Gust Locks for Mooneys

[XXX]

Hello, I did some searching and this topic came up about two years ago with some interesting solutions.  I am curious as to what the standard is today? My POH calls for the old seat belt restraint trick but I don't like this and it doesn't provide any security for the elevator.

I keep my "F" in a hangar but it gets left on the ramp whenever I travel to another field and the Florida afternoon thunderstorms and cause some serious winds. What are you Mooneyspacers using for gust locks?

[Hank]

I'll have to rummage through my camera cards, but I bought some flat bungees (Tractor Supply?) and use them to tie the yokes together. A longer bungee goes from the seat adjustment bar up to the yoke for elevator. At Sun n Fun, a bad storm was forecast so I doubled up on them; no damage at all from the tornadoes the next day.

The bungees are small, light and live on the hatrack.

Hook one bungee to a yoke, go around the other yoke, back around the first one and attach hook to the other one. The ailerons can't move, even when you push on the yoke. But the seatbelt is just too awkward to hook up, and downright difficult to undo, then pax have to adjust it again to fly. For short stops I generally don't bother, but overnight I usually remember.

A bonus is that these are impossible to not notice when boarding--the elevator one must be removed to even get inside. Can't takeoff with the aileron one installed,either, it's in the way of the throttle quadrant, prevents control check, and is very visible.

[PTK]

I use the headrest! Remove it and tilt the front seat back forward into yoke adjusting seat base as needed. Reinstall headrest to hold yoke in place. Keeps yokes totally immobilized. Pax side is easier with less things on the yoke. I'll take a pic next time. 

 

[Mooneymite]

I'm  not sure why you say the sest-belt-trick doesn't  provide for the elevator?

It does very little for the rudder except for some damping through the aileron-rudder interconnect.

I like the seat-belt-trick because chances a very low you can even get into the pilot's seat, much less take-off, with the gust lock on.

[Bob - S50]

We use two bungees.  One runs from the pax seat adjust bar, around the pilot yoke and back to the pax seat adjust bar.  The other runs from the pilot seat adjust bar around the pax yoke and back to the pilot seat adjust bar.  That forms an "X" of bungees and does a good job of securing both the elevator and ailerons.

[Bob_Belville]

I doubt that our push pull rod system is very susceptible to being damaged by winds on the ramp.

I dutifully tie the plane down when it overnights out of the hangar but a Mooney is not a butterfly.

In < 50 kt winds it's going to behave more like a Cessna Citation than a Skyhawk. Mooneys might get damaged at Oshkosh when some othee brand gets blown on top of them.

Flame on.

[neilpilot]

8 hours ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

I have had one of these for years and I love it. Overpriced for what it is, but it is an elegant enough solution to have been worth it to me.  I don't like the POH seat belt trick either.

Jim

http://aso.com/seller/10226/control.htm

Vintage owners may pause over the statement that "In Mooney's with a Johnson bar, the Johnson Bar is used to hold the controls forward."

[Bob_Belville]

4 minutes ago, neilpilot said:

Vintage owners may pause over the statement that "In Mooney's with a Johnson bar, the Johnson Bar is used to hold the controls forward."

Yeah, I think some of these "solutions" have as much potential to do damage as prevent it. I cannot visualize the elevator deflecting to the stops due to the wind on the ground. Likewise with the rudder/aileron/steering interlink I doubt those controls can "hit the stops".    

[steingar]

What exactly is wrong with using the seat belts?  Like the man said, you'll never try and fire it up with the gust lock in place.  This is a really good discussion, I normally hangar my aircraft but I can see it being left out.

[Bob_Belville]

7 minutes ago, steingar said:

What exactly is wrong with using the seat belts?  Like the man said, you'll never try and fire it up with the gust lock in place.  This is a really good discussion, I normally hangar my aircraft but I can see it being left out.

My plane is hangared except for a total of about 3 weeks per year when I'm traveling with it. I have a good cover so I have little concern parking it on the ramp when necessary.

Bigger FBOs are religious about chocking but are unlikely to tie down. I was at KGGG four nights last month. Even in TX no tie down.

I suppose the plane takes far more abuse flying through moisture and turbulence that it does for a night or two parked on a ramp.

    

[neilpilot]

1 minute ago, daver328 said:

Has your gear collapsed yet? Lol!

It's unlikely that Jim's M20J has manual gear. LOL!

I will continue to use my seat belts for a gust lock, and would be reluctant to tie anything onto my J-bar.

[DXB]

16 minutes ago, daver328 said:

I know, dozens, hundreds, no thousands of Mooneys have self retracted their Johnson Bar gear because of these! The aviation safety news rooms are flooded with the reports! 

I dunno.  There have certainly been J bars that were not locked down when folks thought they were, and some J-bar gear collapses on the ground previously described on this board.  Granted such events are readily preventable by good habits in the air, but I still try to preserve the habit of never messing with my J bar once on the ground, unless the plane is jacked.

[1524J]

Unless the strap that attaches to the J Bar wraps around the bar in a manner that it could tension the button that releases the handle, the J Bar isn't going anywhere. If we don't push the handle up far enough for the lock to engage I'm not sure that would be the fault of the gust lock straps..... 

[neilpilot]

20 minutes ago, 1524J said:

Unless the strap that attaches to the J Bar wraps around the bar in a manner that it could tension the button that releases the handle, the J Bar isn't going anywhere. If we don't push the handle up far enough for the lock to engage I'm not sure that would be the fault of the gust lock straps..... 

Unless you have undetected wear on your upload block.  http://mooneyspace.com/topic/578-manual-gear-uplock-block-wear/#comment-5455

 

[1524J]

Just now, neilpilot said:

Unless you have undetected wear on your upload block.  http://mooneyspace.com/topic/578-manual-gear-uplock-block-wear/#comment-5455

 

Point taken.....this was actually covered in Maxwells maintenance seminar and he had examples of worn blocks. However.....if my block was worn enough to release the J Bar I'd consider it a blessing for the gust straps to reveal the problem rather than finding out while rolling on a takeoff or landing.

[steingar]

2 hours ago, daver328 said:

I know, dozens, hundreds, no thousands of Mooneys have self retracted their Johnson Bar gear because of these! The aviation safety news rooms are flooded with the reports! 

I'd rather not be the first.

[DonMuncy]

I don't think it makes much difference what you use, but if the wind comes up, I think you need something. I made my gust lock from metal bar I had on hand. See my album. I know, it is over engineered, but I like tinkering with things.

[amillet]

13 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

we use a bar that hooks under the passenger yoke, and behind the passenger rudder pedals.  It extends in the middle to allow to you extert a little pressure forwards ont he youke so thast the spring holds the lock tight.  Safe and secure.  

As Bob said earlier I doubt that unless the wind is 50+ you will 'ave any problem in a mooney, more likely a high wing Cessna being blown onto you is more worrying.

I have had my baby outside in 45+ winds and she was fine this winter.  Although any higher and she goes straight into the hangar for safety.

I have the same unit that came with the plane.  I've only used it a couple of times in 11 years.  I vaguely recall being told at a PPP (Bruce Jaeger?) that it could cause damage.  I don't remember why.

[bradp]

I put the shoulder harness of the seat belt around the yoke, and once secure I slide the seat back in its tracks to pull tension on the yoke.  This immobilizes the elevator.  

 

I have used this in some pretty wild weather when the plane lived outside in Boston and worked very well.  

 

The other benefit is that I will never have a gust lock accident.  It is impossible to sit in the seat without removing the seatbelt gust lock. 

 

Brad 

[ArtVandelay]

I KNOW that seatbelts cause damage as they put downward strain on the control column and it is recommended by most engineers that I have spoken to that you don't use this method as a control lock.

I think they mean shoulder belts and they don't have to be that tight to prevent abrupt movements.

[Bob_Belville]

8 hours ago, amillet said:

  I vaguely recall being told at a PPP (Bruce Jaeger?) that it could cause damage.  I don't remember why.

Now, that makes sense. 

[PTK]

Headrest method. Safe and...well...very cool...

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk and 100% recycled electrons!

[Mooneymite]

1 hour ago, daver328 said:

Now why aren't all you concerned, prudent, safe pilot/owners posting on here about your dire concern about bent control columns from using seat belts as a control lock? 

Hmmm?

 

Well since my Mooney has been gear checked by tying down the tail for almost 35 years and I am in imminent danger of the empenage falling off, a control column bent by a seat belt just doesn't worry me very much.  With the tail gone, who cares about control rods!  

Edited June 3, 2016 by Mooneymite

[Piloto]

On ‎6‎/‎2‎/‎2016 at 5:54 AM, PTK said:

I use the headrest! Remove it and tilt the front seat back forward into yoke adjusting seat base as needed. Reinstall headrest to hold yoke in place. Keeps yokes totally immobilized. Pax side is easier with less things on the yoke. I'll take a pic next time. 

 

I do the same but no need to remove the headrest on my M20J. Besides keeping the yokes secure it keeps the sun out from the seats.

José

[bradp]

On June 3, 2016 at 4:24 PM, Piloto said:

I do the same but no need to remove the headrest on my M20J. Besides keeping the yokes secure it keeps the sun out from the seats.

José

That must be an indication that you live somewhere where the sun shines.