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Patrick Thompson: I had exactly the same thing on my 1946 415-C. The top wing bolt needed to be tightened one cotter pin hole, or one-sixth turn. I found my loose bolt problem when I was checking the damping action of the main gear. It's quite easy to pick one side of the plane up to lift a wheel right off the ground. If you can, hold it there for a few seconds then drop it by letting go of the wing. This will not hurt anything as it is the equivalent of landing an empty plane from six inches up. My landing gear had no damping action at all, as I suspected from several landings I had made. To get back to the problem of the loose wing, this could be caused from numerous drop-in landings. Because this bolt clamps the wing spar to the fuselage spar, or the other way around, being tight is very important. These bolts are overkill and would most likely never break, but will cause wear if left loose. .005 clearance at the bolt transfers to about one quarter inch at the wing tip. If you can't get the cotter pin through the nut when it's really tight, you may have to use thin shim washers to get the holes to line up when tight. Mine was fine when tight and I doubt you have much to worry about. If your gear is the same as mine, check damping action to see if it's alright. A bar through the knee joint, jack up the bar till the wheel is well clear of the floor. Lay on your back and see how quickly you can lift the wheel. If it just easily clunks up and down, you may be out of oil. I would say this is the problem that starts the wing bolts moving. I hope this may help you some. Just don't tell your passengers that your wings come loose, it makes them a little uneasy. Jon Page 415-C #2675 __________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
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