Worse damage I found nearby my row 315 is Larry’s RV14A. He had a gust lock on it but 50+ kts twisted it anyway. Pix will be below. He’s looking for ideas from those that know more as to temporary fix, if needed, to get home 1800 miles away. He’s asked me to post this and will watch for replies. If anyone can help please reply here.
After reading all these comments, I can't understand what occurred first?
Rudder gust lock failed, resulting in rudder slamming back and forth and finally bending the rudder?
Or, rudder gust lock holding tight and wind force bending the rudder out of shape?
I am sorry to hear of the damage, especially having to deal with it away from home at a time when you want to enjoy yourself.
I hope this will turn into an educational thread before it fizzles out.
I feel lucky to not have any damage to my rudder, but my ASA ultimate gust lock did bend. When I tried to compact it for the trip home it would bind up and not collapse beyond where it was set. When I got home it had a gap of 1/16th inch along the inner sleeve at the center of the bend.
I bet Alan would be interested in seeing that piece firsthand for a failure analysis. You'd probably get a free repair out of it, too, knowing how he can be. They stand behind their stuff and put a lot of engineering thought into it.
Pointing HBC the other way would be turning their backs on show central.
Until we manage mother nature, there is no solution.
That said, I'm sorry to hear about the damage some are seeing. And I'm also reading with great interest which chock and lock techniques are working best. I have "The Claw" and the ASA Ultimate Gust Lock. So far so good with that combo.
To me, it looks like Ultimate Gust Lock type products ( I had a similar product for my Piper) coupled with the "top locks", AND something in the center, along with tailwheel locked and tied down is best.
There were at least 7 damaged rudders in HBC this year, some minor, some needing replaced or patched before flying out.
In 2019, the storm busted my gust lock to pieces, then slammed my rudder past the deflection point (i.e., it "bent" but did return to the original shape) and put a hole in the side of the rudder.
The problem with into the wind is that it will generate lift over the wings and could pull it right out of the ground.
At 75-90mph winds, all bets are off ... luck of the draw ... I feel the ops pain