Sun-n-Fun Tie Downs

[Hank]

Seems like the bad weather is following me! Got home from SNF on Sunday, and had rain on Monday so hard that I couldn't see across the river while driving home from work. Winds were much milder, though, just in the 30s.

At SNF, I tied down with my travel buddy's screw-in tie down set that he had bought at Oshkosh a couple of years ago. Seems his cheap dog-style tie downs broke while screwing them into the ground. The break was right where the 4-way-crimp is put on the shaft to keep the ring from sliding off.

We decided to use his good ones instead of my cheap ones, and it proved fortuitous. The plane stayed put! All the other planes at GAC camping at the approach end of Rwy 9 did not; some of the loose planes used Claws, some used screw-ins. Makes me think it was a function of aircraft design [more high wings blew away, but so did some low-wings], possibly how tight the ropes were [slack would let the aircraft bounce up and down, putting extra stress on the soil] and how saturated the soil was where the tie downs were. There was significant pooling all over the field, but of course not uniform flooding.

Before we left, I ran over and bought a set. See the photos for comparison. The dog tie-out is longer, the material is thinner, and there is a stress concentration put on the shaft where it was crimped to hold the ring for the dog's lead. The EAA set on the left is much thicker [see Photo #2], has a tighter spiral for better grip, and a shorter non-spiral section to minimize pulling [torque = force x distance].

My old set is now leaving the hangar. Anybody have a big dog? My 8-pounder is far too small to use these on.

[scottfromiowa]

Thanks Hank.  I'll keep my eyes out for a set like these.

[thinwing]

thanks for the report and am glad your a/c survived the blow!!!kpc

[scottfromiowa]

http://www.airpartsinc.com/shopexd.asp?id=1630

Here is a link I found online.  I just bought six from Chris.  Her mom is on one of the video's from Sun 'n Fun.  They had a total loss at the show (revenue)...Give them a "silver lining" with a lot of Mooniac purchases!  @3.00 a pop pretty reasonable piece of mind...

[scottfromiowa]

Hank,

I think I bought the "set" that you didn't recommend...I still think these would be superior if doubled up?  I had auger type and they just didn't work well...If not it was a minimal investment.

[Hank]

Scott--

My cheapies were from Harbor Freight, I believe $1.99 each. The good, sturdy looking set without leash-attaching rings was purchases from the trailer at Aircraft Camping Registration for $25, which is also their [refundable] rental fee for Sun-n-Fun. But they looked so good, and came with both rope and a piece of PVC pipe to screw them into the ground, that I rounded up to $30 and still feel I came out ahead.

Yes, Scott, you just bought what I am disposing of . . .

[thinwing]

Did anybody else see the video of the guy using a hydralic engine hoist with dyno guage to test several different types of tie down stakes.The best at about 500 lbs was the cheapest..the screwin doggie anchor..the poorest at about 230lbs was the most expensive,...the claw that i almost bought at oshcosh.This test may only apply to sandy soils like found in florida...Has anybody tried hard calache type soils like we have out west...forget about screwing anything in that stuff,youd need a sledge hammer...kpc

[gsengle]

I do use the claw.  Would love to see that video.  I'm imagining it would vary by soil type, wetness, etc...  hmmm

http://www.theclaw.com/C100.html

g

[DanM20C]

Here is a link to that video.

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/exclusivevids/ExclusiveVideo_AviationConsumer_TiedownGadgets_200574-1.html

I would like to see how they compare under a more realistic test.  The load is not usually perfectly vertical in the real world.  I set up my tie downs so that the angle between the ground and rope is aprox 30 to 45 degrees. 

Dan