Tie Down fitting ideas

[KenB]

Originally Posted by N804RV

To reduce drag and help prevent water intrusion.

Perhaps. Still I'm not seeing how a hole on the underside (as opposed to the top) of the wings creates any perceptible drag. And water is more likely to drip down than drip up.

Cheers, Ken

[fixnflyguy]

I have the slick ones from Cleveland tool also, and they are usually stashed in my on board gig bag that also has short loops of robust small gauge rope attached to them. That way, when you end up at an airport with big fat frayed ropes that don't fit through small rings, you can still tie off to the nice small rope loops. If you align these nice fittings with the large diameter holes in line with the airstream, the drag is nill anyway, and they can be left in all the time (Minus the mentioned loops), barely visible to most.

[jcbarker]

Hey everyone:

The idea was to have a decent looking tie down fitting that you wouldn't need to remove. Extra drag? Yes. Measurable? Don't think so.

[Bill Boyd]

Something to consider.

I have the tall HF bottle jack thingie with a scooped-out ram end, and use acorn nuts on threaded shafts as jack points - these look like they might do double-duty.

I just used my jack last week to perform a pre-paint job W&B, and if paint goes on as hoped this weekend, will be able to answer the age-old question about how much a paint job adds to the empty weight of an RV-10 and how it shifts the empty CG.

[Ralph Inkster]

Note too that on every RV I've seen, that there is about a 1/8" gap between the bottom skin and the threaded tiedown bracket that's bolted to the spar. If you tighten the tiedown ring under the wing too much, you end up with a large ugly dimple in the skin.

[RV8JD]

Originally Posted by jcbarker

Hey everyone:

The idea was to have a decent looking tie down fitting that you wouldn't need to remove. Extra drag? Yes. Measurable? Don't think so.

Should have said so in your first post.

Anyway, here is a fairing set designed to be used with the Cleaveland tie down rings I linked in my Post #4. Easy on and off.

https://www.rvplasticparts.com/produ...wn-fairing-set

[jcbarker]

Nicely done Carl!
Do you know what the diameter of the large hole is in the stainless fitting?
Also: Cleaveland says they are out of stock.

[David Paule]

I'm always bemused when people spend time and money and often add weight redesigning something that works nicely as-is.

The Cleaveland tie down ring is fine if you use a carabiner with it. With rope, the sharp edge will considerably weaken the rope under load. Rope is sensitive to stress concentrations just like aluminum is.

Dave

[Roadjunkie1]

Originally Posted by David Paule

I'm always bemused when people spend time and money and often add weight redesigning something that works nicely as-is.

The Cleaveland tie down ring is fine if you use a carabiner with it. With rope, the sharp edge will considerably weaken the rope under load. Rope is sensitive to stress concentrations just like aluminum is.

Dave

Agreed and agreed. My (stock Van's) tie down rings are in my tool bag along with my control locks (VERY small and simple) and chocks. It takes me probably 10 seconds each to screw the rings in. I would imagine an unfilled hole causes some drag but would likely be measured in picograms of resistance.

[Scott Hersha]

Originally Posted by KenB

I know this probably sounds super ignorant on my part. But what is the reason for covering up or filling the holes when the tie down rings are removed?

Mud daubers love it up in there - so go ahead and leave it open. Give a bug(s) a home.