The 15 or so gliders tied down at the Boulder, Colorado airport encounter
100MPH winds routinely - usually in winter. 100MPH is above most gliders
maneuvering speed and above a 2-33's Vne. Tiedowns are a very serious
matter.

The strategy is to orient the gliders N-S since the prevailing strong winds
are from the west. The nose, tail and, if possible, two ropes on each wing
are secured to strong ground anchors. Some use wing stands at each wing
rope so it can be very tight without bending the wing. Many use Jaxida or
other covers but they deteriorate fairly quickly in the intense high
altitude UV.

Each tiedown bay is fenced with chain link with plastic tubes inserted into
the fence. The purpose of the fencing is to strain out wind borne debris
and reduce wind velosity around the glider itself.

Trailers are oriented E-W with tongue and tailgate tiedowns.

It's been several decades since a well secured glider has suffered wind
damage so it must work.

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
news:Fkjpk.9$w51.1@trnddc01...
jb92563 wrote:
Here is some simplified logic on the matter.

If you fly a 750 lb gross weight glider and it keeps you aloft above
stall at say 40 mph then its fair to say generally that it is
generating close to 750 lbs of lift.

The typical nylon 5/8 tow rope will break at somwhere beyond 400 lbs

Did you mean 3/8"? Typical *breaking* strength of 5/8 nylon rope is in the
10,000 pound range, and even 3/8" nylon rope can have 3000 pound breaking
strength. The *working* load limit of 5/8" nylon can range from 900 pounds
to 3000 pounds, depending on construction.

and if you use a pair of these for tiedowns it should be adequate for
800 pounds tension in 40 mph winds if you have a secure anchor.

Because the glider weighs 750 pounds in this example, it will counter the
750 pounds of lift. Simplistically, the ropes can be just large enough to
steady the glider; with a 56 mph wind, the wing would develop 1500 pounds
of lift, and then the ropes would need to restrain 750 pounds.

I suspect weight is a big reason even the apparently minmal glider
tiedowns work so much of the time: the wing isn't optimally positioned for
generating lift (lower angle of attack than stall, wind not coming head
on, spoilers out, etc), so the weight of the glider exceeds the wing's
lift.

I use chain myself since it does not weaken much over time in the sun
and should be good way past what my glider could withstand.

I often see gliders tied down with ropes/straps that can restrain many
times the weight of the glider, but they are on the wing tips. How much
force can a wing tip take before something breaks?

Decades ago, we had a club Blanik effectively tied down only at the wing
tips when a 70+ mph wind lifted it enough to bend the wings (downward) at
about two thirds of the way out on the wing. I think it would have
survived the wind with no damage if the factory ring tiedowns at the wing
midspan had been connected to a ground anchor instead of a cable.


At 100mph winds I doubt your ground anchor would hold against the lift
and you should just forget about anything outside the trailer
surviving at the tie down at that speed because if the rope and anchor
don't break then something else probably will.

And at 100 mph, it's probably time to worry about how well the trailer is
tied down!

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
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