Tie down straps

Topper

Topper

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Topper
I don't think I have ever made a post because of a purchase I was pleased with before. I have a trip next week to a small airport and have no idea if they will have tie downs. I decided that I wanted a set of cam buckle straps. I considered just getting some from Walmart, but noticed that many of the aviation ones had higher ratings. It did not make sense to to save a few bucks on straps on a 100k airplane.

Long story short, I found http://www.readystrap.com/ and ordered a set from Gary. He asked if I wanted my N number put on the straps a no extra cost. He even shipped them before he sent me an invoice to pay for them. I received them today and am very impressed. The only thing I might have done differently was to have changed the color of the shorter one I ordered for the tail so I could easily tell which one was for the tail.

If you are in the market for tie downs, I would recommend at least looking at ready strap.

Jim
 
I just use spliced three strand from west marine

Cool he put your N number on there though
 
Nitpick time....his equation is wrong. The right-hand side is c-squared (or c^2 or c**2 or c*c depending on your programming preference)

Hence the value of C is really the sqrt(a^2 + b^2). He's got the right numbers, tho.
 
REI, EMS and the like sell climbing rope by the foot. Cheap if you aren't getting a whole pitch, just know how bouncy you want. Structural part of the rope is out of the sun. No hooks to pop, no stitches to fail.
 
James331 said:
I just use spliced three strand from west marine

Cool he put your N number on there though
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Here too, 1/2" three strand nylon from knotandrope.com. It's nice and "stretchy" to absorb the shock on gusty days.
 
timwinters said:
Here too, 1/2" three strand nylon from knotandrope.com. It's nice and "stretchy" to absorb the shock on gusty days.
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+1 Half inch nylon three-strand--done.

I think it's somewhat bizarre to tie down airplanes with chains, which seems to be nearly universal at airports these days. If it gets windy, you might as well be out there banging on your airplane with a slide hammer. Oh, I guess if you get them good and tight you're okay, but few seem to do that.

Tim
 
timrb said:
I think it's somewhat bizarre to tie down airplanes with chains, which seems to be nearly universal at airports these days.
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I've never seen chains anywhere on any ramp. Good lord, where are you flying??
 
Pedals2Paddles said:
I've never seen chains anywhere on any ramp. Good lord, where are you flying??
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I've seen them at quite a few airports here and there...the municipality can buy them once and never have to replace them like if they provided ropes.

Chains are why I always have a set of ropes in the back of the plane. I won't use them.
 
timwinters said:
I've seen them at quite a few airports here and there...the municipality can buy them once and never have to replace them like if they provided ropes.

Chains are why I always have a set of ropes in the back of the plane. I won't use them.
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I see them quite often also, and I expect that's the reason (they don't get old and fray'd so they last forever). I don't like 'em either.
 
Pedals2Paddles said:
I've never seen chains anywhere on any ramp. Good lord, where are you flying??
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I parked on genuine military issue pierced metal planking, with chains for every plane, when passing through KRAP (Rapid a City, SD). Very windy place.
 
When you get 60 knot winds, chains with a rubber snubber is a great idea.

Also, never use open hooks on tie down straps or chains, closed hooks only.
Get enough wind bounce rocking and that open hook can pop off a tie down ring no matter how tight you think it is.
 
James331 said:
CA has chains all over for tie downs.
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Yes, almost all airports have chains in CA. They usually droop an inch or two after tightening, but then again we don't normally get much wind and if it does pick up a bit, I just leave the plane in the hangar.
 
Chains actually make a lot of sense. You cannot guarantee the condition of straps or ropes that are laying out in the elements for extended periods of time. A fellow at our airport eschewed the tie down chains and used his own ropes. About a year later there were 50 mph winds one night and his Aeronca ended up in a ball on the other side of the field after cartwheeling across the runway when his rotted ropes gave way.

There is also a method for tying down with chains. You put the wing hooks directly over them, hook them up then push the aircraft back until both are tight. Then you hook up the tail, pulling it down slightly before hooking so as to have tension. Works like a charm and you can rest assured the chains aren't gonna fail.
 
Every airport I've been to that had something to tie down with had chains. All in So. Cal. Otherwise there was nothing.
 
Wow. I've only seen old rotten ropes and home depot cam buckle straps. I prefer the cam buckle straps since I can't tie a knot to save my life.
 
BillTIZ said:
When you get 60 knot winds, chains with a rubber snubber is a great idea.

Also, never use open hooks on tie down straps or chains, closed hooks only.
Get enough wind bounce rocking and that open hook can pop off a tie down ring no matter how tight you think it is.
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You got that right. I had that happen to me in a storm at Oshkosh the first time I flew in. Fortunately I had rope with me as well and I quickly retied the thing forgetting these moronic and unsafe slack adjusting doohickyes the club president loaned me for the trip.
 
I carry three motorcycle tiedown straps for my Sky Arrow. It has no tiedown rings so I also carry three "Soft Ties".

I also tend to park "backwards"*, tying down the wings and the nose. Try to pull a tail tiedown tight and it just lifts the nose.

Good point about the open hooks. I've not worried about it, but if one did (and I might now) a simple loop of electrical tape would work, as would a weight-rated carabiner through the closed portion of the hook.

Thanks for the reminder.


*This is what I mean by "backwards" - at North Little Rock using the FBO-provided ropes:

15708495226_27d3dfe4c2.jpg
 
Silvaire said:
There is also a method for tying down with chains. You put the wing hooks directly over them, hook them up then push the aircraft back until both are tight. Then you hook up the tail, pulling it down slightly before hooking so as to have tension.
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That sounds like an excellent technique. From what I have seen, though, you probably are the only one in the universe who knows about it. It's too bad, because more often than not (in fact, virtually always) I see chains hanging off wings with tons of slack, sometimes even with chain resting on the ground.

Tim
 
Silvaire said:
Chains actually make a lot of sense. You cannot guarantee the condition of straps or ropes that are laying out in the elements for extended periods of time. A fellow at our airport eschewed the tie down chains and used his own ropes. About a year later there were 50 mph winds one night and his Aeronca ended up in a ball on the other side of the field after cartwheeling across the runway when his rotted ropes gave way.

There is also a method for tying down with chains. You put the wing hooks directly over them, hook them up then push the aircraft back until both are tight. Then you hook up the tail, pulling it down slightly before hooking so as to have tension. Works like a charm and you can rest assured the chains aren't gonna fail.
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Come out to the southwest. A lot of the rural airstrips I go to have in the remarks section... "unattended". So chains are used because ropes last only long enough for the sheep to eat them. The sheep are used to keep grass and weeds to a minimum. Be careful where you step. And never try to kick fresh sheep pies off the ramp...:no:

And the above directions for using chains works. But with 60 mph winds the plane will be buried under tumbleweeds by morning...:lol:
 
KGXY in Colorado has retractable tie-downs. They are a nylon web strapping with a locking hook that pull out freely until they start to retract, then they lock -- like a seatbelt in a car. They come out of "cans" in the ramp. Pretty slick, but I wonder how durable they are -- with water, snow, ice, sand, dirt all collecting in the cans. Anyone else seen these somewhere?
 
I think that for any airport, whether County, Municipal or Private, using ropes or straps rather than chains would mean higher maintenance and greater liability risk. You'd have to constantly inspect and asses the condition of them and frequently replace them. Yes chains do rust but they are impervious to UV.
 
I was at GCN one day and asked if they had anything to tie down with. "No".... Ok, well do you at least have some chocks? "No..."

Really helpful there.
 
For liability and maintenance having nothing is best...
 
Hank S said:
I parked on genuine military issue pierced metal planking, with chains for every plane, when passing through KRAP (Rapid a City, SD). Very windy place.
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Don't they use a piece of chain for a windsock, too?


Dan
 
ClimbnSink said:
REI, EMS and the like sell climbing rope by the foot. Cheap if you aren't getting a whole pitch, just know how bouncy you want. Structural part of the rope is out of the sun. No hooks to pop, no stitches to fail.
Click to expand...

The trick to no hooks is point chafe and the tight bend at the end. That's why I always use a 2 or 3 bight French Bowline to distribute that across more surface area when I tie down like that, then I multi bight the other against a 'magic knot and use that purchase to both distribute the point chafe load, and adjust the tension. I can also adjust the tension and move a new chafe point on the line to the pinch point.
 
ColoPilot said:
KGXY in Colorado has retractable tie-downs. They are a nylon web strapping with a locking hook that pull out freely until they start to retract, then they lock -- like a seatbelt in a car. They come out of "cans" in the ramp. Pretty slick, but I wonder how durable they are -- with water, snow, ice, sand, dirt all collecting in the cans. Anyone else seen these somewhere?
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Huh, interesting, no, never have seen that, I too am curious as to how they hold up.
 
Henning what do recommend for a large stopper knot? Built a single line swing for the kid and the rope is a bit smaller then the hole. Been using a double figure 8(climbing tie in.) Single 8 will eventually work through the hole, learning that did not result in tragedy due to a back up stopper knot.
 
GXYs retractable things have been there about four or five years now. Haven't seen any signs they've had to replace or repair them. KGEU also has some. They do have to be installed in a "can" below grade that probably has drainage and a place to capture crud below the retract mechanism. I figure they'll probably hold up ok, but I always peek down in to see if a critter is hiding from a hot day in the bottom. They'd be full of snakes, in some areas of the country.
 
ClimbnSink said:
Henning what do recommend for a large stopper knot? Built a single line swing for the kid and the rope is a bit smaller then the hole. Been using a double figure 8(climbing tie in.) Single 8 will eventually work through the hole, learning that did not result in tragedy due to a back up stopper knot.
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Double overhand on a bight. Take the last 20 times or so the line diameter and fold it back on itself. Now take this parallel whip and tie a double overhand (or figure 8 if you want) in the end as your stopper knot, it will be much fatter. If 2 bights is not enough use three or four.

If you want to get fancy you can use a Turks Head or Monkey Fist tied around a ball.
 
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