Best tie down straps?

[JP62-RV6owner]

Hi guys

Has anyone used either of these:

1. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...it_tiedown.php

or

2. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...ook_n_pull.php

Both of these look really nice and "quick and easy" but sometimes things look better than they are!

Anyone used either?

JP

[lr172]

As a sailor, I am a fan of good old fashioned Nylon three strand or double braided line. The beauty of Nylon is that it stretches, absorbing shocks and load. I used 1/2" nylon double braided lines when I tied down outside. Tensile strength is probably triple what you are looking at. Relatively inexpensive from any marine supply outfit.

Tie a bowline knot for the ground hook and a standard aviation knot at the plane. Simple and quick with no steel to bang against your paint job on gusty days.

I have a 3/4" nylon line securing a 13,000# boat to a can and it survives in 50 knot blows. I use 1/2" lines to secure it to a dock with no issues.

Larry

[David Paule]

Strongly recommend that you avoid both products.

Stick with polyester rope or the marine kind with a high-tech core. Avoid polypropylene and nylon, which are too stretchy. They let an airplane start rocking and it's the dynamic overload that causes failures.

Avoid the classic tiedown knot or other devices which can slip - they do slip, when the plane is bouncing around in high winds. Use knots which are snug to the tiedown ring and firmly secure. And tie more than one of them!

Also avoid open hooks, as they too are a place where failures can occur in dynamic loadings. Besides possibly letting the hook disengage, they generally aren't as strong as devices or ropes that go completely around the tiedown ring.

I personally like some of the marine ropes (they call it "line" in boat-speak). I use 5/16" New England Regatta Braid for my Cessna 180. I like that it's always soft and easily knotted, yet easy to untie. It's got a good feel to the hand. If I were going to replace it, or buy some rope for the RV-3B I'm building, I'd use one of the ropes with a polyester cover and a Dyneema core. www.apsltd.com has been my go-to source ever since I had my sailboat. I'm a happy customer but have no other connection to them.

Dave
RV-3B, skinning the fuselage

[Ed_Wischmeyer]

Also make sure that your tiedown rope can't pull the stake out of the ground. I always have my tiedown ropes go out at a 45 degree angle, and the stakes into the ground at a 45 degree angle so that the rope is perpendicular to the stake.

[RV3bpilot]

I just have a couple of cheap ratchet straps that I purchased at a truck stop. They are a little heavy but work good.

[edneff]

Has anybody tried "The Claw"?
ww.theclaw.com

[Chkaharyer99]

Originally Posted by edneff

Has anybody tried "The Claw"?
ww.theclaw.com

Yes. I borrowed a Claw for use with my RV8 at last years Oshkosh.

I bought one for myself a couple months ago. Easy to use.

[roadrunner20]

I've been using the #2, Hook-n-Pull tiedowns for a few years.
I really like them for use when I travel. They hold well & are very well constructed.

I'd probably opt for something different if my RV was tied down 24/7.

[N941WR]

For straps I use ratchet straps but replaced the hooks with high quality climbing carabiners.

For anchors, I switched to the largest Orange Screw . They seem to work fine for anything short of a tornado and are very light.

[ExtraKatana]

For Ramp use......Polyester Rope as mentioned.
For field Use.......I use a tie-down the Cessna 150 club taught me about 15 years back.
Per Tie-Down outlet: Use (3) 1-foot lengths of chain hooked to a "Threaded Quick Link." Nail 1' tent stakes at the end of ea. chain outward on a 45 degree pointing away from each other. Tie a nylon rope to the Quick Link and attach to Tie-Down eyelet. The whole setup will cost less than $30.

It was good enough to hold my plane plus a cub that was mating with my 6A at Rain-N-Pain in 2011. The tornado broke both the wings on the cub and pulled loose every puck-style tie down the cub was attached to. Said Cub blew approx. 50 ft. backwards into my plane and subsequently ended up on my leading edge. The tie-down method I described held us both without pulling loose. After walking the grounds after the tornado, I noticed the Claw seemed to hold in almost every situation also.

Use that Orange Screw and chances are you will be renting tie-downs at OSH (if that is where you are going). The AirVenture web-site pertaining to Aircraft Camping Guidelines says "Dog Leash tie-downs are Prohibited."