AA5 Puncture

[prettygrumman]

Arived at airport last week to fid the starboard tyre flat as apancake. Wouldn`t accept any air at all.Called out the mantenance bods who struggled for an hour to get the wheel off the ground.Eventually two guys under the wing and one to remove said wheel was the remedy.Isn`t this totally ludicrous,no jacking point,-nothing.
Anyone got any ideas how to JACK up an AA5?

[jxk]

A trolley jack under the stub axle!

[prettygrumman]

Thanks but not possible,you cant get it low enough

[jxk]

How about removing a bit of the rubber streamlining and putting a clamp on the spring and use a trolley jack against that. And as along term thing make a tapered U shaped piece metal with a rubber lining and a spigot on it, put this around the spring and then jack against that?

[prettygrumman]

That sounds like it might work.Amazing this has never cropped up before,but as usual tyres and inner tubes are normally done in the hangar when in for work or inspection.
Basically poor design along with those damned brakes for steering.:*:*

[jxk]

The same problem exists for most aircraft eg Cessna, Piper etc.. Perhaps an opportunity for Dragons Den???

[stiknruda]

When I can't get a trolley jack under the stub axle, I find that a length of 4x2 timber or 2" thick walled box section steel makes an ideal lever for lifting the wheel high enough for an assistant to slide a block under the tyre. I then put the lever away and use a trolley jack on the stub axle.

The heavier the aeroplane - the longer the lever!






edited for speling

[Yankee]

If you have a early AA5 with no main leg rubber fairings then you can purchase a special jack pad which fits over the leg to axle bolts. Otherwise try and get your engineers to make something like this.
Steelebrook Aviation Easy Lift Jack System for Grumman American AA1 and AA5 Aircraft (http://www.steelebrook.com/easylift1.htm)

[Maoraigh1]

Would a car scissors jack go low enough?

[BackPacker]

I have witnessed quite a few flat tires lately at my home base due to the new antiskid layer on the runway in combination with less than very gentle landings. It's a controlled field so we always have some firemen attending the scene, who's main job it seems to be is to put their backs under the wings to put a little bogey-like-thingy under the flat tire. (Basically a flat metal plate with four swivel wheels on the corners.) They can then tow the aircraft to the shop, where the same backs lift the aircraft off the fire-department owned bogey, to be swapped for the shop-owned bogey. Or to put the aircraft on blocks or jacks straight away.

The wing makes a good lever by itself, particularly if you lift the outboard side.

Haven't seen how they do this with high-wing aircraft though.

[SkyHawk-N]

The same problem exists for most aircraft eg Cessna, Piper etc.. Perhaps an opportunity for Dragons Den???

No problem jacking a 172, there are built-in jack pads under each main gear leg.

[jxk]

"No problem jacking a 172, there are built-in jack pads under each main gear leg."

Are you referring to the later 172s with the 'springomatic spigotty thingy' under the step? I don't think the earlier Cessna model with the flat spring u/c have this.

[prettygrumman]

Thanks all for the interesting replies.I notice no one took me up on the brake issue
though.Back in the summer!!!!!! I had to get towed of the runway as the left brake
seized on.Two weeks later it did the same thing on the taxiway.

[Malcom]

Jack aircraft in accordance with the maintenance manual!

Use the removable jack fitting which fits to the leg, or use a jack under the two fuselage points specified the the manual.The gadget Yankee found is just what you want.



Interesting point for a Part M / CAMO thread hijack!

Place yourself in the infamous controlled environment, all you would have to do is.........on a Sunday afternoon.............

tell your CAMO you have a flat tyre,
tell Maintenance you have a flat tyre,
get your CAMO to approve to the maintenance people to do the job, audit if necessary before approving, especially to ensure they have the appropriate jacking equipment to hand,
get the CAMO to raise the necessary workpack to do the job and pass it on to the maintenance - along with the maintenance manual data telling you how to jack up an AA5 and change the tyre,
get the maintenance people to do the job,
get the maintenance to tell the CAMO work is done and released to service,
get the CAMO to review the work done and the release to servive,update your records, audit if necessary,
get the CAMO to tell you its all done and then you can go flying at your convienience.

You can just see its all going to work easy-peasy!

Place yourself outside the controlled environment and just do it yourself?

[L-Band]

Try this for a jacking adapter--------------
Jacks from Aircraft Spruce (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/to/jacks.html)

L

[Crash one]

Quote:
Would a car scissors jack go low enough?

Yes. Security would depend on the shape of jack & stub axle, but I used one on my Emeraude.

[JDS_AA5]

Very late to the party on this one, but may be useful for someone in the future. How about one of these?: Fresh Aero Aviation Easy Lift Jack System for Grumman American AA1 and AA5 Aircraft (http://www.steelebrook.com/easylift1.htm) designed specifically for lifting the AA5 in the event of puncture etc.

[Ni Thomas]

When I last changed the tyres on mine, I just made a simple hard wood (oak) block shaped to fit nicely over the UC leg/axle attachment bolts and used a hydraulic jack (but a scissor jack would have done just as well).
Yankee's suggested manufactured blockthingy does nicely too - Mine was cheaper!