Rick responded directly to me. His response is below.
I used to use two different types of anchors. For Midwestern dirt, I used cable anchors. Those have a long shaft with a spiral disk near the end. Id have to stand on the disk while turning it to get them to bite, then theyd screw into regular dirt or sand just find. Id expect them to hold in dirt or sand better than anything else. Screwing them in is work, though, but I had a method. My tow bar was the Piper type with a long bar and a thick tube at the end like a stubby 7 crossbar that fit into the single fork nose gear. It was great for screwing in any type of tie down. With a 2½ lever arm, once the anchor started screwing in, it wasnt much effort to screw it all the way down. Taking them out was just as easy. But cable anchors will not go into rocky ground that has embedded gravel and rocks. For that kind of soil I took some super-hefty spiral anchors that were being sold specifically for aircraft tie downs. I cant remember if these are the titanium ones being sold on the Internet or not. They are way thicker and stronger than doggie ties and dont have the weakening pinch just below the top. In rocky soil they are still hard to get in but it can (usually) be done. Ed _____ From: Rick Green [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 12:37 PM To: Ed Burkhead Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Po' man's tie downs Ed, Good points... I have tested the pull with a three brawny men tug of war test.... it held. I assume the pull was at least five hundred pounds. I've moved pianos with these guys. The soil was soggy-moist midwestern topsoil -- i would be more nervous in sand -- but I know of nothing good for real sand. The chevron wing gives substantial holding angled properly. The clip ring is more substantial than it looks - but I only use that for the day trip - walking around an airport. Otherwise i go under the dome flange -- whihc is very strudy. It may not be the best -- but I do beleive it will work for 90% of time. I don't think anything is 100% guaranteed. I stake both wings and the tail. Looking at prices....you could buy nine of these - three to a point and really secure your plane - at less costs than the claw. Actually ... I had never seen the claw until pointed out here.... It looks to me like a homemade one could be easily built with some aluminum bars, thick eyebolt and 4 12" spike nails. Just an opinion....But I am comfortable about the holding on mine. And I tend to err on the cautious side on these things. Rick Ed Burkhead <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Rick, Those dog tie down connector loops look to be about the same thickness of metal as the rope-loops on the spiral doggie-ties that break off so easily. I trust you arent tying your rope to the loops that came with the dome tie-out stake. The pull on the tie-down rope has to be greater than 500 lb. to lift the plane and might well, in a good micro-gust, be way higher. Ive seen some of the spiral doggie ties break both at the rope-loop and at the main stem. I certainly wouldnt willingly use one of those. The dome tie-out stake you advocate looks like the spike might be thicker, at least. Since they are so cheap, you might want to test three or four of them to see how they stand up to 500-1,500 lb. pulls, both in the strength of the metal and their ability to resist pull-out in various dirt types. Id be interested in your results. Im inclined to go with the claw. It looks more substantial to me. Ed _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Green Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 7:29 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Po' man's tie downs Several people asked for more info on this.... I found a site on line that sells them - with a picture. I got mine cheaper at wal-mart. I use the swivel hook in light winds and tie under the flange long-term parking. I got the leatther gym bag in a flea-market type discount store for 2-3 bucks. Go to www.arcatapet. <http://www.arcatapet.com/> com and search for "Dome tie outs". Here is the direct link: http://images. <http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search. yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Ddog%2Btie%2Bout%2Bstake%2Bdome%26fr%3Dyfp- t-501-s%26ei%3Dutf-8%26js%3D1%26x%3Dwrt&w=400&h=400&imgurl=www.arcatapet.com %2Ffullsize%2F3729.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arcatapet.com%2Fitem.cfm%3Fcat% 3D3729&size=10.9kB&name=3729.jpg&p=dog%20tie%20out%20stake%20dome&type=JPG&o id=78cc895d45247ed4&no=1&tt=5> search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsea rch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Ddog%2Btie%2Bout%2Bstake%2Bdome%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501-s%26ei%3D utf-8%26js%3D1%26x%3Dwrt&w=400&h=400&imgurl=www.arcatapet.com%2Ffullsize%2F3 729.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arcatapet.com%2Fitem.cfm%3Fcat%3D3729&size=10. 9kB&name=3729.jpg&p=dog%20tie%20out%20stake%20dome&type=J PG&oid=78cc895d45247ed4&no=1&tt=5 It's an option! Rick 415C _____ Looking for last minute shopping deals? 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