The Murphy Builders Site

I bought Rebel #242 from the previous owners who listed it as

75% complete. I have been working on it in a small space until

Sunday when I finally put the wings on the plane. What I find is

that the wing struts were cut to a length of 65 3/8 inches before the

14 degree angel was cut off each end. So the overall length on one

side is 64

HI GARY

that really sucks, i would go after previous owner to replace struts,
don't
know how you would fix this other than new parts,

mike#007

-----Original Message-----
From: mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:mike.davis@dcsol.com]On Behalf Of
Gary Gustafson
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 2:25 PM
To: rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: Rebel Wing Strut Question


I bought Rebel #242 from the previous owners who listed it as

75% complete. I have been working on it in a small space until

Sunday when I finally put the wings on the plane. What I find is

that the wing struts were cut to a length of 65 3/8 inches before the

14 degree angel was cut off each end. So the overall length on one

side is 64

Hi Gary !

That is indeed a bummer !! The best fix would be to get new
struts - this certainly would cause all kinds of problems, as you
suggest... Poor (negative) stability, problems with fatigue on
control horns, control movement problems, and a few fuel flow
issues !!

It might be possible to use a longer metal end piece -
best to check with the factory on that, though - this is a
VERY important piece of the structure !! ;-) :-)

.....bobp

-------------------------------orig.-------------------------
On Wednesday 21 September 2005 02:24 pm, Gary Gustafson wrote:
[quote]I bought Rebel #242 from the previous owners who listed it as

75% complete. I have been working on it in a small space until

Sunday when I finally put the wings on the plane. What I find is

that the wing struts were cut to a length of 65 3/8 inches before the

14 degree angel was cut off each end. So the overall length on one

side is 64

Yes it is a bummer. The thing about it was that they were very well made
with evenly spaced holes in a line and the attachment points lined up
perfectly. Can not go after the previous owners as one died and the
other
was the minority owner. The plane was sold as there was no one to work
on it
any more. Anyway I got a good deal. Here is what Robin Dyck at Murphy
says
for others that may encounter the same thing.

Hi Gary,

I see no other way than to replace the lift struts.

The W-147 is normally shipped at 133.5

G'day Gary !

REPLACE the struts !!!

If the seller won't "come to the party " ( replace them for you) ....
then BUY them yourself !

The wings HAVE to have dihedral , NOT ANhedral ( angled down) ....
otherwise you will run out of fuel to the engine - even though it is
there, IN the tank !!!!!

Rick
541R
----- Original Message -----
From: Gary Gustafson
To: rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 4:24 AM
Subject: Rebel Wing Strut Question


I bought Rebel #242 from the previous owners who listed it as

75% complete. I have been working on it in a small space until

Sunday when I finally put the wings on the plane. What I find is

that the wing struts were cut to a length of 65 3/8 inches before the

14 degree angel was cut off each end. So the overall length on one

side is 64

Hi Gary

Certainly longer strut fittings could be engineered but I'd guess they
might have to extend farther into the hollow strut material. Non
standard parts would likely put off a prospective purchaser a lot more
than the price of new materials. I know I'd be asking about who designed
them and who manufactured them.

Having just recently built a set of struts I would suggest that if you
want the satisfaction of knowing it was done right and have all the bolt
holes line up you might consider new strut end fittings as well ;(
It would not be easy to locate the holes in the outer strut material
other than by drilling small holes and hours of filing and even then the
holes are going to be somewhat out of round and there is risk of messing
up the new strut material... Ideally you want the bolts to share the
load rather than have just one or two take the load until something
deforms or stretches. Of course new end fittings would complicate the
AN6 bolt holes though. I don't know if I mentioned it here but I found
that a 0.002" undersize pin reamer was about right for the AN4 bolts and
0.003 undersize about right for the AN6 end bolts.

Ken






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I have at least 6 of the upper strut fittings (the forked one) and I'm not
sure about bottom ones..will have to look in case your looking for a
savings. Ask MAM for their price and I'll beat it to move a few.

As for the strut coming at 133.5"....if they cut if for you...you'll likely
end up back in the same boat. It is also available in full 12' 6 " Lengths @
~ $25cdn/ft Get them to cut one of those in half and ship to you so you can
customize exactly to your needs.

Wayne

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken" <klehman@albedo.net>
To: <rebel-builders@dcsol.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 9:11 PM
Subject: Re: Rebel Wing Strut Question

Hi Gary

Certainly longer strut fittings could be engineered but I'd guess they
might have to extend farther into the hollow strut material. Non
standard parts would likely put off a prospective purchaser a lot more
than the price of new materials. I know I'd be asking about who designed
them and who manufactured them.

Having just recently built a set of struts I would suggest that if you
want the satisfaction of knowing it was done right and have all the bolt
holes line up you might consider new strut end fittings as well ;(
It would not be easy to locate the holes in the outer strut material
other than by drilling small holes and hours of filing and even then the
holes are going to be somewhat out of round and there is risk of messing
up the new strut material... Ideally you want the bolts to share the
load rather than have just one or two take the load until something
deforms or stretches. Of course new end fittings would complicate the
AN6 bolt holes though. I don't know if I mentioned it here but I found
that a 0.002" undersize pin reamer was about right for the AN4 bolts and
0.003 undersize about right for the AN6 end bolts.

Ken






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I ordered new struts from MAM yesterday and did consider ordering another
set of brackets but have opted to build a jig to locate strut end fittings
on outside of strut and drill outside set of holes. Then will locate the end
fittings inside and drill the holes on the other side. Will take some time
to get the alignment but people in shop next door believe they can do it.
Thanks for the thought.

-----Original Message-----
From: mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of Ken
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 9:12 PM
To: rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: Rebel Wing Strut Question

Hi Gary

Certainly longer strut fittings could be engineered but I'd guess they
might have to extend farther into the hollow strut material. Non
standard parts would likely put off a prospective purchaser a lot more
than the price of new materials. I know I'd be asking about who designed
them and who manufactured them.

Having just recently built a set of struts I would suggest that if you
want the satisfaction of knowing it was done right and have all the bolt
holes line up you might consider new strut end fittings as well ;(
It would not be easy to locate the holes in the outer strut material
other than by drilling small holes and hours of filing and even then the
holes are going to be somewhat out of round and there is risk of messing
up the new strut material... Ideally you want the bolts to share the
load rather than have just one or two take the load until something
deforms or stretches. Of course new end fittings would complicate the
AN6 bolt holes though. I don't know if I mentioned it here but I found
that a 0.002" undersize pin reamer was about right for the AN4 bolts and
0.003 undersize about right for the AN6 end bolts.

Ken






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An added concern then will be that even the one 3/16" factory pilot hole
(the hole farthest into the strut for the AN4) was not perfectly
perpendicular on mine. And the holes that I carefully drilled with a
drill press are not perfectly perpendicular either as most bits wander
somewhat with a hole that deep. Pretty much means that any jigging will
be approximate only.
Ken

Gary Gustafson wrote:

I ordered new struts from MAM yesterday and did consider ordering another
set of brackets but have opted to build a jig to locate strut end fittings
on outside of strut and drill outside set of holes. Then will locate the end
fittings inside and drill the holes on the other side. Will take some time
to get the alignment but people in shop next door believe they can do it.
Thanks for the thought.

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