Why you need to tie down the wing AND the tail...

[Nomex Maximus]

From VansAirforce.net - what happens when a 172/182 is tied at just the wings and a storm blows by:

http://www.vansairforce.net/delete_eventually/IMG_1887.JPG

I'd suspect that totals the airplane. I have to admit I've become casual about tieing down the airplane when I park it...

[PlaneFlyr]

That's gotta suck.

[IceNine]

At the fbo I worked for we "Rope Ratchets"

Farm and Fleet, Tractor Supply, Big R type stores all have them.

Nice thing with these is unlike ratchet straps these things are limited to how hard you can pull them and allow you to actually feel how tight they are before you rip the ring off the plane.

Also these things are relatively cheap and lightweight

[Eclipse]

Like this?



http://www.roperatchet.com/

[es_g0d]

A good tie down is a mark of a true aviation professional.  Like everything we do in CAP, we need to treat airplanes as though we owned them ourselves.  A NAV III 182 is worth about 2 Ferraris -- ever see a Ferrari abused by its owner?  Of course not!  Feel privileged that you have an opportunity to operate some world-class equipment and treat it as such.  Please don't be lax about tying down the airplane, or in anything else in aviation!

[Pylon]

A good tie down is a mark of a true aviation professional.  Like everything we do in CAP, we need to treat airplanes as though we owned them ourselves.  A NAV III 182 is worth about 2 Ferraris -- ever see a Ferrari abused by its owner?  Of course not!  Feel privileged that you have an opportunity to operate some world-class equipment and treat it as such.  Please don't be lax about tying down the airplane, or in anything else in aviation!

+1.

Of course, it helps a lot more if you just have a nice, heated, rent-free hangar for your aircraft like our squadron.