Those who have to rig their aircraft look with envy at those who are able to keep their aircraft fully rigged, and those who own a Streak or Shadow know only too well, that without an accomplice, the aircraft is virtually impossible to rig. One solution is the Crosbie folding wing which certainly allows single handed rigging, but it is still no substitute for an aircraft kept fully rigged.
My Streak was kept in its trailer in a small barn on a farm strip whilst the owners Shadow was fully rigged and could be moved in and out by means of a trolley. During last winter the trolley broke which was to be the start of an ingenious system which allowed both aircraft to be housed within the barn fully rigged.
It is unlikely that there will be another barn of similar dimensions to the one at our strip, however the principle adopted could easily be adapted to other buildings. The barn measures approximately 60 feet long x 25 feet wide with a doorway measuring some 24 feet along one side. Clearly with a door of such dimensions it is not possible to get a Shadow in straight, however a Shadow would go in sideways. The old trolley had three wheels and a mind of its own with hangar rash occurring on more than one occasion. The aim therefore was to develop a trolley that would follow the exact same tracks every time. Various designs were considered with the aid of a plan view cutout of a Shadow and a scale drawing of the barn.
The winning formula was to use a T shaped trolley which could be lowered to allow the aircraft on and off, and raised to allow the trolley to run on its two wheels. An ingenious mechanism was devised whereby the wheel and axle are offset.
By inserting a lever into a bar, which is attached to the axle, it is possible with fairly little effort to raise the trolley on which the aircraft sits. A pin is then inserted when in the raised position to hold the trolley up. Doing this to both wheels allows the trolley to move. To ensure the trolley followed the same line, the main bar of the trolley is hinged to the door pillar.
As there is a slight bit of overlap with the wings of the two aircraft as one is rolled out with the other in the barn, the Shadow is stored with one wing cocked up, whilst the Streak is moved off the trolley once inside the barn.
So, quite simply the procedure is as follows to get my Streak out. Remove the wing and fuselage covers – birds love barns, particularly a Little Owl! Move the Streak onto the trolley and fasten the nose wheel to the car jack at the front with a bungee. A 56lb weight is left in the nose of the aircraft to ensure its sits on all three wheels rather than the tailskid. Lower the wheels thereby lighting the trolley, and then raise the car jack such that the tailskid is a couple of inches from the ground. This is necessary to allow the tail to pass under wing of the other aircraft. This procedure is not necessary if the other aircraft is already out of the barn. Attach a rope to the trolley which allows the trolley to be pulled round without stressing the aircraft, whilst I walk round with it near the tail, to ensure it passes under the wing the other machine.
When the Streak is sideways in the doorway the car jack is lowered, raising the tail of the Streak to ensure it does not catch on the ground as it goes out of the door. The trolley is then pulled outside, the bungee removed, the wheels on the trolley raised lowering the trolley and the aircraft pulled off. Total time taken 5 minutes, and guaranteed no hangar rash.
My thanks go to Frank Claydon and Gordon Sargent for engineering this masterpiece. It even has the admiration of that master of ingenuity – Danny Crosbie.
John Lord
Last updated 30th December 1998
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