airbrake position while tied outside

I have recieved conflicting answers about the airbrake position while
my Cirrus is tied down outside. Can the experts of RAS clarify this
for me? Thanks ahead of time!

Good morning

When the plane is parked, with the expectation that I will fly it soon, I keep
it with the spoilers extended in their full "out" position. When I am done for
the day and put the plane away the spoilers are down and locked.

That's the way I learned to do it, and it works for me.

Cheers, Charles
CFI-G

CK wrote:

I have recieved conflicting answers about the airbrake position while
my Cirrus is tied down outside. Can the experts of RAS clarify this
for me? Thanks ahead of time!

Unless your POH says something besides closed and locked, why would you
do anything else? Think bugs birds and weather getting into the spoiler
boxes. If you're leaving them opened to kill lift, you need stronger
tiedowns!

Shawn

Thanks for the quick response. I was curious since this past summer,
I noticed a lot of planes tied out overnight with divebrakes out.
Would the tiedowns need to be stronger with the airbrakes out? That
was my logic, which could be flawed since I am not an aerodynamic
engineer. ;o)

Get the tail up a couple of feet if you have wind concerns.
And if there is that much concern, put it in the box and in some area that is
protected.
GA

CK wrote:
Thanks for the quick response. I was curious since this past summer,
I noticed a lot of planes tied out overnight with divebrakes out.
Would the tiedowns need to be stronger with the airbrakes out?

No, the airbrakes reduce the lift on the wings when it's coming from the
front of the plane. This reduces the stress on the tiedowns, and I
believe it reduces the chance the tiedowns will loosen in gusty winds.
Raising the tail as Bob suggests is even more effective.

Some people use the wheel brake as a parking brake, so the spoilers are
open to apply the brakes (if the brake is on the spoiler handle). Some,
like myself, prefer to tie down to the spoiler pivots instead of the
wing tips, and the tiedown strap keeps the spoilers from closing.


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change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Do not forget to look into the manual of your ship.
For many planes it is stringently recommended to UNLOCK
the airbrakes whenever the plane is parked for longer times!!
I think it is a good idea for all of our plastic birds!
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Best regards Walter

My glider has some nice hard points, to attach tie downs to, in the
spoiler boxes. These, plus the wingtips, gives me four tie down
points plus the extended spoilers lock my wheel brake. I use them for
overnight parking only though.


Doug Turner 7B

Ah, what would life be without a controversy? Here's some conflicting
information to digest.

Open spoilers are rain catchers. Closed spoilers are not completely
sealed. If it rains, water will dribble in. If it rains hard and long,
the spolier box will slowly fill and at some point begin to spill
through the control rod access hole into the wing.

Solution, leave the spoilers closed and tape the seams. Or better yet,
get a set of wing covers.

BTW, I'm not sure putting the spoilers up wins you any net advantage.
It reduces the lift the wing is producing a little, but at the cost of
more surface area presented to the wind. The only real advantage I see
is that it accuates the wheel brake on many models. The key to
securing an aircraft for weather is no slack in the ropes. I suspect
deploying the spoilers is part placebo, a convenient "extra" for those
who are content to stick a pair of stands under the wings for the
night and call the glider secure.

Those contributors mentioning birds, beasts, and bugs also have a good
point. Taken in whole, I'd vote to leave 'em closed.

"Chris OCallaghan" wrote in message
om...
Ah, what would life be without a controversy? Here's some conflicting
information to digest.

Open spoilers are rain catchers. Closed spoilers are not completely
sealed. If it rains, water will dribble in. If it rains hard and long,
the spolier box will slowly fill and at some point begin to spill
through the control rod access hole into the wing.

Solution, leave the spoilers closed and tape the seams. Or better yet,
get a set of wing covers.

It is possible to have it both ways. If you really want to spoil the
lift of your wing while parked, you can make your own strap on spoilers of
padded wood or aluminum. Here in Florida, we get afternoon thunderbumpers
with winds that can briefly reach hurricane force. Over the years, I have
seen more than one glider get unnecessarily trashed. In addition to good
tiedowns, I like to see a moderately raised tail, and an extra tiedown
anchor for the tow hook.

Another issue that nobody has yet mentioned is the possible lack of UV
protection inside the spoiler box, this might be a good reason to keep
spoilers closed while tied down outside.

Vaughn