Tie-down space: the ugly reality.

[John Courte]

So it looks like I'm going to have to keep my RV-7 outdoors.

Anything less than an hour away by car has hangar space at no less than $500/mo. OK, except Compton, but that's over $300 and still too rich for my blood. Whiteman and Cable are too far to work for me, and Van Nuys is also too pricey for hangar space, plus I don't want to have to fight the 405 to get out of town on Friday evening.

KSMO is 2 miles from my house and the tie-down fees are more than HHR or CPM, but the convenience of having my airplane a bike ride away is easily worth the difference.

So I'm looking at:
Aircraft covers
Tie down rings
wheel chocks
Gust locks

Canopy cover: Is the Extended version from Bruce's worth it? Seems to me the wing root fairing seals take care of moisture running off from above, but I'd like to hear everyone's opinion.

Tie down rings: On the QB kit, do those come pre-threaded or will I have to tap them? The airplane's in OXR and I'm in SMO so I can't look right now. I never looked at them because I assumed I'd be at a hangar and not have to worry about it until later. Now is later.

Gust locks: These are a mystery to me. I'd appreciate any tips, including which way to tie the stick down for the direction in which I'm parked relative to the prevailing wind.

[Bill_H]

Regarding the stick, I recommend this.
http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...&postcount=183
That little piece of wood keeps the elevator neutral, not full up, when you secure the stick with the seat belts. That practice also keeps the ailerons neutral.

In 2012 at Airventure a big wind blew through. Blew a couple of planes over. I had the piece-of-wood shown installed in my RV12 during that wind. Immediately adjacent to me were two other RV12s. We could see that their noses had gone up off the ground in the wind and they had actually pivoted some into the wind and sat back down. Mine had no such movement.

I also had the Vans combo tow-bar rudder lock parking brake device installed.

[Smilin' Jack]

John,
I understand your situation. If I was not lucky enough to find a hanger at an airport 23 miles away I would have been in your situation.

As far as covers. I would think Bruce covers are great I believe they have UVA and UVB protection. The only problem I see with covers on a lot of planes is that they sometimes get blown around because owners don't fasten them down well.

I would assume on your quick build that the tied downs have been tapped to a 3/8 hole. next time your at the airport just take a standard thread 3'8 bolt and see if it goes in. I did find that Van's tiedown rings fit tighter than the ones that ACE HWD has. so I purchased mine from VAN's

Make sure you have the drainage holes drill in the fuselage before each bulkhead. It will help eliminate moisture that accumulates on humid days with cold air.

Lock it up good.

Jack

[Dvalcik]

I recommend the gust buster, a great product

a few previous threads

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...highlight=gust

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...highlight=gust

[Greg Arehart]

Elevator gust lock I built:

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ight=gust+lock

Pierre Smith also posted some photos of an aileron gust lock that I copied, but I can't seem to find the thread. Will try to take some photos this weekend and post here.

Greg

[arffguy]

My Cessna sits outside and someone just a few days ago stole my Nav/Comm radio. Just another thing to consider. I'm looking for some way to protect them in the future.

Sorry if this comment makes you more concerned.

[bkthomps]

my hangar here in atlanta is 650/mo

so, it could be worse, you are in a very populated area, i'm impressed you can find one less than 500/mo

[bret]

My QB wings were NOT threaded, I had to take a 3/8 tap to them.

[Vern]

ALL AIRCRAFT should have tie downs ready for use. You can never tell when an unexpected divert or storm will have you landing at any available strip and all you may be able to do is tie down.

[beberle]

Have you tried to find a hangar partner in the area to split costs? A tailwheel and nose wheel RV-6/7/8 will fit in a small t-hangar w/o any problems. A Pitts or T-18 would be a great partner as well.