180 Pounds
We headed out to the airport today to go fly some more laps. First, we needed to adjust the nose wheel as it was a bit wiggly down the runway the last flight. The plan was to push down on the aft end of the plane to lift up the nose gear so that Scott could test the breakout force. That didn’t get us enough leverage, so it was off to find another plan.
I put in the tail tie-down ring, hooked up a rope, and sat in it like a swing. That still didn’t get us there, much to my surprise. Needing a little more weight on my frame (not exactly sad about that fact), I went hunting for something that was heavy and compact. The lead shot was back at home to be available for tasks on the 8. What I did find was a 40 pound bag of salt. So, I am sitting in the ‘rope swing’, holding a 40 pound bag of salt, and STILL not enough weight to fully lift up the nose. Fortunately, we were close enough that Scott was able to push up on the nose gear enough to get the wheel fully off the ground.
I am incredibly happy that nobody walked by to witness this amusing situation. But now we know, it will take about 180 pounds on the tie-down ring to put our O-320 and constant speed prop in the air.