Jeff's RV-6 Site
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Jeff's RV-6 Site |
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Wingtip Lockers The old-style wingtips have a lot of internal volume which can be utilized to store large, bulky but lightweight items. Many others have done this as well, I certainly didn't invent the idea. I'm just passing on my own design. I stole the idea for the hidden hinge from an RV-8 at Oshkosh '04 (I forget his name and N#) and modified it to fit my needs. The door itself is cut out from the wingtip, and reinforced with fiberglass. The X shaped reinforcement is necessary to stiffen the door up. I used some small strips of balsa, others have used drinking straws. The flange is a piece of .032 Al riveted and bonded in to the interior, and all rivets are countersunk just slightly below the surface, then covered up with body filler. I also made a bulkhead to keep items from moving forward and interfering with the strobe power supply. The bulkhead is hard to see in the photos but it is just forward of the main wing spar. I put this in the left wing only; the right wingtip is for the internal antennas. I use it to store a canopy cover, light weight tie downs, chocks, and fuel tester. For tip-up types, it's also a good place to keep a towel or squeegee to clean standing water off of the canopy prior to opening.
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