Dave Calkins
Registered User
Anchorage, Alaska
Wednesday, March 12, 2003 was a very windy day, evening, and night into the next morning in the Southcentral Alaska region.
A forty year storm brought winds reported to be 110 MPH at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, with the control tower being evacuated and the airport shut down for a period of the night.
This all came on a clear day marked by dust-caused haze and wind. We had been hit by an earlier windy day on the Sunday preceding, and many seemed to have been caught by surprise on this Wednesday night.
A few photos, followed by a few tips for any a/c owner, but specific to Cubs. Never leave a Cub tailed to a high wind, I'll say this again. Never leave a Cub tailed to a high wind. I'll say this again, later.
A CUB THAT WAS LEFT TAILED TO THE WIND
A FLOATCUB TAILED TO THE WIND
TIEDOWN ANCHOR CABLE BROKE AND CUB ROLLED OVER WITH LEFT WING AND TAIL STILL TIED.
Never leave a Cub tailed to a high wind, even if it's tied well and has gust locks. The wind will push down on the top of the wings and collapse the aft strut, then the whole wing gets pushed down.
Make sure your tiedowns are very good. The last photo is of a Cub tied facing the wind and the cable coming out of the ground broke where the RH wing rope was looped through it. The cabe had no thimble and had kinked at the rope loop and broke. What a crying freakin' shame to see this bird.
All you guys that know your a/c has weathered some wind should have a REAL inspection to determine how it really handled the ride.
I recall a story of a guy just introducing himself to Atlee Dodge at a strip where heavy winds had taken a few a/c out. The guy asked Atlee to please look over his a/c and let him know if it had ridden the storm well.
Atlee agreed, then pulled out his pocket knife and cut big slices to open the fabric around the wing strut fittings. "Yep, looks like your strut fittings are OK."
Seems alot of the a/c had been flying so hard against their tiedowns that they were pulling the strut attach brackets out of the bottom of the wings. Some looked fine on the outside, but not airworthy upon closer inspection.
"Nice to meet you, Atlee."
Anyone else have a tip for high wind tiedown advice?
Dave Calkins.
A forty year storm brought winds reported to be 110 MPH at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, with the control tower being evacuated and the airport shut down for a period of the night.
This all came on a clear day marked by dust-caused haze and wind. We had been hit by an earlier windy day on the Sunday preceding, and many seemed to have been caught by surprise on this Wednesday night.
A few photos, followed by a few tips for any a/c owner, but specific to Cubs. Never leave a Cub tailed to a high wind, I'll say this again. Never leave a Cub tailed to a high wind. I'll say this again, later.
A CUB THAT WAS LEFT TAILED TO THE WIND
A FLOATCUB TAILED TO THE WIND
TIEDOWN ANCHOR CABLE BROKE AND CUB ROLLED OVER WITH LEFT WING AND TAIL STILL TIED.
Never leave a Cub tailed to a high wind, even if it's tied well and has gust locks. The wind will push down on the top of the wings and collapse the aft strut, then the whole wing gets pushed down.
Make sure your tiedowns are very good. The last photo is of a Cub tied facing the wind and the cable coming out of the ground broke where the RH wing rope was looped through it. The cabe had no thimble and had kinked at the rope loop and broke. What a crying freakin' shame to see this bird.
All you guys that know your a/c has weathered some wind should have a REAL inspection to determine how it really handled the ride.
I recall a story of a guy just introducing himself to Atlee Dodge at a strip where heavy winds had taken a few a/c out. The guy asked Atlee to please look over his a/c and let him know if it had ridden the storm well.
Atlee agreed, then pulled out his pocket knife and cut big slices to open the fabric around the wing strut fittings. "Yep, looks like your strut fittings are OK."
Seems alot of the a/c had been flying so hard against their tiedowns that they were pulling the strut attach brackets out of the bottom of the wings. Some looked fine on the outside, but not airworthy upon closer inspection.
"Nice to meet you, Atlee."
Anyone else have a tip for high wind tiedown advice?
Dave Calkins.
