N441V Posted June 22, 2021 Report Share Posted June 22, 2021 My wife's knees are giving her issues and to be honest, my skydiving hips make climbing into the Ryan a bit more difficult than it was back in 1991 when I first bought my Ryan. If the Admiral cannot get aboard, it takes a lot of fun out of the aircraft and she would be less tolerant of the expense of owning such an expensive toy. I have thought this over for several years and after a few design changes, I came up with a workable solution. My DER and I, using the FAA flow chart as a guide, determined this to be a Minor Alteration and only a logbook entry was required to make it legal. It is constructed of 4130 steel and attached by eight 10/32 screws, nuts and washers. These fasteners replace the original rivets. The step is designed to place the load on the ribs in the stub wing walk way. The fasteners just keep the step assembly from falling off. When I had my Birddog, I designed a step that my buddy mass produced and is now installed on most Dogs. It is amazing how much it helps to extend our flying as our bodies protest the aging process! I am not producing or selling these, just showing what can be done to make things easier. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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