I don't have much experience at tying down my 150 outside let alone tying it down in high winds. I may have to tie it down outside for a few days and the winds may be as high as 40 MPH. I need some tips on proper knots and what would be the maximum acceptable wind speed?

Because I had a hangar, the only times I had to tie down my plane were when I went on long trips and to Clinton. I used tie down straps with hooks LIKE THESE [harborfreight.com] . For the ground, I had homemade anchors similar to THESE [walmart.com] that Wayne Westerman gave to me. Whatever you use, make sure the straps/ropes are taut, so the plane can't move with the wind gusts and yanking on the tiedown rings, putting extra stress on the wings and tail.

Maximum wind speed is limited only by the strength of your tie downs. My plane went through a hurricane outside. I doubled up on the tie downs just before the storm which were attached to chains anchored in the ground. It survived with no problem.

My plane has been tied down since I bought it 20 some years ago.

This Youtube Video [youtube.com] shows the method I use.
I have never had any trouble using this method and it has withstood all kinds of winds here in the north east.

You use a locking double half hitch. Google EAA video tying down plane for instructional video. I carry my own tie downs when I fly cross county. You would not believe the sad condition of the ropes you find at some airports. Don't forget to chock the wheel and a good rudder lock

Before I got into a hanger my plane set outside thru several hurricanes. Winds in excess of 80 mph. Before the big winds hit, I took 1/4" cable and a couple of wire rope clips and used them to tie down plane. Not for everyday tie down but good for a big winds.

you can always buy a set of Slide Downs [slidedown.com] and don't worry about knots.
These work great and are what I take with me when on long x-country flights.

They are also a sponsor of the Fly-In.

Dalton,

Best knot is a taut-line hitch. http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/tautline-hitch

There should be absolutely no slack in the ropes and that knot will slide completely tight and will not slip. It's easy to tie with a bit of practice (similar to two half hitches).

Don't have a maximum wind speed, but tie downs should hold at 40 MPH. If you have to deal with a tail wind, cock the nosewheel to one side when you park the airplane. That will deflect the rudder to the stop and helps keep it from banging back and forth if you don't have an external gust lock for the rudder.

Warmest regards,
Rick

I use the same. Easy to tie and release, yet holds great. It holds tighter as the tension increases.

I use the chocks I made for he ice runway at Alton Bay. Two pieces of 2x4, connected by a piece of rope, with 6 wood screws sticking 1/8" through the bottom of each 2x4. Turns out they work great on asphalt and don't walk as the plane rocks.

+1

Another thing is that the ropes for the wings should pull the plane forward and to the sides. It might sound obvious, but I have seen planes that were parked past the tie-down anchors for the wings, and the ropes later pulled the plane backward along with the tail rope.

Having the airplane properly chocked helps greatly in this regard. Pull the plane forward into the chocks with the wing ties, and then just stabilize the tail with the tail tie-down. By pulling forward against the chocks, it keeps the angle of attack on the wings low - which helps reduce the wind's effect on the aircraft.

It's a "Fishy" knot.

As someone who has ZERO experience tying down an aircraft, I'm glad this was asked, because I was going to ask something similar in the next week or so.



I've watched a few videos, and this is the one that looked best to me, and the method I'd planned to practice in the coming weeks leading up to the fly-in. I'll be doing several dry-runs with my FlyTies to get acquainted and comfortable with using them as soon as I have the plane back from annual.

I've also noted that the POH recommends that in addition to the tie-down rings, an additional anchored rope is tied around an exposed portion of the engine mount. Does anyone actually do this?

I have... but most pre-planted tie down locations do not have an anchor to use - just the traditional 2 wings and 1 tail anchor. See the note above about chock usage - I've found that quite effective.

I also use this knot and it works excellent! I learned from another video and it took some time to understand how it "locks". This video is much better

I think we'll name it Swordfish-NOT.

Lots of great information here, thanks a lot.

Couple o'thoughts from a guy who has been around a while and learned a few lessons about airplane tie-downs.

Everyone is focused on the knots at the wing tie-down ring, and I use the double locking half hitch described above, minimum of two, three ain't bad ... the other end of the line is tied to the anchor in the earth. The bowline knot is absolutely the best way to secure your line to the tie-down in the ground. No matter how tight the line gets in a wind, the knot is easy to un-tie when the time comes.

Another idea, if you know your airplane will be subjected to a wind event is to zip-tie the tag line to the taut line (the photo below says it all). That way, the wind doesn't toss the tag line around and loosen the last knot. Just be sure to take something with you to cut the zip-tie the next time you go to un-tie your aircraft.

[Linked Image]

Yes, that's water in the background ... mine is a float plane, and it too needs to be tied down.

I have one other tip to add if I can find my photos, or take new ones.

Nice job of terminating the rope end, Terry. You don't see that often, these days.

With this information I think I can tie Abby down properly.
I will pester you with one more question. Abby lives within spitting distance of the Pacific.
Would an application of ACF-50 be a good idea? If so how is that stuff applied?
Thanks, Dalton

Dalton,

Absolutely yes.

Check with your mechanic regarding application and getting the stuff where it needs to go.

Warmest regards,
Rick

Whatever you say, Fish. Whatever you say.

I live 90 miles from the Atlantic and highly recommend it. Nothing kills a plane like corrosion.

Yes an application of ACF-50 would be highly recommend, especially if you want to follow Cessna's Service Bulletin regarding corrosion. ACF-50 is applied using equipment first designed for Ziebart rust proofing of cars. There is a pressure gun that is supplied with 70 to 80 psi air. There are several interchangeable metal wands that can be attached to the gun. These 6 to 8 foot wands are inserted through the wing tip and used to "fog" the insides spaces. Inspection plates are usually opened and a cloud or mist of material will roll out of the openings. It kind of looks like smoke coming out of the openings. Other applicators consist of shorter wands and flexible tube wands. A 150 will take about 2 quarts of the material. It will creep out of seams and especially the seams on top of your wing. ACF-50 also lubricates your cables. The material gets sprayed throughout interior spaces using specially designed metal wands to produce an atomized or fog of the material. There are several YouTube videos of how to apply the material.

What Barney said.

During the years I flew in Central America, ACF-50 was the gold standard for corrosion prevention, a serious issue there. To an extent it will get rid of some corrosion that already exists, although it's one of those benefits that can happen but you shouldn't necessarily count on.

What is the difference between ACF50 and CorrosionX??

I'll bet that driving in the stakes can be a challenge . . .

Tied down on the coast and having ridden out one superstorm and one small hurricane at KUUU - Newport while tied down outside......

I'm going to beg to differ with Hung and Ron's recommended equipment. IMHO the open ended hooks are a weak point in tying down. If the plane DOES get slightly slack in he ropes there is a chance the hooks can disengage (usually from the ground) as the ropes vibrate in high wind.

Either tie a knot or use closed style carabineer type hooks that if they go slack - cannot disengage.

Nylon cargo straps that have had any time in the sun - no-no when the going gets tough. The stitching is often UV rotted and fails.

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Make sure you control lock the elevators in the dive position. (People who don't have a control lock sometimes use the seat belt which puts the elevators in a climb position.) The dive position makes sure the plane tries to keep her nose down in a headwind and in a tail wind it depresses the tail and stops the wind getting under it and flipping the plane over on its nose. I've seen this happen in near hurricane strength wind. In a tail wind - the elevators went to climb, the load on the tail tie down got too great and the rope failed - the plane was on her nose wheel before a few of us caught it and pulled the tail back down.

For really strong winds you can also tie the nose down - a loop around the crankshaft behind the propeller may not be good for the shaft seal in the long term - but for riding out a hurricane - is the lesser of two evils. To get 4 spots on the ground to tie to - you need to get greedy and straddle the plane across two tie down spots. Or get creative with a taut chain across the wing tie downs and middle the plane over them.

In near hurricane winds - rudder and aileron gust locks are a must to reduce chattering and wear. I've seen bellcrank pivot bolts fail because of chattering.

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Getting the plane turned into wind if at all possible will reduce wracking on the empennage that can twist it if the plane is secure in its ropes. As the wind veers as the front passes - it can take all hands to manhandle the plane into the new wind direction - if you want to try it!

Next time we are rigged for hurricanes at Newport I'll take some pictures!

We had our 150 tied down outside for a few years. I used the double half hitch, rudder gust lock and control wheel lock. I positioned the airplane so the wing tie down rings were slightly "behind" the ground anchors, then used the tail tied down rope to pull the airplane back slightly and slightly tension the wing tie downs. The result was the wing tie downs were slightly angled. We had thunderstorm winds a few times up to 60 mph or so. I am not a big fan of chains or metal ends. I prefer just good nylon rope so the tie downs can give a little. I always ran out to the airport (only 3 miles from home) anytime thunderstorms were forecast to make sure everything was in good shape. I am glad to be in a hangar except when I have to write the rent check every month .

+1

A friend has several acft. The fabric ones are always hangared, but he found it cheaper to lease a chunk of ground and build covered tiedowns for his other toys.

This paid off within weeks, as he sent pics of the galvanized sheet roof with some pretty serious hail dents in it.

His philosophy is that if it's insured and can be replaced, it may not be cost effective to protect it.

I am, unfortunately, going to be moving from a nice, big box hangar to a T-hangar that's 65 road miles closer to my new home.