Glider tie down.

[Serge Serfaty]

Where can I find the corkscrew type stake? Websites?
Thanks.

[[email protected]]

I would not trust my glider to those things. A better solution is (in
the glider) a couple of sleeping bag stuff sacks. After landing you can
fill them with rocks, dirt or whatever you can find that is heavy. In
the trailer: two 18-24 inch lengths of 2" steel angle with 45 degree
points on one end and half inch holes at the other, plus a sledge
hammer. Drive those puppies into firm ground at a 45 & it will take a
tornado to pull them out (removing them is relatively easy by hitting
them sideways).

Tom

[[email protected]]

I've looked at the corkscrew type stakes and like the other poster,
thought they were a waste of time. In anything but quite soft dirt they
are imposible to screw in, and even then the smaller ones just don't
look strong enough. I ended up using "The claw" sold by Wings and
Wheels and others. I carry these as part of my landout kit. I've also
left the glider tied down for weeks at time at an airport using them.
They were nailed into hard dirt and were not going anywhere.

BTW since my glider only has tiedown locations at the wingtips I need
to be careful with the claw as the eye bolt sticking up from the top
could damage the wing underside if the wing came down on the claw.
Other tiedows including the screw in type, have the same problem. I
solve that at least at the airport by sitting a old aircraft tyre over
the top of the claw and running the tie down rope up through the centre
of the tire.

Darryl

[Frank Whiteley]

I think a few soaring pilots have used these. No your ordinary
corkscrew type.
http://www.airtimemfg.com/

Frank Whiteley

[[email protected]]

The ones you point out are some that I looked at, I even brought a set.
I'll be happy to sell it to anybody who wants it, but I would not trust
my glider to these. The screws are well made but intended for
ultralights. I'm looking for something I could carry in the glider and
be able to handle windy Sierra condtions in a pinch. I don't think
these screws are good enough, the Claw was the best I could find.

Now what the original poster really needs who knows...

Darryl

[Elliott]

Similiar screw stakes are sold at pet stores for staking out Fido.
Lurker

[Serge Serfaty]

Thanks Frank. Exactly what I was looking for.

[Bill Daniels]

I've mentioned this before but it's been a few years.

Carrying heavy steel screw-in's or stakes doesn't appeal to me. They're too
bulky and heavy. They also won't hold in really soft ground like a plowed
field or sand.

Years ago I hit on a solution I like. I bought some heavy five gallon nylon
bags with nylon rope drawstrings and a small, light, folding shovel called a
trenching tool. To make a tie-down, dig a hole, put the dirt in the bag
then put the bag in the hole. They hold well enough that I broke a 1/2"
nylon rope trying to pull one out with a 4x4. Three bags, three motorcycle
tie-down straps and the trenching tool weigh less than a pound and fold up
into a roughly 6"x12" package.

Obviously, these are temporary tie-downs. The only drawback is that I've
not been able to get the bags out of the ground so I have to buy new ones
each time I use the system.

Bill Daniels


> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I've looked at the corkscrew type stakes and like the other poster,
> thought they were a waste of time. In anything but quite soft dirt they
> are imposible to screw in, and even then the smaller ones just don't
> look strong enough. I ended up using "The claw" sold by Wings and
> Wheels and others. I carry these as part of my landout kit. I've also
> left the glider tied down for weeks at time at an airport using them.
> They were nailed into hard dirt and were not going anywhere.
>
> BTW since my glider only has tiedown locations at the wingtips I need
> to be careful with the claw as the eye bolt sticking up from the top
> could damage the wing underside if the wing came down on the claw.
> Other tiedows including the screw in type, have the same problem. I
> solve that at least at the airport by sitting a old aircraft tyre over
> the top of the claw and running the tie down rope up through the centre
> of the tire.
>
> Darryl
>

[Jeremy Zawodny]

Bill Daniels wrote:
> I've mentioned this before but it's been a few years.
>
> Carrying heavy steel screw-in's or stakes doesn't appeal to me. They're too
> bulky and heavy. They also won't hold in really soft ground like a plowed
> field or sand.
>
> Years ago I hit on a solution I like. I bought some heavy five gallon nylon
> bags with nylon rope drawstrings and a small, light, folding shovel called a
> trenching tool. To make a tie-down, dig a hole, put the dirt in the bag
> then put the bag in the hole. They hold well enough that I broke a 1/2"
> nylon rope trying to pull one out with a 4x4. Three bags, three motorcycle
> tie-down straps and the trenching tool weigh less than a pound and fold up
> into a roughly 6"x12" package.

Where'd you find the bags?

I have the same set that Darryl does and it fits well in my ship, but
I'm not always flying my own glider. Sometimes I'm in a club ship with
less space available for cargo.

Jeremy

[Bill Daniels]

"Jeremy Zawodny" > wrote in message
...
> Bill Daniels wrote:
>> I've mentioned this before but it's been a few years.
>>
>> Carrying heavy steel screw-in's or stakes doesn't appeal to me. They're
>> too bulky and heavy. They also won't hold in really soft ground like a
>> plowed field or sand.
>>
>> Years ago I hit on a solution I like. I bought some heavy five gallon
>> nylon bags with nylon rope drawstrings and a small, light, folding shovel
>> called a trenching tool. To make a tie-down, dig a hole, put the dirt
>> in the bag then put the bag in the hole. They hold well enough that I
>> broke a 1/2" nylon rope trying to pull one out with a 4x4. Three bags,
>> three motorcycle tie-down straps and the trenching tool weigh less than a
>> pound and fold up into a roughly 6"x12" package.
>
> Where'd you find the bags?
>
> I have the same set that Darryl does and it fits well in my ship, but I'm
> not always flying my own glider. Sometimes I'm in a club ship with less
> space available for cargo.
>
> Jeremy

I got mine at a Army Navy surplus store. Alternatively, heavy nylon tool
bags work. If you can't find ones you like, any parachute rigger can make a
set out of heavy nylon. This method is more work than stakes but it holds
really well. (5 gallons of dirt is REALLY heavy) It works on anything but
concrete. I don't use them very much so losing bags isn't an issue.

Bill

[[email protected]]

There was a commercially available system called Fly Ties that was
essentially a hub or block with 3 holes drilled through it at 45's
through which you pushed or drove straight pointed rods or stakes
through into the ground. This created a pretty good anchor that is
similar in concept to the Claw. I think the Claw might actually be
better but I didn't know about it when I copied Fly Ties. I needed a
super light-weight tie down set as my baggage allowance is pretty
small. I used Delrin cylander stock about 2 inches in diameter by 2
inches long to make the hubs. Eye bolts through the middle of those...
Three aluminum stakes about 3/8ths inch diameter and 10 or 12 inches
long with a right angle handle on one end and points on the other
finish out each unit. The original Fly Tie system has longer steel
rods so is quite a bit larger and heavier. I carry four anchors in a
bag about 6 inches in diameter by 12 inches long which includes rope,
nose hook ring, and a small mallet in case the ground is hard. I can't
remember the weight but it's something like 4 to 7 pounds tops. Those
suckers are really secure and come out easy and clean when ready to go.
Screw-in dog tie downs aren't made for vertical loads as dogs do not
usually fly except perhaps in tornados.