Houston, TX, Modifying the trailer.

Mar 27, 2012

John B's place, Baytown, Texas.

I'd met John Bolding on the internet and then at Oshkosh, through his work on the Legal Eagle.  He builds the fuselages and makes up the kits for the LE.  When he heard what I was planning, he kindly offered his workshop for my use to convert the trailer.  Very welcome.

The trailer sure did look nice and compact and streamlined.  But maybe a bit too compact???   It was advertised as 24ft, and confirmed by the seller in an email as 24ft inside, but when I measured, it turns out that it's a bit less than 20 ft  inside....  The aircraft is reported to measure a bit more than 19’6” so it’s going to be tight….. if it fits at all…..  Also not as high inside as promised, nor as wide between wheel wells….  No chance of finding another trailer so will just have to go with it….. 

So spent the next two weeks modifying the trailer.  Crawling around on rough concrete, in Houston weather, trying to use a stick welder in confined overhead positions, modifying the frame.  Never was a good stick welder.....  Lots of holes burned in my shirt, and lots of fowl language.....  Hot and humid, with sore eyes from sweat running down.....  Reinforced the frame and the shell, then cut off the curved rear portion and hinged it to come down and roll away on wheels, to allow entry of the aircraft.

This is what I started with.

I cut the framework out from under the tail,
and strengthened the back frame of the chassis.

Then made a new framework under the tail.

This is 1" x 1/8" flat steel riveted to the shell of the main body.

Then cut slots in this 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" steel angle so it could bend to fit the contour,
then welded it to the flat steel.
This made a very strong frame to support the shell,
and a strong point to attach the aft portion.

I added this structure to support that frame above.

Then I used an angle grinder with a fine cut-off disc
to cut the tail section away from the main body.
An exciting time!

This is the original frame as pat of the tail section.
The spacer was added to bridge the gap to the new frame on the main section.

Two hinge pins were welded to the back of the main frame

Matching hinge tangs were welded to the tail section framework.

The hinge tangs hook into the hinge pins.

A block and tackle pulls it closed.
Then six bolts hold it secure.

The jockey wheels are positioned such that the tail section
is at the point of balance when tilted back.
It weighs about 200 lbs, but is easy to roll around this way.

The jockey wheels stow like this.

So, all the while, working with doubts that the aircraft might not fit in this space after all this work.......  Just 2" too short would be a real problem........  No way to know until I get to try the aircraft, still in storage in southern Mississippi.....

The good part was lunches with JB and friends; JB knows all the best eating places -  especially Texas BBQ ribs, gulf sea food, etc.

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