1. If you are new to the Standard Cirrus, it is important to study the wing/fuselage connection mechanism carefully so you understand thoroughly the mechanical issues involved. You should also study the control attachments and imagine how they come together inside the fuselage so you can more easily connect and disconnect them by feel rather than by sight.

2. After inserting the left wing and placing it on a stand, install the main pin part way (only into the front spar so as not to interfere with the right-wing spar). This prevents the left wing from sliding out as you insert the right wing. I believe this is suggested in the manual. I believe some people glue a small block of wood on the inside of the fuselage next to the main pin so as to further limit the movement. If this is done, I think the block should not go aft far enough to touch the main pin when it is fully inserted since you wouldn't want any movement of the wings to be transmitted to the fuselage.

3. Alignment of the left wing is important if the wings are to mate easily when the. This can be done two ways. The most precise way is to adjust the wing stand until the spar ends in the right side fuselage opening are centered vertically and horizontally. However, I find that by adjusting so the left-wing-to-fuselage gap is uniform fore/aft and top/bottom works well and doesn't involve as much movement from one side of the glider to the other.

4. Inserting the main pin is easy since you can sight right through the main pin holes in the wing spars and see what adjustments are needed. The important thing is the up/down alignment. The wings will seldom be fully inserted so there will be some horizontal alignment error. The tapered end of the main pin takes care of that and pulls the wings together fully. If you are using a helper on the right wing, simply instruct him to raise or lower the wing tip until you get vertical alignment of the holes, then push the greased pin in as you twist it. If you are using a one-man assembly dolly, both wings will be supported, the left wing on a wing tip stand and the right on the dolly. In that case you can align the holes as you sight through them by raising and lowering the fuselage ramp jack.

5. Pulling the pin during disassembly with a helper is no problem you just estimate for him how much weight he should heft at the tip (in my case around 60 pounds), he guesses roughly and you have him adjust up and down until the pin moves. With a one-man assembly dolly, I accomplish the same thing by resting the wing tip stand on a bathroom scale. I then adjust the fuselage ramp jack for 64 lbs (the same weight the scale reads when the pin is installed during assembly) and pull the pin.

6. Do you have cracks in the finish of upper fuselage surface near the wing attach points? This is caused by assembly helpers holding an inserted wing to low, thereby forcing the far end of the spar up against the inside of the fuselage with great force. He has no ideas he's doing this. Always instruct helpers to hold the tip at a certain minimum height, better yet, get a one-man assembly rig.

7. For instructions on installing the tailplane, link to The Standard Cirrus Tailplane.

8. If you are thinking of getting a Udo Rumpf one-man assembly dolly, they're great but look out for one thing. Before lifting a wing out of the dolly to walk it into the trailer, check to be sure the support arm under the dolly is turned perpendicular to the axle. Otherwise, the dolly has no visible means of support and it will flop over, most likely, against your glider.

9. Alternate wing assembly order:

Insert the right wing first not the left. Adjust out the gap at the wing root. Tape the wing to help hold it in place during the insertion of the left wing. Make sure the the spar is centered in the hole on the left side, grease your spar pin rest it in the landing gear slide gap. Insert left wing until the guide pin makes contact with the front bushing on the opposite side, look at the alignment of the pin and bushing and motion to your assistant with thumbs up, down, front or rear which way to move the wing tip until the pin is lined up to enter the bushing and have your assistant gently push while you rock the root until it falls into place. The hardest thing about this is getting your assistant to not let the wing down. There is no running around the glider if you do it this way. Takes about 3-4 times to really get the hang of this, but I guarantee once you learn this you'll swear by it. (Russ Barry)

10. Cautions and suggestions for new owners with Komet, or other clamshell trailer:

Always jack up the ramp immediately after pulling it out of the trailer. Failure to do this will lead to a nasty surprise when you walk the fuselage out. The dolly wheels will not hit the stops and the fuselage will keep coming out until the nose rests on the rear edge of the trailer and the dolly drops out from under the fuselage. Then the fuselage will start tilting over since it is supported only by its nose and tail skid/wheel. If you are alone when this happens, it can be really exciting and interesting. I did that once and luckily caught the tail fin before the fuselage fell over.

Glue a thin piece of carpet around the rear edge of the trailer floor. This will prevent damage in case the nose strikes the trailer when running it into the fuselage dolly for disassembly. It also helps with the scenario above.

Take care when walking the fuselage into the trailer. Lift it too high and the top of the fin will strike the trailer lid. When I bought my glider, I noticed that the C-hook at the top of the elevator control rod was bent back about 10 degrees. Eventually, I figured out what had happened. Previous owners had allowed it to strike the trailer lid. You can get new C-hooks from Schempp-Hirth, but they ain't cheap.

Ensure that the wing tips are in position laterally before lowering the trailer lid. Komet trailers have inverted V shaped brackets in the clamshell that come down over the wing tips. If the wing tip is out of place, the bracket will come down beside the wing tip instead of over it. In that case, the (possibly) unpadded outer part of the bracket will scratch the wing tip. In my trailer, I set the wing support blocks against the dolly rails and then the wing tips are directly over the floor brackets that limit aft travel of the wing-root dollies. The wing-tip brackets are adjusted to a position directly over the floor brackets. Always check the bracket/wing alignment with your hands before fully lowering the clamshell lid.

Remember to raise the main wheel before locking down the canopy and walking the fuselage into the trailer. Otherwise, the wheel will strike the trailer floor and stop all forward progress. This is harmless since the wheel hits before the gear doors do, but you will be disgraced in front of your friends and loose what little respect you had.