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Gust locks...what worked and what didn't?

My RV-10 in HBP suffered a bent rudder. Modified towbar to hold pedals. It jumped the pedals somehow. Rudder must have swung hard. The stops (self manufactured single piece) worked well but the lower trailing edge was bent with six rivets popped. Looked like it could have been hit by FOD. All shop heads are on the same side and that's the side where it came loose. Next rudder will have alternating manufactured heads. I repaired it in about an hour by taxiing to the repair stand near Vintage.

I drove around HBC & HBC distributing flyers to educate pilots with damage where they could make repairs. It was easy to find damage. Just look at RV rudders. Found 10 RV's with bent rudders all in the same spot, lower third trailing edge (furthest point from the hinge). 2 had broken stops (one internal the other external) allowing elevator contact by the rudder.

The torque on the rudder must have been crazy high. I'm thinking the strongest (but bulkiest) lock would be something surrounding VS and rudder so that the trailing edge is supported.
 

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Locating Gust Lock device Mfg.

I need help locating the Mfg of this gust lock device. I was one of the unfortunate ones who got rudder damage at this years Oshkosh and clearly need a new method of securing the control surfaces. This one looks like a pretty good option.

The parts look like they are 3D printed and may not even be commercially available. Someone out there will know, please post here. Thx.

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I need help locating the Mfg of this gust lock device.

Opinion: The contact patch of that device is pretty small. It is very possible that the rudder will fail due to the load concentration at that point.

I think the best results will come from an external lock with a large contact patch, or smaller control lock(s) at multiple points on the rudder. For example, one of the padded clamp devices on the counterbalance and an antisplat to hold at the control horns. The double lock would distribute the torque across two contact spots, cutting the point loads (and maximum torque on the rudder) by half.
 
Did other non-RV makes and models suffer rudder damage? Or, is this an RV problem? If so, why?
 
Was there enough warning so that people could have relocated their planes?

Yes, there was plenty. I was in the middle of line 403, and people in the known were already talking about a storm line brewing west.
Mid or early afternoon there were loudspeaker announcements that severe weather was moving towards Oshkosh, with strong wings and rain. Witnesses more than one aircraft in HBC and HBP being prepared for hail with protective carpeting…
Well done EAA for those LS announcements!
Still, the direction of wind gusts in a storm is an unknown, but to have the aircraft pointing into the already strong westerlies would make sense to me…

Seeing all this I called a marshaller and moved my baby into a protected area into the SW corner of HBC at midday. Upgraded my homemade tri pin tie-down system with the Big Screw system at the same time. So, whilst having a delicious meal at one of the Mexican during the storm, my only worry was that some flying part, tent, or aircraft would damage my ship. Or that hail would hit…

Visited most damaged RVs next morning, and chatted with the builders/owners, a sad episode of my little Europe-Iceland-Greenland-Canada-US and back tour…
Nice to witness the support amongst RVers to get those damaged back home :)
 
Very good discussion here on gust locks that worked, didn’t work, and proposed for the future. One thing to remember that the winds vary quite a bit around the parking areas in speed and direction based on variability of the storm, nearby trees and building, tents and nearby airplanes, etc. therefore I don’t think we can make absolute conclusions on what worked and what didn’t but can make observations and ideas on what may be improved upon.

Good thread as with so many damaged obviously something needs to be changed/improved that works despite all the unknown variables.
 
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I was sure glad that I had my Anti-Splat locks on my 6A when I spent a week in MTH during a couple of storms. My controls where locked tight during 20-30 knot winds. Allen's products work! I never leave home without it.
 
The anti splat gust lock works great. Although it is imperative it is adjusted properly for it to work as designed, with the complete unit in tension when it is locked. Tight as a drum is a good description.
 
I use my Anti-Splat gust lock eery time I tie down and it works great, but I’ve never parked in really challenging conditions like Oshkosh this year. I gather from this thread that just locking the bottom of the rudder either by pinning the horn or with an ASUGL might still allow rudder damage or unzipping farther up the trailing edge. I like the idea represented by Steve Melton’s 3D printed gust locks, allowing me to support the rudder trailing edge farther up in addition, so as a backup I just ordered some from https://www.rvplasticparts.com/. Cheap, simple and light…seems like a reasonable thing to take along.
 
Bent ASA Gust lock

My ASA ultimate gust lock did bend. When I tried to compact it for the trip home it would bind up and not collapse beyond where it was set. When I got home it had a gap of 1/16th inch along the inner sleeve at the center of the bend.

I also noticed that my tail was moved several inches to the right of my tie down which is normally directly under the tail. Indicates a pretty strong wind on the pilot side.
 
This may sound stupid but how hard would it be to just take off the rudder for the week? P.S. I'm not a builder
 
Guslocks

Mine didn’t do well, broke loose, back to the drawing board.
 

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The smaller, stiffer -8 rudders seem to have held up fine, but still, I think I'll remove the bottom cap for a look at the horn attach area. As for the A-models and zipper rudders, I strongly suggest fixation at the trailing edge, Steve Melton's components being a good example. I'll build something along those lines, just for insurance.

As for the elevator and ailerons, see below, a device seen on Dave Howe's beautiful Rocket. It's for the rear stick. Definitely on my to-do list.
.
 

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This may sound stupid but how hard would it be to just take off the rudder for the week? P.S. I'm not a builder

It's not that hard, but I doubt many people would want to do that too often. Plus, when you get it off, you have to find a safe place to store it - and it's pretty big. And your plane would look very unusual for the whole week, and to be honest, we all want our plane to look cool. :cool:
 
These gust locks worked.

I put an airgizmo gust lock on each aileron and each side of the elevator. I tightened them and then rotated to clock the top from the bottom to keep them "extra tight" and give a bit more friction on them. I did see a few airplanes with only (1) airgizmo gust lock per control that had loosened to the point they were not functioning and the surfaces had moved.

I also used a Froehlich built rudder gust lock that doubles as the kids towel dryer when its not saving rudders. I'm thinking that catching the rudder mid span helped increase the survivability of the rudder as it saved the torsional load from going through the entire rudder to one end or the other that using pins on rudder horns or a gust lock placed on the counter balance would produce.

AL9nZEXVVIwW-sL1bRSuxsJPhhWYGOAFZTxs28pXHBiTd4A6y049PajQ7-QPk6bbUh94thPTE-PP-ODzhe-tlDK7vqXxgdIgMIBxZuI83KHWGY1Bn4lnNmHLsJA0xejlzuTWWQI6yJBVR-dAxE2cHnKUTME-iQ=w450-h725


This rudder gust lock is simply a piece of aluminum angle stock with rubber on the inside and a few lengths of string that tie to the elevator hinges.

AL9nZEXWlNW_XevLOnsbO2k-N5JnRd1WvUt3LzEQGwSS6Bh4D3lnoK1WrDKOb68Zf5TvccMydcYAS-myG5nXpWQlgkL5yHIeWv1OW4fa-2FO2EO6ajybnUuW4i653AjkF6UGnS3CfFho_dBQ0QYlWR3EnsvLAg=w450-h731


Tent on the other hand.... not so lucky.
 
We arrived on Friday and camped in row 333. Our planes, 6, 6A, 9A, were not damaged at all. The 6A had a padded "wrap around the VS and rudder device" and the 9A had a "rudder stop to rudder brace" installed.
Another 9A directly in front of me experienced severe rudder damage during the storm. I don't recall the mfg of the failed gust lock but it was the type that holds the both sides of the rudder counter balance to the vertical stab. The rudder was deformed so much that about 12" of trailing edge rivets had to be drilled out and replaced. Vans also suggested adding additional rivets between the originals on the trailing edge. The owner did all that at the emergency repair hangar, then reinstalled the rudder and flew home on Thursday.
I drive the HBC Welcome Wagon on the afternoon shift. One of my trips on Sunday was to take the owner of a 6A to the repair hangar so he could put on the canopy cover. He also experienced rudder damage during the storm because the RH rudder stop had tore off the fuselage allowing the rudder to slam back and forth into the elevator. His plan was to buy some cherry max rivets on Monday, then reinstall the stop, tape over all the holes and gashes in the rudder, then go home.
I saw two 14s in HBC parked without rudders installed while they were out for repairs.
My gust lock is a variation of one for a -10 I saw on this site with mods to fit my 9A. It works much better than the 1/8" bent wire I was using. I use the seat belt around the control stick method to secure the ailerons and elevator.
7C1hroWpTYhDGLX69

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7C1hroWpTYhDGLX69
 
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SNIP
I also used a Froehlich built rudder gust lock that doubles as the kids towel dryer when its not saving rudders. I'm thinking that catching the rudder mid span helped increase the survivability of the rudder as it saved the torsional load from going through the entire rudder to one end or the other that using pins on rudder horns or a gust lock placed on the counter balance would produce.

AL9nZEXVVIwW-sL1bRSuxsJPhhWYGOAFZTxs28pXHBiTd4A6y049PajQ7-QPk6bbUh94thPTE-PP-ODzhe-tlDK7vqXxgdIgMIBxZuI83KHWGY1Bn4lnNmHLsJA0xejlzuTWWQI6yJBVR-dAxE2cHnKUTME-iQ=w450-h725


This rudder gust lock is simply a piece of aluminum angle stock with rubber on the inside and a few lengths of string that tie to the elevator hinges.

Reminder - do not use a bungee cord for this. Use a nice piece of 3/16” or so nylon line.

Practice your Bowline knot ability - use that for the knot on the elevator journal bearing. It is easy to untie. Elevators get locked in the full nose up position with the line running under them.

Carl
 
not only was this -14A built to perfection (at least to my tender eyes), but those nice 3D printed locks held good :)
Maybe a simple piece of padded aluminum angle tied to the elevator hinges would work as well.

PS
Yes, the big rudder RVs will be more prone to damage, as in -14/14A, -10, -9/9A, and -7/7A...
Smaller rudders offer much less surface, as in -3, -4, -6/6A, -8/8A. Same for those equipped with different tails such as mine...
 

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not only was this -14A built to perfection (at least to my tender eyes), but those nice 3D printed locks held good :)
Maybe a simple piece of padded aluminum angle tied to the elevator hinges would work as well.

PS
Yes, the big rudder RVs will be more prone to damage, as in -14/14A, -10, -9/9A, and -7/7A...
Smaller rudders offer much less surface, as in -3, -4, -6/6A, -8/8A. Same for those equipped with different tails such as mine...

As has been mentioned in other posts, the rudder can still be damaged due to excessive torsional loads...adding additional support points along the TE would certainly help.
 
This may sound stupid but how hard would it be to just take off the rudder for the week? P.S. I'm not a builder
This doesn't take too long if you have the right tools! Probably the best answer to those who want to make sure it will not get bent..
 
the best answer to those who want to make sure it will not get bent

... and the next one is just stay home, nice and safe :D
or finally park your beloved beauty into the wind...
 
Ultimate-Gust-Lock Install!

....This is some info needed to properly set the tension on your gust lock, and needs to be followed for it to perform as designed!
.

.

.
.... This is the red aluminum tube referenced in the earlier post that we were referring to as having been updated after our first run. When contacting us requesting the upgraded tube, please send photo of your current tube, the model of your plane, your phone number to contact you, and the current address to send your parts to. Regards, Allan

 
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My RV-12 suffered a little rudder damage. For the 12 Vans has a portable tow bar that also doubles as a rudder lock. You pivot the end points and place them on the pedals and the normal tow handle gets placed under the stick on the cabin floor. I thought I had it pretty tight but it must not have been tight enough. Really looking at it, I'm going to go another way (with the stabilator most normal gusset locks will not work). When I took my transition training the flight school had a nice wooden sled that fit on the cabin floor and captured the stick AND the pedals. I'm going to beg then for some pics and measurements.

The Vans staff was great and looked some pictures over and said I was good to fly. Made it back to Charlotte and didn't notice any flying differences.

I'll probably make a new rudder as the Vans staff said that the rudder Bottom on the 12 had been beefed up in later kits (which I verified by looking at the 12 in the display area, which had a way stiffer rudder)
 

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Gust locks

After searching numerous threads, I decided to double up my efforts to secure the rudder. I took the old school approach to my 6A as the floor mounted pedals limit my options (anti splat gust lock). I used 3/4 PVC wrapped in foam insulation held together with tie wraps on both ends along with one slipped between the rudder and vertical. This secured the upper 30% of the rudder. The rest was held by pulling both rudder cables towards each other in the cabin. A ratchet strap was used to take up the slack, just forward of the stick, and another strap wrapped around the stick with the strap ends connected to the pedals. I was careful to only snug things up without stressing the cables, pedals, or rudder.
I was parked on the row 332, on the NW side of HBC, near the pavillion, and was fortunate not to suffer any damage. It was heartbreaking to see the damage done to others around me.
The photo is not the greatest but it does show the basics to my approach.
 

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Is that adjustment adequate for the RV-10, too?

...Good Question! I will need to set up my test fixture and actually measure it
exactly to be sure, and I will post it here. Thanks, Bob, for your question! Allan:D
.
---- OK! I set up an RV-10 Ultimate Gust Lock in our fixture, re-measured it, and
the 1&1/4 inch dimension is perfect for the RV-10 as well. This is common for all
models RV-6, 7, 8, 9,and RV-10
 
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adjustment

...Good Question! I will need to set up my test fixture and actually measure it
exactly to be sure, and I will post it here. Thanks, Bob, for your question! Allan:D

That would be great, I think mine needed a bit more to be really secure...it will be interesting to see what you come up with!
 
....This is some info needed to properly set the tension on your gust lock, and needs to be followed for it to perform as designed

Most of the rudder damage seen here is torsional overstress, not a failure of your gust lock. For rudders fixated with any type of lock which holds the rudder horns, directly or indirectly, the telltale is the kink in the trailing edge just above the bottom most rib.
 
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Most of the rudder damage seen here is torsional overstress, not a failure of your gust lock. For rudders fixated with any type of lock which holds the rudder horns, directly or indirectly, the telltale is the kink in the trailing edge just above the bottom most rib.

Similarly, the failure mode of a gust lock on the rudder counterbalance is a kink just below the rib at the bottom of the counterbalance. That's where the rudder on the 7A (?) parked next to us failed.

The solution for both situations is a second lock, preferably at the other end of the rudder. That will reduce the point loads and the loads that pile up if you only have one rudder lock.
 
Just down the row about 4 airplanes was a 14A with very similar skin buckling damage in almost the same area of the rudder as my damage. He also was using the AntSplat gust lock. It did not come free or break. It held firmly as designed. However, he has substantial damage very much like mine.

Here are pictures of the damage on his rudder. Due to the yellow paint it is much easier to see the damage.

View attachment 29010

So, two ‘A’ model airplanes using the same type of gust lock. One gust lock failed! One did not! Both experienced almost identical skin buckling in almost the same position on the rudder.

Looking at the picture, I don't see how this damage could have occurred without the gust lock coming loose. You can clearly see multiple dents where the rudder slammed into the elevator trailing edge, and what's more the location of those dents indicates that not only was the rudder loose but so was the elevator.
 
Looking at the picture, I don't see how this damage could have occurred without the gust lock coming loose. You can clearly see multiple dents where the rudder slammed into the elevator trailing edge, and what's more the location of those dents indicates that not only was the rudder loose but so was the elevator.

I can only attest to what the owner of that airplane told me and my attempts to move his elevator after the storm while he was there. He did inform me that a couple of those dents on the skin were from previous damage.

As for me, I have used the AntiSplat gust lock for pretty close to 10 years. It has served me well. I never questioned its capabilities in the past. With this storm, I have noted that mine let loose, most likely due to the lack of adequate tension, in this extreme wind event.

At any rate, as I have stated earlier and has been pointed out by others, the buckling of the skin is the real problem to address. Whether a gust lock such as the AntiSplat, the AirGizmo, or some homemade gust lock, may have saved other’s airplanes, it did not save some of us.

So, to discuss this or that gust lock as the “ultimate” answer does not address the fact that multiple rudders were buckled in pretty much the same place on the rudder, regardless of which gust lock was used.
 
I use a home-made version similar to Steve's design. It held perfectly with no issues or damage. I don't have a picture of my set-up though.

I commented earlier in this string of posts that I didn't have a pic of my setup. So I put my gust lock on today in the hangar and took a couple pics. Not the end-all-be-all, but it works very well for me and I don't plan on changing it. Absolutely no movement or damage.
 

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...and

...and yet in a particularly strong wind, even this setup could be subject to the torsional damage displayed in this thread.

There is no perfect solution except to be where the storm isn't...
 
I commented earlier in this string of posts that I didn't have a pic of my setup. So I put my gust lock on today in the hangar and took a couple pics. Not the end-all-be-all, but it works very well for me and I don't plan on changing it. Absolutely no movement or damage.

This idea looks promising. I have an RV-8 and wonder if a device like this would be appropriate for the folded RV-8 rudder.

I have an apparently earlier version of the Ultimate Gust Lock. It has the red anodized and tube that apparently needs to be replaced. Need to contact Allen.
 
Simple

My RV-10 tail was directly into the wind and I had seat belt around the stick and two 3/4" plywood sticks bracing the rudder super tight. I watched it from 15' away in my tent and was not sure it would hold but it did!
 
The impression I get reading this thread is that there was probably a lot of local variation, airplane to airplane, as to the nature if the wind that each encountered. Could be the direction, the velocity, the vorticity or maybe something else. There's no way of knowing. The different rudders and different locks all behave slightly differently, too. The only thing I can tell that played a real part in success is just plain old luck.

But what we don't have so far is a bombproof rudder lock that works for any airplane and is totally reliable. It's also got to be easily installed and removed and stored in the plane. It's got to be impossible to use the airplane (my criterion is whether it prevents the pilot from boarding while engaged) with it installed.

Also, I've felt that a gust of 70 kts should be a reasonable design point for gust locks. Now I'm convinced that 100 kts is the minimum to design for.

Dave
 
Rudder / Elevator Socks?

From reading all this thread, the thought comes to mind that a "sock" that fully encloses the Rudder and Vertical Stabilizer and two socks to enclose the elevators and Horizontal Stabilizers all interconnected rigidly would be the most "viable" survivable solution. Now comes the problem of storing such devices in the aircraft for transit...
It appears virtually all the single point restraining systems have demonstrated damage potential. Multi-point restraints seem to be the more logical solution, as they would distribute the "locking load" while absorbing torsional pressures in a distributed manner.
As one poster submitted: It appears luck of where the aircraft was in relationship to the winds played a major role in "dodging the bullet."
 
Overstress

Most of the rudder damage seen here is torsional overstress, not a failure of your gust lock. For rudders fixated with any type of lock which holds the rudder horns, directly or indirectly, the telltale is the kink in the trailing edge just above the bottom most rib.

A few months ago a similar thread went through this. I believe based on that thread and this one that all the failures were from the rudder hitting its stop with high velocity. All the damaged rudders that I’m aware of either had gust lock failures or or no locks installed. Most of the damaged rudders had witness marks from hitting the elevator. (Including one that had a gust lock that was claimed to have not failed).

I believe you are correct that all the failures were from overstress, but I believe that was from the inertia of the counterweight at impact.

I suspect it wouldn’t be hard for someone who knows how to calculate the torsional strength of the rudder to figure out a theoretical gust required to bend the rudder (I don’t have that knowledge).

-Andy
 
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My thanks to Allan and James

I’ve had years of reliable service from my (red) antisplat gust lock bought in 2014, including standing up to a 3-day storm with 90 km/h winds. However this thread revealed that I had somehow slipped through the cracks and didn’t get the upgraded steel tube way back when it was introduced.

A message to Allan resulted in a replacement tube arriving here on the other side of the world, despite it being 8 years since the original purchase.

That’s impressive customer service and the gold standard in product support.
 
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I've got an Ultimate Gust Lock from Anti-Splat Aero for my -9A. My take from reading this thread is that it's critical to get enough tension on it. Having said that, I was considering backing it up with a few of those AirGizmo locks during my trip to OSH '23.

Anyone done this? Is there a better product other than the AirGizmo to back up the Ultimate Gust Lock?

Thanks!
 
Is there a better product other than the AirGizmo to back up the Ultimate Gust Lock?

Yes, park nose into the wind!
I was at Osh 22, and there were prevailing westerlies, during the storm, and most of the week. We've discussed this before, but around HBC all airplanes were parked tail into wind :confused:
This lack of common sense beats me to this day.

Ultimate Gust Lock installed on my -6.9i parked in a sheltered area, South of HBC, no problem.

Tried the AirGizmo for a couple of years, but cumbersome to install, too much pressure for the thin RV skins, and found them more than once lying on the ground on the next day (the more so the ones on the aileron).
 
Parking direction 2022

I arrived the Friday before the storm and was “instructed” which direction to park. At the time winds were light. I probably could have rotated the airframe but who knew that the storm would become so violent. This year I won’t hesitate to rotate the airframe as needed. My gust locks did hold up very well with many failing very close to me. Sunday morning was a sad time as I watched builders show up almost in tears. (Maybe some tears, I would have shed some if it was me).
 
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