Who leaves the tie down rings installed?

[ryoder]

I leave my tie down rings installed but I haven't used them in months since I hangar and haven't left the airplane outside for more than an hour in a long time. I am thinking of unscrewing them and putting them in the back. Actually I'll do that today. Hope to get five knots. Wish me luck.

[Ned Gravel]

Mine is parked at a tie down spot. I never take them off.  Only Clarence does when the annual is being done.

[carl]

what about the kind that have the jack points and the tie down ring all in one. I'm thinking of getting them.

Is the only purpose of removing them to increase speed ? I guess that is reason enough .

[201er]

I leave my tie down rings installed but I haven't used them in months since I hangar and haven't left the airplane outside for more than an hour in a long time. I am thinking of unscrewing them and putting them in the back. Actually I'll do that today. Hope to get five knots. Wish me luck.

I am tied down so I leave them. But I did pull them out when I went on my 40 hour arctic expedition. There weren't any tiedown opportunities all trip and I figured on 40 hours I could maybe possibly make back the 4 minutes taking them in and out.

[carl]

HA ha ,

4 minutes gain over 40 hours!!

 

ok, I'm pulling mine out. After all it is still all about the speed.

 

good video  buy the way.

[carl]

"Mooney actually issued a "mandatory" service bulletin a few years ago requiring their removal before flight. Ridiculous"......

 

I guess only more reason to pull them out . 

I wonder what was the issue ?

[CCowboy]

My 231 came with the low drag/jack point tie downs. Never take them off. Although plane is hangared, need them when I travel. Probably a good and low cost mod to have.

[bonal]

I think it was due to concerns that if not checked for tightness they could spin out and drop on people's heads. Ouch!

[N601RX]

If they are loose enough they can move around a little it may eventually wear the threads away

[carusoam]

When you use them to tie down each time, you will know when they are loose...

Getting the aerodynamic ones are cool, have the jacking point, and stainless at the same time! (available from Lasar)

Accidently bombing people with an eye-bolt would be considered bad form...

Best regards,

-a-

[1964-M20E]

My E model had the original tie downs and I never took them out except to jack the plane.  My F has the all in one they are nice.

I saw the thing about taking them out but I never bothered.  I’d probably loose them and then have to fine new ones

[HRM]

 Hope to get five knots. Wish me luck.

 

Just make sure when you reinstall them that they are aligned perpendicular to the wing root—that way you'll only lose 2.5 KTS.

[DonMuncy]

I think taking out the tie-down rings is a solution looking for a problem. Has anyone had, or even heard about someone having a tie-down ring come out.

[Hank]

I leave my tie down rings installed but I haven't used them in months since I hangar and haven't left the airplane outside for more than an hour in a long time. I am thinking of unscrewing them and putting them in the back. Actually I'll do that today. Hope to get five knots. Wish me luck.

Like John, mine come out only to jack the plane at annual. And yes, she lives in a hangar. I've seen the LASAR combo units, but the tie down loop is pretty thin, I'd worry about damage to the ropes.

Perhaps the better question is, "who takes their tie down rings out?"

[HRM]

I think taking out the tie-down rings is a solution looking for a problem. Has anyone had, or even heard about someone having a tie-down ring come out.

 

Don, I have to confess that I used to remove them and that was before I realized that if they vibrate out in flight then I have bigger issues to deal with. 

 

There is no documentation from Mooney that says take them out.

 

To state the obvious, the only reason you take them out is to allow use of the jack points. Just an economy of design.

[ryoder]

I forgot to remove them. I guess I should since I never use them.

Also, should I remove the tow bar?

[Awqward]

Does anyone know what the rationale behind the requirement to remove tie down rings before flight is? Doesn't make any sense to me... I leave mine in...

[201er]

Does anyone know what the rationale behind the requirement to remove tie down rings before flight is? Doesn't make any sense to me... I leave mine in...

Cause you won't get 201mph with them in!

[ArtVandelay]

Cause you won't get 201mph with them in!

My back of envelope calculation for 2 tie down rings would require 1 hp at 170 knots, YMMV

[Hank]

Does anyone know what the rationale behind the requirement to remove tie down rings before flight is? Doesn't make any sense to me... I leave mine in...

Some lawyer realized, after several decades without a reported problem, that the tie down rings screw onto the outside of the plane, and aren't permanently installed. Just in case one might ever come out in flight, there's a chance that it might hit something of value on the ground. Not wanting to think about the minuscule odds if two such events happening, he decided to "protect" Mooney by recommending that we remove them whenever a rope isn't going through them.

Odds of a given event happening = X%, or 0.0X

Odds of another given event happening = Y%, or 0.0Y

Odds of both events happening = X% x Y%, or 0.00XY

Two events, both at 1%, have 0.01% chance of happening! or 0.0001. I've made well over 100 flights without them falling out, so the odds can't be 1 in 100, which would be 1%. Since there are two rings, that makes it less than 1 in 200, which would be 1/2% or 0.005%; give it 1% chance of hitting something, it's 0.00005. But he earned his retainer fee by writing that document.

And people wonder why General Aviation is suffering . . .

[aaronk25]

The laser also has virtually no drag....nice set up

[Awqward]

Cause you won't get 201mph with them in!

Or 205 mph in my case...

[triple8s]

I would think all that screwin in and out in and out would make the holes get loose........wear out the threads. I leave'm out.

[Amelia]

Who leaves tie down rings installed? Me.

I own this bird to go places, and the hangar is too bulky to pack.

[Amelia]

Seems like the aviation equivalent of backpackers sawing their toothbrush handles off to save weight. A bit of a stunt to prove a point. Of course, if you never commit aviation except on a dead calm clear morning going to breakfast 20 miles away, it makes perfect sense.

I've only had to spring for away-from-home hangar space once. Blowing like stink, mammatus clouds boiling overhead. The COS lineman asked Ms CB is she wanted a slot in the gang hangar for $85. (( 8-O ) For one night. Debated for 1.5 nanoseconds. Oh, yes, please. The ground was littered with fist-size hail the next morning. Tying down would have been a disaster.