Tipsy Nipper

Hi and greetings from Tasmania Australia. Does anyone know where I can buy 2 new wing bolts? They are 10 inches long and my aircraft parts guy says he can't get them (and they are metric????) I am not game to re-use the ones that came out as they are not in great shape.
Also what torque setting do I need to tighten the new ones?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers Ross

Hi Ross,

There is an LAA mandatory to replace or crack test the wing bolts. Bolts of that length are like rocking horse ordure (they are imperial 5/16 if I remember correctly - which is very close to 8mm, hence any metric confusion). Because of the difficulty of getting this length Nipper aircraft had some studs made to replace the bolts (nuts at both ends) and they may have some in stock. I'd suggest approaching them through the parent website which is:
http://www.airweld.co.uk
I've found that going directly to
info@nipperaircraft.co.uk
doesn't necessarily get a reply.
Best bet would be to phone on the numbers given on the website.

You will be operating under Aus, rules so you may find that you can source 5/16 or 8mm rod of an equivalent spec to AGS or NAS bolt material and have a pair of studs made up if Airweld can't help.

Torque limits according to the Mk3 constructional manual - between 1.15 to 1.60 kgm (100 to 140 in, lbs)

Good Luck

Jim

ps. in extremis I have the bolts removed from my Nipper. They haven't been crack tested. I had no facility to leave the aircraft with the wing off or the bolts out so I bought a pair of studs and did a straight swap.

Thanks indeed Jim,
Very helpful response, I will give them a try.
Kind Regards Ross

Hi All,
I removed the old wing bolts and they were in poor condition, out of round mostly. I suspect this was caused by a previous owner who tried to dig up worms using the wing tanks. I ordered a set of replacement studs from Airweld via email and they were on my doorstep in Tasmania (Australia) forthwith. Fantastic service.

Excellent result.

I never bothered to get my old bolts crack tested as they had been installed dry and had surface corrosion, enough to consider them scrap. The new studs were installed with liberal applications of JC54 jointing compound.

Good Luck

Jim