Test fitting wings in the trailer

I needed a weekend away from work.  It was chilly and windy outside, but the clouds gave way to sunny skies.  Perfect weather for tackling some trailer tasks, toward a maiden flight this summer.

First up was bolting the third epoxied plywood to the frame.  This task was more painful than it should have been.  I had to remove the middle 4x4ft section and plane it down to allow the aft 4x8ft piece to bolt down.  I also had to chase several bolt holes with larger drill bits to get everything to bolt together.  I suspect the trailer changed shape slightly when welding in the second row of floor c-channel floorboards.  This would be a different project if the design was known from the beginning...

After working floors, I turned attention to the wing support mounts.  These could be made many different ways, but I had some leftover 1x1x1/16in square tube, so designed a small support (these are knee-knockers, so small is good).

After cutting six of these supports and clamping them in place, it was time for a test fit of the wings.  I've split the trailer height approximately in half, but needed to see that the wings would fit acceptably before welding anything in place.  With the struts still on and the ailerons not folding cleanly against the wing upper surface, it is a tight fit.

The struts, aileron linkage, and cabane all fold very nicely against the bottom of the wing.  However, the wing does not rest on them very well when laid flat.  The trailer-ride is going to be very bouncy and transfer a lot of loads into the wing structure, so they need to be well-supported.  For the next fit-check, I'll remove everything from the bottom of the wing and see if that is better supported.

After removing the wings, I tack-welded the supports in place (no more Argon again).  Joining these 1/8in and 1/16in pieces was fairly straightforward, and these welds look reasonable.  Perhaps my machine setup is just not powerful enough for welding 1/4in thick material of the frame.

Another random chore was to move the axle closer to the trailer center of gravity, since the addition of plywood floors changed the weight distribution dramatically.  Tongue weight was close to 100lbs.  With a helper, I unbolted the axle structure, slid it forward to a new pivot point, and drilled new mounting holes.  Tongue weight is probably 30-40lb now, which is reasonably close to 5-10% of the approximate 450lb trailer weight.

While drilling new holes for the axles, I did have access and opportunity to re-index the axles to a shallower angle, but did not take this opportunity.  I'd like to see how the trailer rides at its new heavier weight.  In the picture below, it's just one bolt to remove.

Trailer to do's are now:

• move the axle forward to re-balance
• index the axles to 12deg at 1G (skipping for now)
• figure out how Goat parts sit in the trailer
  
• weld in the wing support tabs
• drill for the wing support hitch-pins
• take another drive around the neighborhood
  
• finish weld the upper rail to the vertical supports
• take Goat for its first trip around the neighborhood
• create a rear door that can be quick-pinned in place
• UV paint on the ply decking 
  

Optional trailer to-do's:

• install and wire running lights on the sides
• add reflective tape on the sides
• figure out front/side/back walls