RV loose in the wind

[Tooch]

I also had a problem with mine. Left the plane tied down over night, winds were gusting to 25 kts. The gust lock stayed on but the bar bent quite a bit. Anti-Splat sent me a new bar but I have lost some confidence in the device. This gust lock is not cheap. I hope Alan designs a fix for us who have purchased this.

[F1R]

A stick block / lock can be made strong enough that the control surfaces, or pushrods and bellcranks will fail if the winds are high enough.

An aircraft can be tied down so secure that a wind can over stress the wing spars also. This has happened to numerous float planes in Alaska

At some point, the RV just needs to be inside. This is not a comment regarding any particular brand of gust lock.

Any kind of outside storage and tie down is a risk.

[Rick_A]

I like the Gust Buster system because it was designed to have built it "give". It uses bungee cords for that attach to the stick for the ailerons and elevators and push tubes with internal springs to for the rudder.

It's takes more effort to use it than some simpler systems but it's worth the effort if you are tied down in windy (or potentially windy) conditions.

If you do a search on VAF you will find more info on the product and a link to their website. I don't know if they are an advertiser here.

[60av8tor]

Originally Posted by Rick_A

I like the Gust Buster system because it was designed to have built it "give". It uses bungee cords for that attach to the stick for the ailerons and elevators and push tubes with internal springs to for the rudder.

It's takes more effort to use it than some simpler systems but it's worth the effort if you are tied down in windy (or potentially windy) conditions.

If you do a search on VAF you will find more info on the product and a link to their website. I don't know if they are an advertiser here.

+1! I sing the Gust Buster's praises to anyone who listens. I've owned it since owning my 7A, and I don't believe it can be beat.

[vfrazier]

You can contact Loal Wood at http://www.wildblueinnovations.com/ if you're interested in the GustBuster.

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by Tooch

I also had a problem with mine. Left the plane tied down over night, winds were gusting to 25 kts. The gust lock stayed on but the bar bent quite a bit. Anti-Splat sent me a new bar but I have lost some confidence in the device. This gust lock is not cheap. I hope Alan designs a fix for us who have purchased this.

Hmmmmm

Looks like a great business opportunity for someone.

They could call their product the Ultimate Gust Lock AntiBend.....

[JonJay]

Perhaps we all can learn from your "confession" Your post is appreciated.
Must have been one heck of a wind to blow your airplane off the chocks, amazing. Glad to hear no damage was done.

On the subject of gust locks, I have been doing it the old fashioned way with a bit of a home made bungee set up.
After reviewing the Gust Buster site, I got off the fence and ordered one.
They actually show the engineering that went behind the product development. Not common in our "It's ok, its experimental. You can do whatever you want", supplier world.

[amekler]

i also use the gust buster on my rv10 and have no complaints. it takes a few minutes to put on but it works
Alan
N668G

[flightlogic]

For those locking the rudder with a bolt arrangement of some sort at the back.... Do you hang a big red flag on that to be seen during pre flight exam???

I remember a Luscombe I had. Made a rudder lock with scrap aluminum and bolt etc. Went around the pattern one day and landed. After tying it down... I found my rudder lock still in place. Bent a bit from the landing rollout. Suppose that means the winds were kind that day. After that, I had a big redl flag and a placard that was placed on the throttle... that had to be removed before flight. Could not believe I forgot to remove it that day. DUMB

[Bavafa]

Originally Posted by Zuldarin

My gust lock bent a little as well. I noticed the bend when I removed it as I was preflighting my departure from Oshkosh last year (arm wouldn't slide in like it used to). I took a picture planning on sending it to Alan but I haven't taken the time to send it yet. I adjusted it a bit to keep things good and tight and it is still doing a great job. It survived the nasty Saturday morning storm we had at Oshkosh last year so I'm very happy with it. :-)

Mine was bent shortly after I bought it, Allen took it back and fixed/replaced it and indicated that they are changing the holes in such a way that it won't weaken it.