The bolts that hold our wings on.

SixPapaCharlie

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I've determined I'm an aviation hypochondriac.

Ever since the EARU arrow incident, I swear I'll be flying along and see my wing wiggle out of the corner of my eye.

I turn to look at it and of course it stops wiggling.

I had some down time. Imagine that. So for grins I decided to open an access panel and get some peace of mind.

I couldn't wait to find a sea of bolts and cotter pins.

2 bolts.

This is my wing spar. There is a bolt in front and one in back. They hold the wing tube to the spar. I don't see any attach points near the LE or TE. In fact their is a gap all the way around the wing by design. Nothing tightly affixing the wing to the body.

I get that it it is engineered and even over engineered but maybe a cotter pin or another couple bolts... Even a bit of safety wire...

This thing is going to be full on flapping out of the corner of my eye now.

I'm fully convinced if I ever designed a plane it would be too heavy to get off the ground.

20180628_102053.jpg
 
At least it’s not plastic!:eek:
 
That bolt looks like it is there to keep the wing from sliding out of the fuselage, I'm doubting it takes any load so I think you are safe, I'd be more concerned about that big crack in the spar...…. just kidding. But since that incident I shake each wing and each elevator to make sure there is no wiggle each time I preflight.
 
That bolt looks like it is there to keep the wing from sliding out of the fuselage, I'm doubting it takes any load so I think you are safe, I'd be more concerned about that big crack in the spar...…. just kidding. But since that incident I shake each wing and each elevator to make sure there is no wiggle each time I preflight.

I do too! I kind of checked to make sure no one's watching when I do it. I feel silly doing it. But every flight LOL
 
Going way way way back and from memory I believe that an A325 3/4" bolt will withstand up to 7600lbs of shear force. 1/2" was 5300.

You're plenty safe.
 
I believe in it
You shouldn't. It's nothing more than a liberal conspiracy.

Those bolts (I suspect) hold the spar from sliding in and out and from spinning round and round. The main thing that keeps the wings from folding up like the four of diamonds would be the hole that the spar tube sticks into.
 
I think you need a class in mechanical engineering & design for stress.
 
That bolt looks like it is there to keep the wing from sliding out of the fuselage, I'm doubting it takes any load so I think you are safe, I'd be more concerned about that big crack in the spar...…. just kidding. But since that incident I shake each wing and each elevator to make sure there is no wiggle each time I preflight.

Doesn't everybody wiggle their wings, ailerons, flaps, horizontal stab, and elevators as part of their pre-flight?? I thought that was just a normal thing. I wiggle about everything that is wiggleable. I'm not aerohypocondriac, but it makes good sense to make sure your shiznit is solidly attached.

Of course many of us 182 drivers rock the doodoo out of our wings to free up any water that may collect in fuel bladder wrinkles anyway.
 
Do Cirrus wings wiggle? What holds them on?
 
Doesn't everybody wiggle their wings, ailerons, flaps, horizontal stab, and elevators as part of their pre-flight?? I thought that was just a normal thing. I wiggle about everything that is wiggleable. I'm not aerohypocondriac, but it makes good sense to make sure your shiznit is solidly attached.

Of course many of us 182 drivers rock the doodoo out of our wings to free up any water that may collect in fuel bladder wrinkles anyway.

I wiggle the mandatory items, like ailerons, elevators, rudders, wheel pants, spinners and I used to occasionally give the wings a shake, but now I do it every time, should probably be on the checklist, but I don't think if the manufacturer did that it would inspire confidence.

In reality though, that Embry Riddle wing was probably tight, no wiggle, until it wasn't, something strong enough to lift the airplane probably didn't move until it completely failed.
 
Am I the only one that sees what is missing up in there? Where is the duct tape?
 
Doesn't everybody wiggle their wings, ailerons, flaps, horizontal stab, and elevators as part of their pre-flight?? I thought that was just a normal thing. I wiggle about everything that is wiggleable. I'm not aerohypocondriac, but it makes good sense to make sure your shiznit is solidly attached.

Of course many of us 182 drivers rock the doodoo out of our wings to free up any water that may collect in fuel bladder wrinkles anyway.
You didn't wiggle the cowl flaps now didja? (Too soon)?
 
Forget the bolt, you’ve got intergranular corrosion all over the spar. Replace ASAP!
 
In reality though, that Embry Riddle wing was probably tight, no wiggle, until it wasn't, something strong enough to lift the airplane probably didn't move until it completely failed.
true, but there was a video out there of a wiggling Arrow wing, and then a follow-up video I posted that showed which holes had been opened up from wear

Do Cirrus wings wiggle? What holds them on?
it is a solid one-piece carbon fiber structure. The fuselage sits on top of it so to speak. Compared to metal wings there's a fair amount of flex in it if you wiggle it from the tip
 
Actually those bolts need to be inspected I think every 500hrs. From what I remember on my Cheetah the inspection made you change the bolts with new ones. There is much debate as to the interpretation of the AD for those bolts. Refer to the Grumman Gang to muddy the waters further....
 
Actually those bolts need to be inspected I think every 500hrs. From what I remember on my Cheetah the inspection made you change the bolts with new ones. There is much debate as to the interpretation of the AD for those bolts. Refer to the Grumman Gang to muddy the waters further....

I believe they have to be replaced once and then inspected every 100 hours.
 
I've seen (removed and installed new) the two bolts that hold a Cessna 182 wing on, okay four if you count the strut. That's why I'd rather fly my Cherokee.
 
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I've determined I'm an aviation hypochondriac.

Ever since the EARU arrow incident, I swear I'll be flying along and see my wing wiggle out of the corner of my eye.

I turn to look at it and of course it stops wiggling.

I had some down time. Imagine that. So for grins I decided to open an access panel and get some peace of mind.

I couldn't wait to find a sea of bolts and cotter pins.

2 bolts.

This is my wing spar. There is a bolt in front and one in back. They hold the wing tube to the spar. I don't see any attach points near the LE or TE. In fact their is a gap all the way around the wing by design. Nothing tightly affixing the wing to the body.

I get that it it is engineered and even over engineered but maybe a cotter pin or another couple bolts... Even a bit of safety wire...

This thing is going to be full on flapping out of the corner of my eye now.

I'm fully convinced if I ever designed a plane it would be too heavy to get off the ground.

View attachment 64465

At least you don’t have to worry about it on your Cirrus. That is a single carry through spar and beefy as hell. No in flight failures in the 7000+ Cirrus fleet and millions of fleet hours.

Here is a nice short video of a wing replacement on an SR22
 
I've determined I'm an aviation hypochondriac.

Ever since the EARU arrow incident, I swear I'll be flying along and see my wing wiggle out of the corner of my eye.

I turn to look at it and of course it stops wiggling.

I had some down time. Imagine that. So for grins I decided to open an access panel and get some peace of mind.

I couldn't wait to find a sea of bolts and cotter pins.

2 bolts.

This is my wing spar. There is a bolt in front and one in back. They hold the wing tube to the spar. I don't see any attach points near the LE or TE. In fact their is a gap all the way around the wing by design. Nothing tightly affixing the wing to the body.

I get that it it is engineered and even over engineered but maybe a cotter pin or another couple bolts... Even a bit of safety wire...

This thing is going to be full on flapping out of the corner of my eye now.

I'm fully convinced if I ever designed a plane it would be too heavy to get off the ground.

View attachment 64465

You need to take a ride in B-787. You won’t even notice your wings flapping after that
 
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