Wingtip Trolley

WINGTIP PLUG-IN SELF-RIGGING TROLLEY

I actually conceived this device before deciding to purchase the Europa kit, since my last project was an Avid Flyer with folding wings. This easy 5-minute unfolding has spoiled me for any other aircraft, as I can singlehandedly have my Avid off the trailer and into the air in a timed 8 minutes (assuming that I have preflighted it beforehand). I am hoping that with this device, the Europa will not take too much more time, and can also be done without assistance. This mod has been planned from the beginning and was incorporated into the wingtips at the time of attaching and glassing the tips. I don’t really know whether or how the XS wings could accommodate this mod.
The trolley plugs into tube sockets glassed into the wingtips as follows:
I carefully drilled a 7/8" hole about 10" deep using an aluminum tube with sawteeth filed into the end, through the carved wingtip and into the foam spar end aligned as closely as possible parallel with the CL of the spar, (Fig. 1).
Wingtip Socket

A 10" long aluminum tube of .875 diam. and .058 wall with the inner end plugged was floxed into this drilled hole. A partial rib constructed from upper to lower surfaces with floxed corners was formed before attaching the wingtips, and the outer end was trimmed even and reinforced with extra plies and a flox corner around the end and at the rib while glassing the tips. After cure, the tube hole was opened up, and is a fine fit for a ¾" 4130 tube (Fig. 2).
So, as you can see, the tube axis passes through the CL of the spar tip, which is convenient for structural considerations, but necessitates that the nav and strobe lights must be placed forward of the tube axis. This is no problem IF you planned for this in advance.
Wingtip Socket with Nav Lights

These wingtip tube sockets are a real convenience—a short ¾" tube can be slid in to act as a handle or as a bearing for rotating the wing when painting or filling. I have found neat white plastic hole plugs which will nicely finish and close the sockets when not in use, available from True-Value hardware stores. The trolley uses a pair of grocery-cart 5" caster wheels (McMaster-Carr) attached at the ends of a 2 ft. 4130 tube, which is welded perpendicular to the outer (1.5") of two telescoping square-section steel tubes, with 2 holes drilled at 1" intervals near the top. The inner 1.25" square tube has holes drilled at 2" intervals for adjusting the height with a ¼" pip pin and a 12" section of ¾" 4130 tubing welded so that it is perpendicular to the tube carrying the casters. This tube plugs into the wing sockets, and the height can thus be adjusted to the nearest inch (Figs. 3 & 4) Wingtip Trolley

Trolley in Action

The plug-in trolley also folds flat by rotating the inner square tube 90 degrees, so that it will fit flat and compact on the floor of your trunk (or boot). (Fig. 5). This rig has worked beautifully for singlehanded rigging on my concrete workshop floor, but has not been tried or proven in the real (bumpy and uneven) world!

Folded Up

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I actually conceived this device before deciding to purchase the Europa kit, since my last project was an Avid Flyer with folding wings. This easy 5-minute unfolding has spoiled me for any other aircraft, as I can singlehandedly have my Avid off the trailer and into the air in a timed 8 minutes (assuming that I have preflighted it beforehand). I am hoping that with this device, the Europa will not take too much more time, and can also be done without assistance. This mod has been planned from the beginning and was incorporated into the wingtips at the time of attaching and glassing the tips. I don’t really know whether or how the XS wings could accommodate this mod. The trolley plugs into tube sockets glassed into the wingtips as follows: I carefully drilled a 7/8" hole about 10" deep using an aluminum tube with sawteeth filed into the end, through the carved wingtip and into the foam spar end aligned as closely as possible parallel with the CL of the spar, (Fig. 1).
A 10" long aluminum tube of .875 diam. and .058 wall with the inner end plugged was floxed into this drilled hole. A partial rib constructed from upper to lower surfaces with floxed corners was formed before attaching the wingtips, and the outer end was trimmed even and reinforced with extra plies and a flox corner around the end and at the rib while glassing the tips. After cure, the tube hole was opened up, and is a fine fit for a ¾" 4130 tube (Fig. 2). So, as you can see, the tube axis passes through the CL of the spar tip, which is convenient for structural considerations, but necessitates that the nav and strobe lights must be placed forward of the tube axis. This is no problem IF you planned for this in advance.
These wingtip tube sockets are a real convenience—a short ¾" tube can be slid in to act as a handle or as a bearing for rotating the wing when painting or filling. I have found neat white plastic hole plugs which will nicely finish and close the sockets when not in use, available from True-Value hardware stores. The trolley uses a pair of grocery-cart 5" caster wheels (McMaster-Carr) attached at the ends of a 2 ft. 4130 tube, which is welded perpendicular to the outer (1.5") of two telescoping square-section steel tubes, with 2 holes drilled at 1" intervals near the top. The inner 1.25" square tube has holes drilled at 2" intervals for adjusting the height with a ¼" pip pin and a 12" section of ¾" 4130 tubing welded so that it is perpendicular to the tube carrying the casters. This tube plugs into the wing sockets, and the height can thus be adjusted to the nearest inch (Figs. 3 & 4)

The plug-in trolley also folds flat by rotating the inner square tube 90 degrees, so that it will fit flat and compact on the floor of your trunk (or boot). (Fig. 5). This rig has worked beautifully for singlehanded rigging on my concrete workshop floor, but has not been tried or proven in the real (bumpy and uneven) world!