Pumpkin not tied down

[Don Grillo]

Hello All, I looked at the sky soaring camera’s this morning and see that Pumkin’s wing is laying on the ground. It was not tied down properly. Who ever was out at the field yesterday (Monday) please return to the field and tie it down properly. We are expecting rain and possible thunderstorms Wednesday.

Don

[John DeRosa]

I am on my way to the field to do some work and will re-tie down the 2-33.

Locking the buckles that we use on our wing tie down straps for the 2-33s are different than the standard straps you find at a hardware store. To test it always give the strap a good tug to make sure it’s locked properly. Ask another member to give you a lesson on how to lock the buckle if you aren’t sure.

Thanks!

Regards, John DeRosa
West Dundee, IL

[John Lincoln]

Fellas, I have been a member of the club for 5 years and this problem continues to come up. I can’t say I know the solution, but it’s time for us to come up with a secure and easily understood and repeatable method of tying the ships down. Maybe it’s as simple as going back to a rope and a knot. That may not be as quick as our current method of locking buckles or ratchet straps but it is easy to understand and repeat. John Lincoln Maintenance

[John Phelan]

John L.,

Rope and knot are a good concept, but you are relying on the knot tying abilities of a vast collection of members.  As a long-time Boy Scout leader, I can assure you the knot tying skills of most of the population are questionable, at best.  Leaving our fleet to the whims of granny knots is not a good approach.  Pretty much each ship will need a knot-tying cheat sheet if we expect to have the ships securely tied down each time with rope.

Best Regards,

John F. Phelan

From: SSI <webmaster@skysoaring.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2023 11:33
To: phelanjf@gmail.com
Subject: Reply To: Pumpkin not tied down; By John Lincoln, [Sky Soaring]

[John Lincoln]

John P.,

At the end of the year I have to tie my boat to its trailer. Although I’m a sailor the easiest knot for this purpose is the simple half hitch. I put in several in case one or two come loose. I also feel that several “granny knots” would serve us just fine. Surely even our members can tie three or four “granny knots”. But if not then we need to come up with something else because they have demonstrated that they can’t operate the locking buckles or ratchet straps. I do remember when I took some power lessons in the 1960’s the flight school tied down the Cessna 150 with chains that were the exact length to go from the tie down fixture on the ground to the tie down ring on the plane. Maybe that is what we need to look into. John Lincoln

[Rich Walenda]

Hello:

Not trying to throw gas on the fire but the fix can be that we have a short course for all pilots of the club gliders in ground handling and tie downs.  Over the years we have changed strap types and now the 2-33s have rudder locks on the pedals.  A short demonstration as to how the straps work can be helpful.  That being said, we may be able to practice the tie down procedure this Sunday since it will be partly cloudy and 14 mph winds.

Regards,

Rich

 

[ANDRZEJ CHICEWICZ]

stop accusing people of not knowing how to attach straps, the problem is a fake Chinese one 
the solution is to buy a better one

 End of story!!!!

On Friday, October 13, 2023 at 06:00:26 PM CDT, SSI <webmaster@skysoaring.com> wrote:

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