Tricks 'n Tips

A page of one guy's answers to those little persistant questions in the life of a Challenger owner.

My solution to the 'how to jack up the airplane' problem. Cut a piece of 3/4" pipe to the angle of the gear legs. Weld same to the pad of a cheap bottle jack. To the angled top of the pipe, weld a 1 5/8" muffler clamp. The plane has to be more or less level (sawhorse or something under the tail) so the pipe will fit between the cross cables with the jack verticle. Muffler clamp against the brace on the bottom of the gear tube; nuts just finger tight. Up she goes. I think before I put it up on two of 'em I'd weld a 9 to 12" square plate to the bottom of the jacks for stability.
At right, close up of the business end of the jack.

Oil collects in the pleats of the air filter, especially if you're at idle for any length of time. Then it drips out and winds up on the tail feathers. This band of velcro holds a folded paper towel against the bottom of the filter when not flying which wicks the excess oil out of the filter. It also keeps dirt and dust off the filter when not in use. The 'remove before flight' flag is made from a strip of vinyl slicker (as in raincoat) material from the local fabric store with stick-on vinyl letters.

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