If you hangar, leave the tie down rings off and store them in the airplane for when they are needed.
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And use something similar to a bumper clip (URL="https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bumper-Shield-Clips-....) when flying
If you hangar, leave the tie down rings off and store them in the airplane for when they are needed.
These are nice, but pricey:
https://www.cleavelandtool.com/products/stainless-tie-down-ring?_pos=1&_sid=42fe9dd23&_ss=r
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I know this probably sounds super ignorant on my part. But what is the reason for covering up or filling the holes when the tie down rings are removed?
To reduce drag and help prevent water intrusion.
Hey everyone:
The idea was to have a decent looking tie down fitting that you wouldn't need to remove. Extra drag? Yes. Measurable? Don't think so.
I'm always bemused when people spend time and money and often add weight redesigning something that works nicely as-is.
The Cleaveland tie down ring is fine if you use a carabiner with it. With rope, the sharp edge will considerably weaken the rope under load. Rope is sensitive to stress concentrations just like aluminum is.
Dave
I know this probably sounds super ignorant on my part. But what is the reason for covering up or filling the holes when the tie down rings are removed?
Mud daubers love it up in there - so go ahead and leave it open. Give a bug(s) a home.
Mud daubers love it up in there - so go ahead and leave it open. Give a bug(s) a home.
Here’s what I did on the wingtips or our RV-6 after my local RV pals gave me grief for leaving the eyebolts under the wings. Besides, the tiedown rope or chain on the left usually fouls on the pitot tube. If folks really want me to, I’ll remove the wingtip and take a couple more photos.
Here’s what I did on the wingtips or our RV-6 after my local RV pals gave me grief for leaving the eyebolts under the wings. Besides, the tiedown rope or chain on the left usually fouls on the pitot tube. If folks really want me to, I’ll remove the wingtip and take a couple more photos.
With all the other holes and openings in the airplane, you actually think taping over the tie down holes is going to make a difference?
There are numerous ties downs mentioned in this thread.I installed two of these and love them. I get many complements on how nice they look and how they don't create much drag. They ate well worth the money in my mind!
Aw, man. I goofed up the photos… here are the correct ones. Sorry for the mess! So here’s how I did it. I scored a piece of .125” 7075-T6 at the local metal supply for the pivoting ring thingy. I’m sure 2024-T3 would be fine. The rest is simple sheet metal work and mostly AN hardware. There’s a 5/16” OD bushing on the pivot that the bolt tightens down on. I made up a couple of nylon washers to take the side loads. The spring is inelegant and I’d envisioned bending up a clock-type spring to install coaxial with the pivot, but I ran out of time. One of these days I’ll fix that. My CFI wife says it’s her favorite thing about the airplane. BTW, I spent a fair bit of time pondering this and came up with a number of bad ideas. This was finally was inspired by the tiedowns at the upper end of some of the Cessna struts, and locating them on the wingtips copies the Grumman single engine airplanes. They clear the pitot and they’re easier to reach. I just left the existing holes in the bottom of the wing as they are. This airplane is hangared so we don’t have problems with mud daubers, but if I go out of town of course I tape the holes. If I ever do another set, I’ll at least move the bolts a bit further apart so I wouldn’t need to trim those AN960 large area washers. If ya’ll have other ideas or refinements, I’d love to hear about them. Thanks for the interest!
I'm looking at tie-down ring options and I was surprised to find that my -7 QB wings are threaded for 5/16" bolts so the rings from Van's and Cleaveland won't fit.
This airplane is hangared so we don’t have problems with mud daubers, but if I go out of town of course I tape the holes.
I'm looking at tie-down ring options and I was surprised to find that my -7 QB wings are threaded for 5/16" bolts so the rings from Van's and Cleaveland won't fit.
Not a structural engineer, but I would be concerned with those alum rings. It looks like 1/8 X 3/16" at the thinnest point. I struggle to see how aluminum of that size could hold up to the loads imparted during a strong blow from a T storm. The plans use 3/8" dia steel, threaded into a .5 X .5 X 6" chunk of alum bolted directly to the thick part of the spar. At least they did on the 6 and the 10; cant speak to the 14. Hard to tell from the pics, but look like it is using thin support material rivetted to a thin wing rib, possibly tied into the thin spar flange. This appears WAY less structurally sound than what Vans designed. Certainly not saying it won't hold, just saying that it seems substantially under engineered comparied to the original design.
Should have said so in your first post.
Anyway, here is a fairing set designed to be used with the Cleaveland tie down rings I linked in my Post #4. Easy on and off.
https://www.rvplasticparts.com/product-page/tie-down-fairing-set
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....Keep in mind that when you really need a tie down to work, the load imparted can be quite high.
This is the first good reason I've seen so far for covering those holes. Well, unless you're a homeless mud dauber.