Tiedown extenders

General Everything Else
1

If you have ever flown somewhere and wanted to tie down, you probably discovered the battleship class ropes at the airport don’t fit through the 3/8" tiedown hole very well. So, I made these:

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Cheap Amazon 1" wide aluminum, bent around a socket and squashed in a vise. Then drilled to 3/8".

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Installs without tools. Weighs about 0.2 lbs for the pair, probably mostly those 3/8" bolts. I might look for aluminum bolts or pins.

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2

I use something similar to this:

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Hook at both ends. One through the wing fixed tie down, the other to whatever is on the ground/floor.
I also carry pegs for when there is no supplied cable/in pavement anchors. :smiling_face_with_horns:

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3

I’ve thought about this even though my plane isn’t even close to flying. What about just some D clips?

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4

I’ve got one buddy not on the forum who uses D clips/ anchor shackles. For the weight conscious I think you can find them in titanium in sailing circles.

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5

A couple good quality carabiners or D rings are good to carry in your plane so you can always have something to hook on to any type of tie down. If I go on a trip I carry the ratcheting straps mentioned here.

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6

Be careful about the ratchet straps with the open hooks. I have heard quite a few sun n fun / Oshkosh stories about planes bouncing in the wind and those hooks unhooking during the slack part of the bounce.

I have stainless steel shackles from a boating store. Good quality stainless, and got the largest diameter pin that would fit through the tie down hole. Small shackles, don’t weigh much.

Not sure I would trust 1” wide strap of Home Depot aluminum, particularly in an application subject to work hardening.

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7

This can not happen if the aircraft is correctly tied down:

  • Minimum of three tie down points (4 better).
  • Tie down straps/ropes snug/tight. Any slack will allow the aircraft movement to “work” and looses strap/anchors.
  • Straps/ropes at a large angle to aircraft (min 45 degrees)ie as aircraft tries to lift so straps tighten further.
  • Tie down/Anchors of sufficient strength to withstand all but the most severe wind.
  • Aircraft to aircraft spacing, sufficient to allow any unexpected movement to occur without damage.
  • All flight control surfaces secured against movement.
  • Straps / ropes of sufficient strength to secure aircraft . I suggest any two well above possible lift/weight factors.
  • :smiling_face_with_horns: