expand...

It was a while back, but a friend had Wayne build him a complete replacement wing.
 
RV-6 wing

I have the other wing of the RV-6 Reiley told you about. It is the left wing with damage to the leading edge at the wingtip. It will need a new rib and outer leading edge skin. It was donated to our group www.RockdaleTigerFlight and you are welcome to it with a donation to our group. It is at the Rockdale airport KRCK.

Jimmy Cox
 
RV6 one wing replacement

Hey guys thanks for all the help and info given, I really appreciate the help. As it turns out I lost the project to another buyer. I will keep hunting.

Thanks again

Dave
 
Match drill the spar

IF you pull the wing off and the spar is toast, you can cut the spar off just before the 1st inboard rib. This can be used to match drill it to another spar blank at someone like Wayne's shop.
It could be done by someone who has a good machine shop too but they need to be extremely careful.
If the tank hasn't been damaged you might be able to save that and match it to your new wing that you will have to build. I have built several sets of wings where the tanks were already made and fit them to the wing.
It's a PITA but you would have to build a new tank which can be more of a PITA....
Flaps and ailerons too if they did not get damaged.
One thing to check, if the spar is bent, check the centersection holes and make sure they did not get damaged or elongated.....


Aden
 
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