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How to tie down an airplane??

Yes, he moved his plane right away.
Nice guy, eager to learn and he has a plan that he is executing. His weird tie-down scheme looked like a creative use of the only tie-down anchor that was there. His plane is parked in a way better spot now.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
Here's another way.
 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8vHhgh6oM0

Please take this as well intended humor and not as a criticism of those with "The Knack". My now passed friend Richard KL7RA sent me this years ago. He was an engineer, radio astronomer, world class amateur radio contester, and great mentor in that hobby to those not as blessed. He and other engineers that frequented his radio station are missed.

Gary NL7Y
 
Here's another way


Preparing for a hurricane coming, and not enough room to get ten cubs in the hangar, they brought them in and made a wood block to rest the prop on for each plane and got all ten in the hangar parked just like this picture
 

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Eddie Foy
Chemical Engineer
Fighter Weapons Instructor Course Grad
Airline Captain.[/QUOTE]

Oh God......... Chemical Engineer......... Airline Captain!!!!! I just put it all together! It must be true!! CHEMTRAILS ARE REAL!!!!!!

Chemtrail 3.jpg

C'mon Capt Foy, please don't get your panties in a knot. It's all in jest. I don't think anyone is really bashing engineers. I wish I was one so I could build this airplane lighter........ And why do you only have nine fingers? Did you flip off someone and they took it seriously?? ............ (just kidding!) Drink some decaf in the morning and sit and have a beer with us later, it will all be OK.

Guess this doesn't really have anything to do with tie down an airplane......................
 

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Preparing for a hurricane coming, and not enough room to get ten cubs in the hangar, they brought them in and made a wood block to rest the prop on for each plane and got all ten in the hangar parked just like this picture

For a brief period I had a T-Craft and didn't fly it out my home strip (too short), and I made a 3 wheeled dolly that I would roll it onto and then lift the tail and tie the nose down. It took a minute, maybe two, and was really easy to move around with the steering arm and swivel wheel it had, and was very stable. I just needed to make sure the fuel was down to a certain amount. It got me into a hangar that they thought was "full", really freeing up a surprising amount of space, and at half the usual monthly rate to boot. Total cost was $0.00, just junk I had laying around. The above picture has a different story, but the thing I remember was I lassoed the tail wheel on my first toss, using my usual tie down ropes, that cheered me up a bit.
 
No panties to twist. Commando only.

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Eddie Foy
Chemical Engineer
Fighter Weapons Instructor Course Grad
Airline Captain.

Oh God......... Chemical Engineer......... Airline Captain!!!!! I just put it all together! It must be true!! CHEMTRAILS ARE REAL!!!!!!

View attachment 41506

C'mon Capt Foy, please don't get your panties in a knot. It's all in jest. I don't think anyone is really bashing engineers. I wish I was one so I could build this airplane lighter........ And why do you only have nine fingers? Did you flip off someone and they took it seriously?? ............ (just kidding!) Drink some decaf in the morning and sit and have a beer with us later, it will all be OK.

Guess this doesn't really have anything to do with tie down an airplane......................[/QUOTE]
 

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I was camped out on Nokai Dome when a storm came up and the wind started blowing. Had to move my airplane to get somewhere I could get my tie downs in, pointed it into the wind and then drug some big rocks over. Had my hand held so I figured I could call an airliner if my airplane blew away. Luckily it never get that bad.
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Like you , Have had to break out the claw tie downs more than once . Have always wondered and WORRIED just hold much they could stand. Last time (mid summer last year) while sitting in the plane watching The airspeed register just under 30 mph gusts and throwing up some serious beggars prayers, all subsided and was able to be on my way. Lasted bout 40 minutes. Was a very stressful 40 minutes , But gained a lot of trust in the product!
 
The number that I saw that fit the mold I could count on my fingers and I only have nine.

That one more than most of us:drinking:

Evidently I don't have any some days when my wife says I'm all thumbs !!!
 
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Actually the tiedown shown does have some merit for the plane's configuration. Maybe all the pilot had were three binder straps of limited length and one place for an anchor was seen. He did what was best at the time and left.

Now we might have chosen a different position of the plane vs ground anchor (wing strut over anchor vs in front of the anchor for example). I've done similar with a lack of rope on skis over ice and tied the gear to the surface below. Pulling a tri-gear plane down over an anchor is different that dealing with a tailwheel. The tailwheel is in the front and close by so grab them all with the straps to anchor under the lift strut.

Engineers: There's a couple of broad theories on how stuff works. One's deterministic...one event or build leads to another and can be taught and used. Normal. The other's stochastic...sh*t happens due to randomness and whatever. That's why rivers bend and so should we when the rules change or things don't go as planned.

Gary
 
How can you tell an extroverted engineer apart?

He’s staring at your shoes while he’s talking.
 
My dad who had a 9th grade education during the Great Depression had a distaste for what he referred to as "engineer types." The ones who had enquiring minds and asked why he didn't do things differently - that is to say, their way. One time an engineer friend took me in a Decathalon and asked me to do some aerobatics for her. About half way into a roll, she asked..."What angle of bank is this?" To this day my wife refers to these people as "angle of bankers." Let's face it, angle of bankers were behind the scenes of the Spirit of St. Louis, the P-51 built in a couple of months, and the moon landing etc. I think Steve Pierce has it about right here.... [FONT=&quot]Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.[/FONT] Will Rogers.

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!



 
Now you guys quit badgering engineers. If it weren't for their accidents we wouldn't have duck tape, the microwave, post it notes, penicillin, the slinky, the pacemaker, silly putty, and finaly for you chemical engineers thank you for accidently stumbling on to scotchbrite, LSD, and viagra!

Now i go into my safe space with this disclaimer:
My 74 year old neighbor is an engineer and very good friend. We put up hay every year together and he flys a lot with me. Those of you that have flown into Spearfish have him to thank for alot of the amentities there as he was the civil engineer for years. So our engineer cracks are all just in good fun.
 
Engineering Choices

Two engineering students were crossing campus when one asked the other, "Where did you get such a great bike?"

The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want."


"The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."
 
Two engineers walking down the street and notice a German Shepherd lying on the front porch of this house. The dog had his his hind leg up licking himself intently, as dogs do............. One engineer says to the other ...."I sure wish I could do that!" .............. The other grabs his arm and stops him and says ........ Man, that dog'll bite yoooooouuuuuuu!

I know. Gotta stop. This has nothing to do with tying down an airplane...................
 
An engineer is out walking and sees a frog sitting on the side of the road. As he approaches, the frog calls out and says, "I'm not really a frog, but a beautiful princess who's had a spell cast on her. If you will kiss me, I will turn back in to a princess."

Then engineer says, "Hmmm," picks up the frog and drops her in his pocket.

After a bit, she sticks her head up and says, "Okay, now, I can see what you're after. If you'll just kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, afterward you can have your way with me."

The engineer grumbles and pushes her back into his pocket.

The frog ups the ante a bit. She says, "Alright, now. How about if I stay with you and be your girlfriend for a week? Just kiss me and turn me back."

No response from the engineer, he just shoves her back into his pocket.

The frog princess is getting pretty upset by now. She screams at him, "C'mon now, don't you know what I'm offering? Girlfriend for a week, anything you want! Don't you like girls?"

The engineer adjusts his glasses and says, "That sounds okay, but a talking frog is pretty cool."
 
Is this the new way to secure an airplane?? I saw this single-point tie-down scheme at the airport where I’m based, during the 55mph winds. The winds were blowing perpendicular to the direction that this Cessna was facing. I’ve never seen a plane tied down like this & wondered if maybe I was missing something.
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In 55 mph winds from the side I'd expect that plane to twist around and mangle those ropes. And I'd think in half that much wind the rudder would be taking a beating. A single earth anchor is a bad idea in more ways than one.
 
Someone should give the owner a pic of his plane to keep for future reference. I have some records of the mistakes I made and today wonder how that happened. There's nothing like an old repair bill that keeps on reminding. It can happen and still does.

Gary
 
Like you , Have had to break out the claw tie downs more than once . Have always wondered and WORRIED just hold much they could stand. Last time (mid summer last year) while sitting in the plane watching The airspeed register just under 30 mph gusts and throwing up some serious beggars prayers, all subsided and was able to be on my way. Lasted bout 40 minutes. Was a very stressful 40 minutes , But gained a lot of trust in the product!

At OSH a couple of years ago, a friend of mine was hanging out in the ultralight area, talking to one of the vendors. They had a plane on display that had just been flown, so it wasn't tied down. A T-storm was moving into the area, and the owner asked my buddy to hold onto the wing strut (with another big guy on the other side) while he attached the tie-downs. He was using "the claw" tie-owns. As it turned out, before he could get the rope threaded through the tie-down ring, a big gust hit them head-on. That 250-lb airplane lifted itself and both guys (each around 250 lbs) about 5 feet into the air, then gently set itself back down, only a foot from where it took off. No damage to the plane or the people. But the look on my friend's face was priceless, and I've never seen anyone move as fast as that vendor did getting the plane tied down after the "inadvertent takeoff"... (I asked my friend later if he logged the flight time. He said, "Well, I thought about it, but neither of us actually met the "in control" part of "pilot in control.")
 
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