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RUDDER BENT @ OSH - HELP

Pointing HBC planes into the prevailing west wind

Several discussions with EAA about parking HBC planes, nose pointed west instead of east. I have heard that this will happen next year.
And Dan57, it was a joy to meet you and discuss your trip.
 
Pointing HBC the other way would be turning their backs on show central.

Until we manage mother nature, there is no solution.

That said, I'm sorry to hear about the damage some are seeing. And I'm also reading with great interest which chock and lock techniques are working best. I have "The Claw" and the ASA Ultimate Gust Lock. So far so good with that combo.
 
I was wondering if anyone turned their plane into the wind. I'm not there this year and don't have my plane done yet, but that was the first thing I thought of. Doesn't it make sense to have it pointed into the wind as much as possible?
 
What failed first?

After reading all these comments, I can't understand what occurred first?
Rudder gust lock failed, resulting in rudder slamming back and forth and finally bending the rudder?
Or, rudder gust lock holding tight and wind force bending the rudder out of shape?
I am sorry to hear of the damage, especially having to deal with it away from home at a time when you want to enjoy yourself.
I hope this will turn into an educational thread before it fizzles out.
 
There were at least 7 damaged rudders in HBC this year, some minor, some needing replaced or patched before flying out.

In 2019, the storm busted my gust lock to pieces, then slammed my rudder past the deflection point (i.e., it "bent" but did return to the original shape) and put a hole in the side of the rudder.

The problem with into the wind is that it will generate lift over the wings and could pull it right out of the ground.

At 75-90mph winds, all bets are off ... luck of the draw ... I feel the ops pain :(
 
Larry’s replacement Rudder is being installed as I type this.

Scott McDaniels picked it up from where it was shipped to and I drove the customer and the rudder out to his plane with the vans golf cart. He’s putting it on now. A picture attached. The spare rudder came from Randy Richmond in Dallas Texas. It was hanging on his wall. :)

What a wonderful story to be able to help this gentleman out.

Love this community!

v/r,
dr

[update 7/28/2022: It’s installed and Larry is planning on flying home tomorrow. V/r,dr]


Worse damage I found nearby my row 315 is Larry’s RV14A. He had a gust lock on it but 50+ kts twisted it anyway. Pix will be below. He’s looking for ideas from those that know more as to temporary fix, if needed, to get home 1800 miles away. He’s asked me to post this and will watch for replies. If anyone can help please reply here.
 

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Regarding the OP 14 rudder . . .

After reading all these comments, I can't understand what occurred first?
Rudder gust lock failed, resulting in rudder slamming back and forth and finally bending the rudder?
Or, rudder gust lock holding tight and wind force bending the rudder out of shape?
I am sorry to hear of the damage, especially having to deal with it away from home at a time when you want to enjoy yourself.
I hope this will turn into an educational thread before it fizzles out.

Hard to really say, but I believe the gust lock has some spring and slop. This allowed it to swing back and forth; the movement tended to push the lock closer to the pivot giving greater angle of range and the spring stretch of the nylon has higher dynamic force. Bothe the dynamic force allowed enough range to contact the elevator and an impact like loading on the top of the rudder. Just my imagination . . . .YIMV
 
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I've never had any damage from parking at either Osh or SnF. Of course that may be because I've never flown my plane into KNOWN hazardous areas and tied down.... Every year I read these reports and I just don't get it. Seems like a roll of the dice to me.

-Marc
 
I feel lucky to not have any damage to my rudder, but 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.
 
My airplane was parked adjacent to the RV-7 with the badly damaged rudder.

The Antisplat Aero Ultimate gust lock held well for me.
 
I feel lucky to not have any damage to my rudder, but 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 bet Alan would be interested in seeing that piece firsthand for a failure analysis. You'd probably get a free repair out of it, too, knowing how he can be. They stand behind their stuff and put a lot of engineering thought into it.
 
I felt bad every time I walked by and saw the damaged rudder under his plane. Awesome community, and the guy who provided the replacement rudder to help him get his plane flyable again!
 
I bet Alan would be interested in seeing that piece firsthand for a failure analysis. You'd probably get a free repair out of it, too, knowing how he can be. They stand behind their stuff and put a lot of engineering thought into it.

Good idea.

I *SUSPECT* multiple failure modes when the wind is high enough.

1. Strong wind slams onto the rudder. The rudder cable is stretched. Slam the other way a couple of times. The rudder pedals can now move past the length of the fingers and it then FALLS OFF. Subsequent to this damage occurs because the lock is no longer in place.

2. Wind is strong enough to BEND the lock and then it can no longer have the desired effect.

As has been discussed, there were failures and NON FAILURES with just about every type of product. I had a nice discussion with Van about various loadings on the rudders and the notion of pushing the stress to yet another place with many of the approaches.

To me, it looks like Ultimate Gust Lock type products ( I had a similar product for my Piper) coupled with the "top locks", AND something in the center, along with tailwheel locked and tied down is best. Tricycle gear rudders seem to have more exposure with less anchoring.

Regarding "into the wind tie down", the decision is left to the team that handles parking. They will need to decide the tradeoff highly likely more rudder damage versus the potential "flying wing" with the rest of the aircraft parts attached. I am not voicing a view either way, but all should realize that those who think it through and decide, will be bouncing lots of variables.
 
Pointing HBC the other way would be turning their backs on show central.

Until we manage mother nature, there is no solution.

That said, I'm sorry to hear about the damage some are seeing. And I'm also reading with great interest which chock and lock techniques are working best. I have "The Claw" and the ASA Ultimate Gust Lock. So far so good with that combo.

What part of the direction a plane is parked is it that matters about the “show”? There are 100s if not 1000s of planes parked in directions “pointed away from the show” every year at OSH!

I am one of those that had damage. Had my plane been pointed in the direction of the prevailing winds, with its back to show central, perhaps I would not have seen the damage I had. To say “there is no solution” is indeed no solution.
 
To me, it looks like Ultimate Gust Lock type products ( I had a similar product for my Piper) coupled with the "top locks", AND something in the center, along with tailwheel locked and tied down is best.

I agree with the multiple lock approach. My Ultimate Gust Lock worked well during Saturday's storm, but that approach applies all of the resistance at one end of the rudder, meaning when you get a serious sideload on the rudder, you have a huge amount of force trying to twist the rudder against the gust lock at the rudder horn. A second lock that captures the rudder counterbalance would have serious benefits. Most of the fleet could use the Anti-splat device and an external rudder lock on the counterbalance and be covered.

The problem with the -10 is the tail is really tall. Reaching the rudder counterbalance to apply an external gust lock isn't an option for people of normal height. You need to be an NBA player to do that. Or have a stick to help you attach/remove the lock, or...
 
There were at least 7 damaged rudders in HBC this year, some minor, some needing replaced or patched before flying out.

In 2019, the storm busted my gust lock to pieces, then slammed my rudder past the deflection point (i.e., it "bent" but did return to the original shape) and put a hole in the side of the rudder.

The problem with into the wind is that it will generate lift over the wings and could pull it right out of the ground.

At 75-90mph winds, all bets are off ... luck of the draw ... I feel the ops pain :(

Bill, I understand what you are saying about facing the wind and tie down functionality. However, I have had both situations to deal with now. The SunNFun tornado tore away my tie downs in the porous sandy soil in 2011. My plane was then blown into the plane behind mine. Truth is there are no guarantees in any of these situations. I would, however, trust quality tiedowns over parking tail to the wind every time.
 
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