Now that the warm weather has returned, we have spent nearly every spare minute putting N6221P back together following its ground transportation excursion. I built two adjustable “wing tables” to position the wings and set the dihedral. This is critical as the wings must be inserted into the fuselage and bolted together while also maintaining the correct angle. After two modifications to the wing tables, which initially weren’t tall enough, we were eventually able to master this procedure. I learned there are two fittings that can only be installed as you slide the wings into the fuselage. By the third time it was easy to get the wings into place and together correctly. Overall, I’ve found the wing install is at least two times more difficult on a PA24 than a PA28, and five times more difficult than a high wing Piper.
After the wings are on it’s a relatively simple matter of re-installing the flap, stabilator halves, reconnecting the gear push- pull tubes, wiring harnesses, fuel lines, and control cables. All of this took me four very long days. After everything was reconnected I spent a fifth day re-rigging the plane.
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