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Touring Motor Gliders Association (TMGA)

Suspend a Phoenix in a hangar?


Jefferson

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Is anyone aware of someone having built a rig to suspend a Phoenix from the rafters/beams in a hangar? I have two ships in my hangar now, and I’d like to suspend the Phoenix, but in such a way that I can quickly safely lower it, say with a chain hoist and frame with wide web straps….

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I am part of a glider club in MN that does this for regular gliders.  Given the geometry of the Phoenix, with the large canopy and the structure near the front and rear attachment points of the wings to the fuselage, I don't think this would work very well.  In addition, raising and lowering the gliders with an electric hoist was definitely a two or three man job.

There are companies that make mechanical plane lifts to do exactly what you want, that would work much better.  Here's one option, which appears to be tricycle gear only:  http://armaerospace.com/.  I would think that there would be a similar product out there that could handle a taildragger.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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  • 5 months later...
On 4/12/2022 at 1:46 AM, Robert said:

Andreas near Geneva, Europe has a beautiful solution for this!!

Robert

Robert, Any idea what this lift was originally built for?  I'd love to have something similar for a Phoenix and am assuming it has been modified from its original purpose.

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  • 2 months later...

This is a custom build solution. The original design was a stationary lift. I've developed the idea of a mobile solution, battery powered winch, with the company that built it in Germany. The builder deviated a bit from my suggested design on the legs I had simpler solution in mind. But overall, its working perfectly well. The towing tractor is awesome. Any questions, let me know. Happy New Year, Andreas

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A cheaper way would be to use the system that Pipistrel uses, although don't know the feasibility for the Phoenix..  They use small plates that go on the lift pins before the wings are installed at the root, then they can be retracted as needed.  27BE103C-36D9-461A-9E8C-74908CD4F4FA.jpeg.7bf88019b0eccd09ad8437e219865dfe.jpeg201B2602-359E-4A90-9F92-2D0CFE2BB2CA.jpeg.fec0faf48a2c08327b965e30973c7187.jpeg

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