Anyone use ratchet straps for tie downs?

[cook11]

Anyone use ratchet straps to tie down their plane?

[joewcasey]

All the time.

[gliderman]

me too- good ones:)

[redbarron55]

Don't do it. While the straps may hold 2000lbs. the hooks will not.
I have seen many pull straight and the loss if the aircraft resulted.
Best is a 1/2" nylon rope. (In my opinion)

[Curly]

The best ones I have seen were tying down a vintage 180 at a fly in. They were made from flat "mountaineering" strap and all the fittings (carabinas) were mountain climbing fittings - no ratchets but a sort of locking slide to adjust the length. Owner said they were expensive to make but light and strong.

[Grantmac]

I use ones with 2000lbs working load all the time. Regularly tested with 45-50Kt winds from forward and aft.
The flying club aircraft tied down with mine just use friction straps, poor option and they wear the strapping very quickly.

-Grant

[joewcasey]

I use 2000 lbs for the wings and a 2500 lbs for the tail. Used them since the day I bought the airplane almost 6 years ago, no sign of fatigue or other problems yet.

[captbill1956]

Used the 2 inch ones from SAMs/Costco to tied down helicopters on Tuna Boats. Worked quite well.
My current employer uses custome made 1 inch ones to tie down helicopters on the offshore oil platforms. They have a better grade of hook that the commercial ones in the stores use. I would use the 2 inch ones (8000# , 20 foot) with confidence. One inch commercial may be a tad light. IMHO.
Bill Meredith
N7749D

[mike mcs repair]

only insane people use them..... :-)

such an investment in your plane and the ones around you, then to risk it with these, silly.......

it's not so much the strap or ratchet failing, but the S hook that comes undone from plane or ground tiedown when the plane or straps bounce in wind or loosen as plane "squats" in the strong winds....

pray the plane next to you don't use them too........ (this is same category as chewing up 3 other planes when yours gets away because you were being lazy while hand propping...)


if you could do something better than the S hooks then maybe

[joewcasey]

Guess someone ought to call Fedex, they've been using ratchet straps to tie down their $1.5 million Caravans for at least a decade now. We never had a problem with them.

[redbarron55]

A wind storm passed throughthe airport I ran and no aircraft tied dwon with the 1/2" rope I supplied was damaged by coming loose from their tiedown, However EVERY aircraft tied down with the 2000 lb Costco/Sams etc. tiedown straps was destroyed. Several hitting other aircraft that would have been undamaged otherwise.
Use them if you want, but be advised that it will not hold up to a heavy windstor. The straps probably will not break before either the pulls pull straight or the ratchet strips.
Use at your own risk, of course that is how it always is.
By the way several of those who lost planes when those straps failed still decided that they should sue the FBO who rented them the space to tie the airplanes down, even when I provided FREE 1/2" nylon rope that did not fail and they chose to use their own 2000 lb rated straps.
Just for fun since they come in twos and fours take one of them and hook them between your truck and something solid and give them a good pull. If they fail you still have three to tie your bike in the truck bed.
I have several I use for strapping down stuff on my trailer, but never an airplane.
Use your own judgement and have fun.
JDB

[Lownslow]

An old-timer I learned many sensible things from once told me to never, never tie either of the wings down tight with any type of rope - considering the damage that would occur if either of the tires went flat or in the case of a low-wing Piper, a strut collapses. Better to leave some slack, chock the wheels, and let her sway a little rather than risk damage from being too tight. Just what I'd been taught.

Lou

[Nathan Hiebert]

That's interesting Lou...because I've heard that if you leave the tie-down ropes loose, it gives the wind a chance to "yank" on the airplane, thus putting more force on the tie-down rope/anchor and escalating the chance of a failure.

[mike mcs repair]

That's interesting Lou...because I've heard that if you leave the tie-down ropes loose, it gives the wind a chance to "yank" on the airplane, thus putting more force on the tie-down rope/anchor and escalating the chance of a failure.

I vote for this version...

test.. put your fist on some one shoulder, hit it as hard as you can with out first removing it from shoulder....

now retest with fist off shoulder a ways.....ouch!

[nicka]

I've been using ratchet straps on my airplane for the past 3 years, and my airplane sits in Palmer Airport in Palmer Ak, its the friggen wind capital of Ak ( a major source of irritation to me , but its close to my house). Anyways my airplane has gone through countless wind events a couple have had gusts pushing 90 knots or better and the straps have held just fine, but I do not use the hooks I have D rings attached to the struts and the ground w/ great big chain. That is correct that if your airplane gets to rocking the hooks can rotate out. Also your airplane will fly at stall speed at gross weight or possibly more, so whatever you tie down w/ needs to be rated accordingly, no cheapo straps here. I also use wing covers w/ lift spoilers and I can not say enough if your airplane lives outside then you really ought lift spoilers these things are worth every penny. Also if you live anywhere you might get a snow load a set of 2x4's work great to brace the lift struts.

[Throttle Pusher]

Join DateDec 2009LocationAlaskaPosts314
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I've been using ratchet straps on my airplane for the past 3 years, and my airplane sits in Palmer Airport in Palmer Ak, its the friggen wind capital of Ak ( a major source of irritation to me , but its close to my house). Anyways my airplane has gone through countless wind events a couple have had gusts pushing 90 knots or better and the straps have held just fine, but I do not use the hooks I have D rings attached to the struts and the ground w/ great big chain. That is correct that if your airplane gets to rocking the hooks can rotate out. Also your airplane will fly at stall speed at gross weight or possibly more, so whatever you tie down w/ needs to be rated accordingly, no cheapo straps here. I also use wing covers w/ lift spoilers and I can not say enough if your airplane lives outside then you really ought lift spoilers these things are worth every penny. Also if you live anywhere you might get a snow load a set of 2x4's work great to brace the lift struts

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[nicka]

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[/INDENT]

I need a job outside of aviation.
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Wait, I know robbing liquor stores.
Then I can afford a hangar and gas money!

[DRB]

Suggest make use of the extra lengths of webbing from tie down to back up hooks at ground anchor point and on attachment point of aircraft. If any one of the hooks were to fail, webbing acts as back up. i.e. look for single point of failure in all your flying, and have a back up for that failure.

[redbarron55]

Not only will the hooks fail on most of these straps, but the ratchets will also tear up.
I suggest you avoid straps altogeter.
Thr convenience is not worth the risk of losing your aircraft.
The above mentioned storm...every aircrafttied down with ratchet straps was lost.
Bad odds!

[Jim Hann]

An old-timer I learned many sensible things from once told me to never, never tie either of the wings down tight with any type of rope - considering the damage that would occur if either of the tires went flat or in the case of a low-wing Piper, a strut collapses. Better to leave some slack, chock the wheels, and let her sway a little rather than risk damage from being too tight. Just what I'd been taught.

Lou

Lou,

I was told that for old cotton rope because it shrank, just like grade A. Poly rope should be taut but not excessively tight. I was taught that when I started flying in the 80s.

Jim

[Jim Hann]

Guess someone ought to call Fedex, they've been using ratchet straps to tie down their $1.5 million Caravans for at least a decade now. We never had a problem with them.

We can see those straps from our ramp (UPS). They are quite hefty, what are the terminations on them (carabiners, double hooks, etc.)

Jim

[PeterL]

A TriPacer was using straps at a local airport and over time the strap worked its way out of the racket and ended on the ground. Wind came up and sent the plane over with the other side attached.

The wind storm at Sun N Fun in 2011, I had my plane double secured with two sets of tie downs and used ropes. Tight

A lot of the planes were damaged from others that got loose, not good.

Peter

[Frank Green]

My 2 cents- Ratchet straps are for trailers where you want things real tight. I go with the snug but not to tight theory so loop it thru pull and tie with GOOD rope works for me. Of course I keep my plane in a nice safe hangar so I don't use tie downs very often. Another issue an old aviator told me was not to tie too tight in the winter because the ground under the plane with less snow and sun will freeze faster and the frost bulge will raise faster than out under the wings and hurt the plane if it is too tight. An old pilot tale but worth thinking about.