Control Lock

[Andy A]

Does anybody have a good recommendation for a control lock to lock things down while outside?  It's fairly windy where I live and I noticed today how much they flap around without one. 

[cdarza]

Bungee cords work for me ...   

[Tom Baker]

I really don't like tying the stick back with seat belts, but it is an option in a pinch. You could also tie the stick forward to the bottom tubes on the rudder pedals with a bungee cord.

[Ed Cesnalis]

2 minutes ago, Tom Baker said:

I really don't like tying the stick back with seat belts, but it is an option in a pinch. You could also tie the stick forward to the bottom tubes on the rudder pedals with a bungee cord.

My plane was sitting in Lee Vining on Mono Lake with the stick held back by the seat belt.  It was like that for many hours in 80kt winds, flying while tied down.

An area of plexi got blasted with pumice and no other harm done.  Now that she is 12 years old the plexi looks 'good for its age'.

[ct9000]

I also tie the stick forward with bungee to the rudder pedals and also select neg flap. that seems to help it stay down - not try to fly.

[WmInce]

Just a suggestion, but when I overnight outside, I use 2 bungee chords with hooks at each end of both.

I hook each bungee to each right pedal, then wrap around, aft of each stick, hooking the other end to each left pedal. This forces the sticks forward and keeps them laterally centered

One bungee can be used under normal conditions. But if strong winds are forecasted and I cannot find hangar space, I use 2 bungees.

By using 2 bungees, the tension force on both sticks can be minimal, yet give it adequate control force.

With forward stick, it lowers the trailing edge of the stabilator, which is more desirable with a surface tailwind, but at the same time, it also forces the nose down during a surface headwind, which I think is also desirable.