I got back from two weeks in Wichita on 7 Oct 98. I finished riveting the wing ribs to the spars on 8 and 9 Oct. On 10 Oct I started working on the wing jigs.

The wing jig consists of two vertical posts, with horizontal arms attached. The wing spars are clamped to the horizontal arms, and the whole thing is carefully aligned with levels and plumb bobs.

Originally I planned on reusing the jig I built for the tail surfaces (picture). Most people simply remove the cross member from the tail jig, and voila, you've got a wing jig. Well, fate intervened, and one of the vertical posts developed an impressive warp after I finished with the tail jig. I had already decided I wanted two wing jigs, so I could work on both wings in parallel, so I would have had to move the tail jig anyway.

I decided to use steel posts this time - jack posts usually seen in basements. Here you see the left wing in the jig part way through the leveling process. The two small posts under the rear spar are there because the spars sag under their own weight. The small posts hold the spars straight while the skins are being drilled on. Once the skins are on, the whole structure will become stiff.

I will put the jig for the other wing parallel to this one, to the right. I am waiting to set it up until I can confirm that the dimensions and wing support provisions I did for the first jig work OK.