Jump to content

Gust Locks


FlyingMonkey

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hey all...

 

What do folks use for gust and wind resistance when parked on a ramp in a CT? The only time this ever came up for me I went to an EAA pancake breakfast and parked in winds gusting to 22 knots, I just loosened the passenger harness and cinched it to hold the stick full back. This seemed to work okay, but is not ideal.

 

Do others use "plate and bungee" style locks between the aileron and flap, clamps holding the aileron and flap together, or something else?

Posted

Autopilot...gusts are a none issue.

 

Complete topic misunderstanding aside...

 

Just curious, how does that work on landing? One would assume at SOME point you have to actually fly the airplane, even if the wind is gusting.

Posted

Teasing aside, I don't think an AP is ever a good solution to gusts in a CT. Landing and taking off we need to be hand-flying so the issue is wind shear in cruise otherwise known as turbulence. The AP uses aileron alone not coordinated input and if you react to turbulence with aileron alone you induce yaw and make things worse.

 

If I have turbulence to deal with and want to make the ride comfortable I turn off the AP and use aileron and rudder inputs to counter the gusts without inducing yaw.

Posted

Autopilot...gusts are a none issue.

 

Don't you worry that your dual redundant super sized batteries might run down while the autopilot is saving the control surfaces from gust when the airplane is tied down outside for the weekend?

Posted

My toy is nestled inside a giant, insulated heated hangar built for Gulfstreams. But, the factory did supply a tail harness, and I got some homedepot cargo straps to take care of the wings when traveling. The AP will take care of gusts enroute. If you tie down the stick with a bungee chord as some seem to be doing, good luck...the poor mans AP is no substitute for the real thing.

 

I hate to say it, but you should really know what you are talking about before you type in a reply.

A gust lock is a device used to hold the control surface while the airplane is parked on the ground to keep the control surfaces from banging against their stops and doing damage in windy or gusty conditions. No one is using a bungee cord for an autopilot, at least not on a CT. They are using it to hold the control while parked on the ground.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...