I’m on hold waiting for a tool, so I decided to get started on building a fuselage cart.
I looked at a few different ideas and decided to build a cart with two supports, one under the forward seat bulkheads and one under the bulkhead at the forward bulkhead of the baggage compartment. This should hopefully allow me to climb in once the fuselage side skins are riveted in place. If I need more support I’ll add additional bracing at the spar carry through.
I made the cart from wood that I had lying around including some 2x4s and materials from the fuselage crate.
I braced everything with triangles of plywood and made the aft end slightly taller so the the cabin sill will sit horizontal when on the cart. I padded the cross braces with carpet strips.
I then added a retractable gear mechanism like I did with my work tables. This allows me to drop the wheels to move the airplane around and lower the wheels for stability while I work on it.
Success. The wheels work really well. Hopefully the height and span is sufficient. I’ll find out when I eventually get the fuselage moved over.