Having rode out some horrible blows in Alaska over the years, ( mostly down on the peninsula). A few things come to mind. Old timers like Don Johnson , John Swiss, and that crowd of old Polar Bear guides had some interesting " cub survival" methods you dont see much anymore.
Many of the old tie downs were simply
"Gas cans full of rocks, buryed 3/4 ft down". It was a common practice to have ' 4 way' tiedowns with positioning say 4ft out past wing strut to get proper wing rope angles. It was common to dig out holes for tires,so the Cub could be pulled down into them ( prop level to the ground) to REMOVE all AOA of the wings. This in itself makes a HUGE difference in how much ' dancing n twisting' a Cub will do in winds over 40kts. They never tied the tail tight, allways leaving a foot or so of slack. Never just tied to the loop or rings at end of struts, ALWAYS went around tbe strut and just used the tie down loop to make sure ropes couldnt slip down struts, after being streached. Most all of them had installed Atlees " filler blocks" to the Uchanel pieces that hold the strut to the spar, that eliminates that known failure point.
His over the spar bands are even a better cure. 1/2" pure Nylon ropes of a 'dock line' style were prefered type.
And last but NOT least a V of rope was tied forward from each wing strut to that 4th tie down creating a "shock absorber" that would become the 'saving grace' in the over 60kt blows.
Some guys claimed to simply tie from the back of the prop to the 4th tie down, and that would work too.
And the last resort was if you got caught out in a big blow is to simply " drive her in to the alders" till the prop augers a hole in, till the wings are fully
into the alders. This barbaric method has saved many a Cub because the wind ( even 80kt winds) are so defused coming thru the tops of the alders it has no where near the same lifting component as if the wing was subjected to the undisturbed air. I had a Cub tied in a' 4 way tiedown' Marlin Grasser had, in Amber Bay at spring bear camp, in a 70kt blow.
A young petrified pilot got caught on the east side, he landed when he saw our weatherport, in close to 40kt winds and nearly rolled it up in a ball, we walked him over by the tents and it was obvious he was going to loose the plane, I was telling him to" drive it in" but he really didnt get it???? But after the prop started cutting the way and us pushing we got it into the brush and was able to tie into some of the largest alders and he rode it out same as I did,with Kennon mesh covers, and tied 4 ways with tires down in their holes, but out in the open........... None of this stuff is for the meek of heart. But all of it might save you if you get caught some day.
E
Ps. You will need to saw off alot of the Alders you bend over driving in. As if you try pulling it out some may bind and poke holes in your bottom fabric.
Doesnt seam to bother a prop as much as you might think. Sounds crazy but it could save your butt.
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