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EAA Tie-Down Stakes - Wow!!

Ironflight

VAF Moderator / Line Boy
Mentor
Last year, in anticipation of going to Oshkosh (which didn't happen because of work schedules), I made a set of those EAA tie-down stakes - the ones with a triangular plate and three straight spikes that you drive in at angles. I couldn't really believe that three skinny stakes could provide much holding power, but I built them per plans, and they've sat on my hangar shelf ever since.

I had a chance to use them last week to tie down a friend's -6 at the end of our hangar row, and after she left for home today, I went to pull the things out of the ground. Holy Cow!! I'm convinced that if we'd had a big windstorm last week, we'd have gone out and found a pair of wings and a tail wheel still tied down with everything else gone! :D

I finally got them out with two crowbars and a large block of wood used as a fulcrum. (I was close to going to get my friend's tractor to pull them out with the front blade...) I now have no doubt these things will hold - even though I'm not sure how they do it!

Paul
 
I've used my set at Oshkosh the last four times we've flown in, and they ARE unbelievable. I was the same as Paul when trying to get them out of the ground!

:cool:
 
Yup, John's link is to the ones I'm talking about! I just hope I can figure out how to get them out without carrying a 20 lb. crowbar to every fly-in....;)
 
Paul,

Put a vice grip on the end of the pin so that you can apply some torque to the pin as you pull it. Even re-bar usually slides right out if you twist while you are pulling.

Pat
 
Pat is right, the answer is to put in some rotation while pulling. I made a "puller" that engages a hex head on the stake so that it can be twisted while pulliing. Weighs less than the a crowbar. :D

John Clark
RV8 N18U
KSBA
 
I made them too and I'm glad I have Rich to pull them back out for me. They do work well.

Roberta
 
Pulling out the stakes

I have a similar tie-down set and had a large single chain link welded to the side of the top bolt of each rod. I could then attach a rope or chain to get a good grip for pulling the rods out. If you can rotate the rods before trying to pull them out it sure helps! I've actually needed to pull them out with my 4X4 a couple of times....I think the failure point would be with the tie down bracket in the wings using this set-up!

Al Thomas
N880AT
RV-8A (Finishing kit)
 
Get the Claw

The Claw kit is well worth the money. Everything you need is there incuding tie down line. The stakes come out with almost no effort. Together they hold better than most anything out there. Living in the land of thunderstorms where roll clouds can pack a powerful punch, I want the best hanging on to my investment.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/claw.php
 
Ditto...I tried out a set of the "claws" and bought a couple more sets for friends. I'm to lazy to build my own, and their little kit of tie downs is just great! I can wholeheartedly recommend them (even if you can build a set of your own cheaper).

Cheers,
Stein

RV6, Minneapolis
 
tie downs

I made some very slick ones a couple years ago. I can't claim credit for the design. I copied a vintage plane anchor contraption at SNF a few years ago.

Stop by the junk yard, ( where all good projects commence), and pick up a chunk of a plastic roller. They are used on conveyor systems in industry. They are about 3 inches in diameter.

Slice up in 1" thick 'hockey pucks".

Drill and countersink a rope sized hole in the center.

Drill 3 angled holes for the pins around the top of the disc.

The angle is not critical. You just want to grab as big a hunk of soil as possible.

I used alum tubes for the pins to keep it light.

Installation:

set the disk on the ground with the rope fimly attached under the wing or tail.

Drive the 3 pins.

Tie rope to plane.

complete.

I cross drilled the tops of the pins and put small clipon pins so I could pull the pins w/ a claw hammer.

Its all very light and rolls up into a skinny bag.


cary rhodes
 
Thanks for the reply, but that is not the article I was looking for. Edit: Now that I look at my first post, it was pretty poorly worded.

Two calls to EAA later, and I have my answer. (The people at EAA are very helpful.)
Sport Aviation, April 2004, "Building a Better Tie Down," page 110

The advantage of the tie-down described there is that no metal cutting is required, and it's straight simplicity.

PM me if you would like a copy of the article.
 
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16" Super STake

I just returned from Lowe's Aviation Supply and Feed Store where I bought three of these 16" Super Stakes for $3.97 each.
groundstake.jpg


These stakes tend to hold well in sand but can be a pain to stick in the ground where there are rocks or hard pack dirt.
 
...Stop by the junk yard, ( where all good projects commence), and pick up a chunk of a plastic roller. They are used on conveyor systems in industry. They are about 3 inches in diameter.

Slice up in 1" thick 'hockey pucks"...

cary rhodes

Funny you should mention this. I've seen actual hockey pucks also used for this application. Simply drill three holes at an angle through the puck for the retention rods and a hole through the center for an eye bolt to attach your tie down rope (or just a hole for the rope). It eliminates the need for any welding.
 
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Tiedown easy removal

Be careful when choosing a tiedown. All systems have their pro?s and con?s. Things to consider. 1. Ease of removal - Flyties have special pull device that slips under the steak head to allow removal with minimum effort. 2. Tiedowns must be used as instructed. The Claw system works, but any side loading can result in failure. See video produced by Storm Force (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2UC52sTQ64&feature=related ).
 
Old topic with some recent postings

Do a search on "tie-downs" in these forums and you'll find several, more recent discussions of "tie-downs."

A moderator :rolleyes: should probably spend time to merge these threads as they show up in "General Discussion," "Safety" and "Reviews" forums.
 
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I've been looking for these. I first made a set of these back in the 1990's when I believe I found them in Kitplanes Magazine.

Yes, they work great!
 
Go Ti

Yup, John's link is to the ones I'm talking about! I just hope I can figure out how to get them out without carrying a 20 lb. crowbar to every fly-in....;)

I have a titanium crowbar that I could loan you!

Oops. Just realized I'm replying to something from 5 years ago, but the offer still stands. :eek:
 
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Tie downs

I went to S & F after the big blow 2 years ago and was disheartened at the carnage.... I had EAA style tiedowns with me and used them. As I was driving in the 18 inch pins I could feel that there was not much resistance until I got to about 10 inches! Then it was nice to feel them bite.
I came away thinking that depending on soil conditions, sometimes you don't have much "hold" unless you go deep. Some systems don't go very far down :(.
Granted rocks can be an issue, and pulling then out is tough sometimes ( like the twisting suggestion!) but let's face it, the whole idea is to get the best hold possible!!
I love my home made EAA tiedowns.
 
safety first! know where you are pounding!

Even if you are at your home field, you are in danger of puncturing an irrigation line, phone cable, gas line, or power cable when you start pounding in 18" stakes!!!
These things are seldom marked, and even the locals probably don't know where they all are.
Not really a nice thing to get electrocuted....or even have to pay to fix something you stabbed!
At least ask the airport manager if it's ok, or where to tie-down; then you have a little butt-coverage should things go badly.
 
These tie downs work, I built a set before the last trip to OSH.

EAA ought to have a roving Bob Cat to assist getting the pins out of the ground when its time to leave. :)
 
EAA ought to have a roving Bob Cat to assist getting the pins out of the ground when its time to leave. :)

Ya I wasn't too successfull with the rope around the washer to pull them straight out. Mine didn't budge. A 6 inch claw hammer works great, once you get them started, they pull out easily.
 
My version of the EAA Tiedowns

Here's a few pics of my recently completed EAA tiedowns.

For convenience sake, the original plans are here:
EAA Tie Down Plans
I made a few changes. Yes, untested but I promise to report if my mods don't pan out.

Basic change was to make the stakes out of tubing rather than rod.
The numbers say they are bit lighter and a lot stiffer. This with the increased surface area for loamy soil should be positive. The negative should be high driving force into hard soils.

Used 3/8" OD by .035 wall SS tubing. I was prepared to lathe turn some ends for the tubing but I found some SS carriage bolts in the bin so they became the ends. I threaded the tubing, cut the bolts (they were too long) and used the scrap for the pointed end. My son (a professional welder) TIG welded the parts together and then I sharpened the pointy ends with a bench grinder.

I got the rope from West Marine while I was in Key West (trip report elsewhere).

Here is the lot, prior to me sharpening the tips.
97358163513d3196148dc.jpg


Brackets from 1/8" 6061. TLAR design. Did not run the numbers but should not be weak link in system.
127014697513d31961e520.jpg


Closeup of the stakes with carriage bolt head and before and after of tip sharpening.
134877079513d319628162.jpg


Now I have to cajole SWMBO into sewing me a bag for this stuff...:eek:
 
Pictures/ plans

Thanks in advance….links do not work anymore on this old thread. Any picture / plans for EAA tie down kit …OR ANY other that could,e recommended for experience
 
More on the CLAW

The Claw kit is well worth the money. Everything you need is there incuding tie down line. The stakes come out with almost no effort. Together they hold better than most anything out there. Living in the land of thunderstorms where roll clouds can pack a powerful punch, I want the best hanging on to my investment.

I have not used the Claw myself but my plane was hit by some debris from another airplane which overturned when the Claw tiedowns failed. I was with Team Aerodanamix performing at Sun-N-Fun in 2011 when a tornado hit Lakeland Airport. Two of our team aircraft were totaled and others damaged. I saw numerous Claw failures. The maker of the Claw were on site and did replace broken tiedowns but that was little compensation for those who lost their airplanes. I am not aware of any changes made to the Claw since that time but I would urge those considering a purchase to ask the question.


This photo shows the typical Claw failure. Those shown were used to tie down one of the airplanes that struck mine.



While we are on the subject of tiedowns. If you have any of the screw in type tiedowns this photo is for you!
 
This photo shows the typical Claw failure. Those shown were used to tie down one of the airplanes that struck mine.
The Claw got something of a bad reputation after the incident at SnF, but in fairness many of the “failures” were in fact installation errors. Your picture is an example of this. The manufacturer states (and the instructions as well) that they should be installed so that the load is vertical and not at an angle. Some times that can’t be avoided such as on a tailwheel, but this photo is not that case.

In my role on the parking crew at Oshkosh I carefully observe literally thousands of tie downs every year and I see this all the time. I try to correct it when I can.
 
yep, I have I set.
And the BigScrews held pretty good during that storm during AirVenture last summer, though my baby was probably shaded from the strongest gusts in the westerly part of row 402 :)

Pros: very good holding power, way higher than any of those nails system, provided the screws are fully screwed in. High quality system with double hook straps. Easy to install in a soft ground
Cons: difficult to impossible to screw-in in a hard/dry ground (a hole could maybe be prepared before hand). Bulky and heavy though not more than other systems.

I also made myself a 3 triangle plates with titanium nails system, which is much lighter and less bulky. The only problem now is deciding which system to take along ;)
 
Anyone used these .....I think seems very viable . Set on order soon. Default https://bigscrewtiedown.com
Yes and I've been impressed with them. These are what I use at Oshkosh while my Claws hold down my easy-up back at the camp site.

They can be tough to screw in to dry ground. I cut a length of scrap 4130 to the same length as the bag. It fits over the handle of my 1/2 drive wrench to give it more leverage, and this works quite well with minimal additional weight or bulk.
 
fits over the handle of my 1/2 drive wrench to give it more leverage

Careful about that. The seller of those, friendly Greg, showed me a sheared-off example which happened exactly in the way you describe. And it ain't warranty covered.
 
Careful about that. The seller of those, friendly Greg, showed me a sheared-off example which happened exactly in the way you describe. And it ain't warranty covered.
Yeah, I've talked to Greg quite a bit about these over the last few years years. I think you'd have to screw it in to asphalt with a 4 foot breaker bar to shear that thing, it is beefy. An option that he also recommends is a battery impact wrench for installation. Too much bulk and weight for my packing but it is an option.

In any event they are good tie downs.
 
Here’s a short article on the latest set I built. I still have the set I made in 2007, and they still work - these are just prettier, and less beat-up….

https://www.kitplanes.com/planning-for-the-storm-on-the-ground/

Paul

I made my set like the article and used them in the OSH big blow of 2019. They held solid on my 7 even as the rain softened the ground. It got a few rudders that season too. I was necessary to use a claw hammer that pulled the stakes like nails. Pulling them can be a challenge. I tested in my yard using an engine lift. No test on the big screws though.

They are heavy, so maybe the work due to weight ??!?!? titanium sounds like a competitive upgrade. Dyneema ropes do lighten the package.

Hammers and/or impact drills add weight to any kit.
 
You are only as safe as the plane next to you.... So many aircraft were damaged by other, less secure tied-down airplanes.

-Marc
 
Bill,
I made my EAA nails from stainless tubing and welded a hammer end and a bullet nose on each. Bought the high strength/weight climbing ropes to go with.


I have used the ropes many times more than the tiedown nails. There are a few airports that I frequent that don't provide ropes but they still provide an overnite bill.



I made my set like the article and used them in the OSH big blow of 2019. They held solid on my 7 even as the rain softened the ground. It got a few rudders that season too. I was necessary to use a claw hammer that pulled the stakes like nails. Pulling them can be a challenge. I tested in my yard using an engine lift. No test on the big screws though.

They are heavy, so maybe the work due to weight ??!?!? titanium sounds like a competitive upgrade. Dyneema ropes do lighten the package.

Hammers and/or impact drills add weight to any kit.
 
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