Portable Tie Downs

[rickyricky2]

Hi All
Who is carrying portable tie downs and which kind actually work. Looking at You Tube, they all fail yet the MFG all say each is great.

Dick Bryant
1954 170B
N2704C

[flyboy122]

I always carry a set of tie downs. Never know when I'll be stuck somewhere. I carry "The Claw". It's really easy to use (as compared to screw in ones), and seems to have good holding power. They also come in a nice little kit with a bag that stows nicely in the back of the plane.

Probably more important than tie downs are ropes. Most airports will have some tie downs anchors, but good ropes are often in short supply.

DEM

[canav8]

Hi All
Who is carrying portable tie downs and which kind actually work. Looking at You Tube, they all fail yet the MFG all say each is great.

Dick Bryant
1954 170B
N2704C

Dick, there is no perfect one fits all anchor for off field operation. An anchor that is good for hard dirt is not good for sand and is not good for wet grass if you know what I mean. The perfect solution is know where you are going to go and then get the right anchors. Its not practical to carry more then one set. Plan ahead and watch out for those winds. To many people have damaged their planes unintentionally. I can suggest that you anchor your plane at three points. Make sure your wing anchors are in front of your wing and the tail anchor is behind the tail. That is the best chance for securing your aircraft. Do not anchor your wings with the anchor directly below the wing tiedown! Have fun outback!

[cessna170bdriver]

Ron Massicot welded up a set tiedowns for me out of half-inch rebar (just welded a loop to one end, and sharpened the other) in about 1991. I carry them in a plastic bucket in the baggage compartment along with a 3lb hammer, and other often-needed supplies. In 2014, a pilotless Cherokee plowed into my airplane from the right rear. The Cherokee's prop cut the rope (among a few other things...) on the right side, and (I think?) pulled the tail tiedown out of the ground. The rope on the right wing was tight as a banjo string, but the tiedown held, keeping my airplane away from the one to the left.

In addition to the rope and tiedown, you can also see the close proximity of the right wingtip of the next airplane to the left of mine.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Agree with Doug right up to this point.

Do not anchor your wings with the anchor directly below the wing tiedown!!

On many tie down systems, such as the Claw, it is imperative to have the pulling force on the device be perpendicular (or directly under the wing tie down) to the ground. Other wise the device will fail. It will either fail, as in break a leg or pull out of the ground. Claw type tie downs are designed to grab a chunk of earth with the intertwined spikes driven below it. Pulling any direction but straight up could cause the force to be vectored to one leg snapping it or simply pulling that one spike through the ground and out like a one blade millboard plow. I've seen them snap legs, I've seen them pull out, mainly, I believe because people did not know how they were to be used and placed them in front or outboard of the wing tie down.

I use a tie down designed by someone in the EAA which you can find plans at their site. It is a simple plate with 3 spikes driven below it in an intertwining fashion grabbing a chunk of earth similar to the Claw. It is designed to be used directly under the wing tie down. It works very well on earth with some clay like we have in the North East. The ground has to be compact and not easily pull apart. It would not me my first choice in sandy or loos soil.

[blueldr]

While we're discussing tie downs, I'd like to mention that I consider it prudent to carry a set of ropes to use between the steel chains, found at many airports. and the airplane. When connected to the airplane, the steel chains alone almost always will end up with some slack, When a gusty wind moves the airplane, the chains limit the movement with a viscious BANG at the end of the slack. Tying a tight rope between the chain and the airplane precludes this movement.

[170C]

Dick is right on regarding chain tie downs. They are to be avoided if at all possible. Keep some good rope with whatever tie downs you may choose. Straps with the ratchet tightening devices may be good, I have never tried them, but be sure there are no plastic hooks because plastic breaks! Avoid the screw in type that many use which are made to tie dogs out in the yard. They tend to break where the ring is attached to the shank of the anchor and are easily broken when screwing into the ground if you hit a rock. Years ago I got three 3/4 " rebars about 2 ft long and used them. Never had any problem with them getting loose regardless of the soil. At one of our conventions I was fortunate to "win" the bid on a set of Fly Ties anchors. Look them up on the internet. They are a bit pricey, but they work very well in any soil that I have encountered. The 9 spikes/rods are stainless steel and they go through a round item with a "O" ring in the middle. The spikes/rods go through the hockey puck looking device at different angles. They store in a length of PVC with one glued cap and one removable cap.

[N2625U]

Fly Ties
http://www.flyties.com/

[Larry Holtz]

Several years ago I looked in the EAA website and found directions to make them. I made 3 small plates amd 1/8th X 18 in. rod, three rods per plate, driven into three holes on each plate. Ii like to small rod because its best in the rocky areas. I stll carry them and the ropes in a canvas bag. This was a few years before claw hit the market.
Larry

[Kyle Wolfe]

I like the small size of the fly ties.

Was also a good reminder for me - and I watched the fly ties video too - Bruce is correct - place the tie downs directly under the attach point.

But that got to to thinking about the tail wheel. No way to get that one under the rear tie down.

So a question - is there less force required to keep the tail tied down in wind - similar to there being less lift required on the tail in flight versus compared to the wings?

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Kyle, since I made my plates based on the EAA design I was free to modify as I saw fit. I have two planes I use this system on. A Cub which can be tied down at the tail at the fuselage handle. You can tie the tie down straight down from the handle to the plate in the case of the Cub and that is what I do. However as you state this can not easily be done with the 170.

So my tail tie down plate is a little longer in one directing and I have an additional hole drilled in it. This hole is opposite two of the spikes tha are driven in at an angle against the travel I hope to stop. I place this in the ground behind the tail wheel and tie to the extra hole. I still use 3 spikes but realize the 3rd spike is not that effective.

I think this will keep the plane from being blown forward or the tail from being blown up over the wings to an extent. I'm not worried about the plane being blown backwards.

Here is a sketch:

[170C]

Kyle, I put my tail wheel anchor as close to the tail wheel as is practical and that keeps the tiedown rope reasonably short. I suppose in a worse case the tail could lift up a foot or so. I don't know about 170's, but my 172 conversion had the tail tie down ring forward of the rudder and if I still had the tie down ring I could use it to hold the tail down, but installing the anchor under the rear fugelage would be difficult so I just rely on the anchor being just behind the tail wheel.

[cessna170bdriver]

While we're discussing tie downs, I'd like to mention that I consider it prudent to carry a set of ropes to use between the steel chains, found at many airports. and the airplane. When connected to the airplane, the steel chains alone almost always will end up with some slack, When a gusty wind moves the airplane, the chains limit the movement with a viscious BANG at the end of the slack. Tying a tight rope between the chain and the airplane precludes this movement.

I deal with chains by parking slightly forward of where I want the plane to end up, and after attaching the chains as tight as I can, just push the plane back until the chains tighten up. I then chain or tie the tail. Reverse the process on preflight.

[canav8]

While we're discussing tie downs, I'd like to mention that I consider it prudent to carry a set of ropes to use between the steel chains, found at many airports. and the airplane. When connected to the airplane, the steel chains alone almost always will end up with some slack, When a gusty wind moves the airplane, the chains limit the movement with a viscious BANG at the end of the slack. Tying a tight rope between the chain and the airplane precludes this movement.

I deal with chains by parking slightly forward of where I want the plane to end up, and after attaching the chains as tight as I can, just push the plane back until the chains tighten up. I then chain or tie the tail. Reverse the process on preflight.

Thats how I do it Miles but I guess Bruce has stronger winds then where we do in the desert southwest. I still call you a desert rat even though you transplanted on me...lol

[hilltop170]

Six 1/2" rebar sections 18" long stored in a 2" PVC pipe with end caps, all from Home Depot, for less than $20, is what I carry for portable tie-down anchors. Driven into the ground about 45°out in front of the wing tiedowns about 6' out so the rebars form an X shape with about 3" showing above the ground and the two rebars crossing one another at ground level. The tail tiedown is driven in about 4' behind the tailwheel so all three tiedowns pull the plane toward each other. A slip knot drawn up tight where the rebars cross will not come off and trucker's knots have a 3-1 mechanical advantage for getting them tight. They will not pull out in any kind of wind and soil I have used them in from sand to gumbo. You can store them in the PVC tube and the plane's interior will stay clean, even when the rebars are muddy. If you might worry about two pulling out, three can be driven in a pyramid shape but I think that would be overkill.

Rebar tiedowns and case