airbrake position while tied outside

CK wrote:
Thanks for the quick response. I was curious since this past summer,
I noticed a lot of planes tied out overnight with divebrakes out.
Would the tiedowns need to be stronger with the airbrakes out?

No, the airbrakes reduce the lift on the wings when it's coming from the
front of the plane. This reduces the stress on the tiedowns, and I
believe it reduces the chance the tiedowns will loosen in gusty winds.
Raising the tail as Bob suggests is even more effective.

Some people use the wheel brake as a parking brake, so the spoilers are
open to apply the brakes (if the brake is on the spoiler handle). Some,
like myself, prefer to tie down to the spoiler pivots instead of the
wing tips, and the tiedown strap keeps the spoilers from closing.


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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

My glider has some nice hard points, to attach tie downs to, in the
spoiler boxes. These, plus the wingtips, gives me four tie down
points plus the extended spoilers lock my wheel brake. I use them for
overnight parking only though.


Doug Turner 7B