Jack point disappeared

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Lance Murray
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Lance Murray »

I’m confused. My airplane just has a bump in the composite in that area. Yours has something bonded to it?
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Rich
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Rich »

Lance Murray wrote:I’m confused. My airplane just has a bump in the composite in that area. Yours has something bonded to it?
The bump is in fact a metal fitting bonded to a bit of structure just inside composite skin. If you look at the picture I posted you will see that this structure also has a matching shape which bonds to the fitting. Over the years as the plane was jacked up and down, the seam between this fitting and the composite skin becomes apparent and the paint rubs off the fitting, showing the metal underneath.

It's possible that somewhere along the line Diamond changed the design somehow, but this is how mine is constructed.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Steve
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Steve »

Rich wrote:
Lance Murray wrote:I’m confused. My airplane just has a bump in the composite in that area. Yours has something bonded to it?
The bump is in fact a metal fitting bonded to a bit of structure just inside composite skin. If you look at the picture I posted you will see that this structure also has a matching shape which bonds to the fitting. Over the years as the plane was jacked up and down, the seam between this fitting and the composite skin becomes apparent...
My airplane (which is older than Rich's), has the same design. Over the years, a tiny circumferential crack around the jack point is visible when the airplane is supported by the jacking points. Otherwise, not apparent. I have always used pads between the jacks and the jack points. I made them from a folded cotton surgical towel, and after the first use, they have taken on the shape of the jack points and center on them automatically. No paint erosion on mine - they look new.

The other homemade item I use to reduce paint damage when the aircraft has its annual are 2 cardboard sleeves placed on the vertical stabilizer slots where the rudder balance weight is. They allow easy rudder removal without paint damage.
DSCN3003.jpg
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Last edited by Steve on Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Rich
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Rich »

I use pads on mine also BUT I'm not the only one who has jacked the plane up over the years.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Rich
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Rich »

So this is what the jack points look like unattached:
DA40 Jack Points - 1 Euro coin is for scale.
DA40 Jack Points - 1 Euro coin is for scale.
DA40 Jack Points.jpg (92.62 KiB) Viewed 1967 times
The seem to be aluminum. The super-secret part number is DV2-1200-00-02
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Rich
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Rich »

Now on to the next step - which adhesive to use. I spoke with Paul at Diamond Tech Support. In the field, he says they recommend Terostat 9380. If not available, then a "high quality silicon/polymer adhesive" would be the thing.

Naturally this stuff seems to be unobtanium in the U.S. or sold in like 5-gallon buckets - maybe. Does anyone know a source or a suitable replacement? The idea is that it needs to bond yet have a bit of give, due to the nature of the types of stresses these parts undergo.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Rich
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Rich »

One of the difficulties of these jack points is they're not well suited for use by the very common Meyers jacks. The problem is the jack pint is too shallow and there isn't much room to allow for misalignment as you jack up one side, then the other, then back again. Note in the picture that the outer edges of the jack can wind up binding against the skin as the plane tilts this way and that while the jacks are being raised or lowered. I've been putting a bit of rag or whatever between the jack and the wing but that doesn't really help this much, as the material, while it boosts the jack point up a bit, doesn't really increase the clearance.

Henceforth I'll be trying this trick: Putting a 1/8" thick x 1-1/4" OD x 1/4" ID rubber washer as a flexible shim between the jack point and the jack. This significantly increases the distance between the upper jack surface and the lower wing skin.
DA40 Jack shim.jpg
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Rich
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Rich »

Well, thit.

Today, after many weeks of the plane being trapped by the avalanche/glacier up against the door, I went to go flying. But first, time to check/inflate the tires. To make this easier, I typically put the plane up on jacks. The problem is, I still hadn't installed the replacement jack point because I still wasn't confident I had the appropriate adhesive. No problem, says I, I'll just put the jack point in place, jack it up and remove the little bugger when I'm done.

All went well, except the "remove the little bugger when I'm done". The darn thing stayed in place under the wing with no success removing it. The flanges are exactly flush with the wing skin so you can't get a grip on it.

OK, I'll go flying anyway. It may or may not stay on but I cleverly bought an extra one many months ago and I'll deal with it later. So I fly around in the nice blue winter sky for awhile. A few turbulence bumps from time to time, an almost-paint-job landing (per usual 8-) ), I taxi up to the hangar and it's still there :?: . Maybe it matters little what adhesive I use. If I can only find a way to get it out so I can glue it back in :scratch: . Note the picture below. The paint from its circumference chipped away when the old jack point went to jack point heaven (assuming a virtuous life).
Jack Point.jpg
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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astaib
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by astaib »

Hi,

I just received the jack point caps that missed, but I want to be sure of the way to bond them to the wing.

Any advices?

Thanks.

Arnaud.
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Rich
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Re: Jack point disappeared

Post by Rich »

astaib wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 1:04 pm Hi,

I just received the jack point caps that missed, but I want to be sure of the way to bond them to the wing.

Any advices?

Thanks.

Arnaud.
The unglued jack point finally disappeared and I put another one on there, using a sealant with similar characteristics to the Terostat discussed before. Put the goop in, stick jack point in place and compressed it into place using a jack, leaving it there overnight.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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