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#347983
Hello: I fly an Enterprise Wings Aeros 165. I would like to replace the flying wires. Is there a way to get the original dimensions, other than making new ones simply using the old ones as samples?
Thank you in advance.
#348007
ebava wrote:Hello: I fly an Enterprise Wings Aeros 165. I would like to replace the flying wires. Is there a way to get the original dimensions, other than making new ones simply using the old ones as samples?
Thank you in advance.
Enrique,
. . . . . . . :welcome: to the HG forum! Pull up a lawnchair at the Campfire, swaps some tales, and be among friends here.

You do not say where you are located. If you can locate any of the shop people working at Enterprise Wings, they may have such information. Good luck; your glider was made around 1991.
http://www.delta-club-82.com/bible/97-h ... r-aero.htm

If I were you, I would think long and hard about getting new cables for a glider that old. Unless that sail has seen very little sun, and the tubes are all in fine shape in terms of corrosion, you might be better served by a newer design.

If you make a decision which some here may not agree upon, you would be wise to make a template for the flying wires, using the existing cables. Preferably this template is a single piece of angle iron, 1"x1" (2,5cmX2,5cm) or larger, and longer than your longest flying wire. Set a bolt through the angle iron at one end, and use it for all of the flying wires. Set a separate bolt through the angle iron, at the exact lengths of the nosewires, sidewires, and tailwires. The bolt holes at the end of each old wire should fit exactly over the correct bolts, and the new wires should fit, exactly the same way. The new wires should be true to your template there, no matter what company makes your new wires.

Everybody should make a cable template, when it is time to replace the flying wires, because mistakes can happen with anybody. That same template can also be used to verify the length of replacement downtubes, bolt-hole-to-bolt-hole, if you set a bolt in the template for the downtubes' length before they get bent or broken.

Top wires can be duplicated in the same way, but they are not so critical. A wooden board template is adequate, which you can construct when needed, using the old top wires. Top wires should be replaced maybe half as often as bottom wires, unless you fly in wild air on a regular basis.

In the USA, NorthWing may be able to duplicate your old cables, so talk with them if you live in North America. You would need to mail in the old cables, and if they use uncommon hardware, the old cables may get destroyed in the process. That is why you need to make a template first, so you can always be sure the new cables are correct in length. Contact NorthWings:
http://www.northwing.com/liberty-hang-glider.htm

Australian HG companies may also be able to help, if you live there.

You should not fault any HG company which refuses to make new cables for that old glider. You might even want to thank them, one day.

:mrgreen:
By ebava
#349336
Thank you, Red for your thoughtful reply. I live in Portland, OR, USHPA #56257.
The glider is still in airworthy condition, and I have been flying it regularly.

I am saving for a newer wing, but for the time being, this is the one I use.
Regarding the wires: is there any allowance made for the cables having stretched by use? Should not the new cables be a tad shorter, say, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 inch?

The template suggestion is very good. I will make one right away.
Regards, Enrique
#349347
ebava wrote:Thank you, Red for your thoughtful reply. I live in Portland, OR, USHPA #56257. The glider is still in airworthy condition, and I have been flying it regularly.
I am saving for a newer wing, but for the time being, this is the one I use.
Regarding the wires: is there any allowance made for the cables having stretched by use? Should not the new cables be a tad shorter, say, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 inch?
The template suggestion is very good. I will make one right away.
Regards, Enrique
Enrique,

Give absolutely NO allowance for cables stretching. Thousand pound (450kg) aircraft cables do not stretch measurably, without total cable failure. If the glider has been whacked severely, the thimbles may have flattened at the tangs, but these thimbles should be restored to their original shape, before a template is made. Driving the thimble down onto long needle-nosed pliers, with the tang slipping between the jaws of the pliers, does a fair job of "tang restoration." Hold the needle-nosed pliers vertically, and just tap the thimble downward with a hammer and punch, until the thimble has its' original "teardrop" shape. A vice can hold the pliers for you.

Definitely, NorthWing is your closest source for duplicate cables. Contact them directly, and see what they can do for you.

Happy to hear the glider has been well kept. Especially on a forum like this, you never know what that other guy has going, out there. So that's good to hear.

Best wishes,

:mrgreen: