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bob francis

Pulling chocks after Vagabond hand prop

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Has anyone figured out a way or a device to remove chocks from inside the Vagabond after starting? The tires sit about 2 ft ahead of the seats and simply pulling on attached rope won't effectively remove the forward chocks.
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  1. Subsonic's Avatar
    Tough one. I assume you're by yourself. Does the Vagabond have a parking brake? If it's a "push a rope" problem you might consider using a stick. Maybe a 4 ft long piece of 1/2" diameter thin wall aluminum tubing or even an oak dowel same length, with a one or two inch rope link to the front chock. That lets you initially push and wiggle the chock forward then swing it out and pull the whole contraption in the window and stow somewhere. Just a thought.
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  2. blueshortwing's Avatar
    I hand prop my Vag from behind the propeller. Use my foot as a chock on the RH tire as I pull the prop through. Usually starts first blade and I duck under the strut, reach in the cockpit and turn the fuel back on and adjust throttle to minimum idle. Hop in and use toe brakes.--Ross
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  3. avspecguy's Avatar
    I saw a simple solution many years ago that used a rope to tie the tailwheel to a tree or post or ? . Although can't produce the sketch or give any real details, the pilot could simply pull on end of the rope that was placed into the cabin before the start. Doing so would release the loops around both the tailwheel and the tree (or whatever) and you could just coil the rope up an put it in the baggage compartment.
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  4. John Umbach's Avatar
    I saw a write up in some aviation magazine a while back. Get yourself some sailboat hardware. Specifically a quick release snap shackle. Secure your airplane to something sturdy incorporating the snap shackle. Run a line from the cockpit to the shackle. Hand prop your airplane and climb in at your leisure. Tug the line and reel in your tie down. Typically a snap shackle is ~$15.
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    Updated 01-30-2020 at 12:29 PM by John Umbach (Trying to add an image of a snap shackle.)