NeilC wrote:
I went out to Andrau airpark
Small world. I met my now wife at Andrau Airpark (she took me flying to IAH in her TriPacer!)
alioth wrote:
I don’t understand the lack of tiedowns in the UK
It’s a macho thing. There’s even an inverted snobbery about who can provide the flimsiest attachments on the rare occasions when they do tie down. A trader at the the LAA rally last weekend had a bunch of those corkscrew things. My daughter had one of those to stop her horse eating the entire field. He took a dislike to it, and very slowly straightened his neck. The thing just uncoiled, and came out of the ground like a bit of straggly string. I’m sure the aviation ones are better quality, obviously.
I believe many of the insurers cover the fees for pilots flying their aircraft out of the path of these hurricanes, certainly cheaper than paying out on a hill loss.
Anticipating similar local TAFs, a friend of mine at KHWO reacted by getting in his Bonanza and flying west (go west my boy) to Houston a couple of days ago. Smart move.
Re tie downs, in May 1983 (yes I’m that old) ATC evacuated the tower at Houston Intercontinental (now G Bush) when they saw one or more funnel clouds on the airport perimeter heading their way. Some jets were damaged. The morning after, in the eerie calm after the storm, I went out to Andrau airpark where our C177 was tied down, my fingers crossed. A C152 was on its back, tie downs still attached to large concrete weights. Our aircraft, tied down on the next row from the inverted 152, was untouched.
It happens in Malta too – this was in Feb 2014:
Aveling wrote:
I tie my Warrior down in UK for 35kt, subject to much giggling from the clubhouse
I don’t understand the lack of tiedowns in the UK, or the practise of tying 10kg lumps of concrete to the tiedown rings (planes have taken off with these things still attached to the tail – a wing that’s designed to make over a metric tonne of lift isn’t going to be stopped by a small cast lump of cement). Thunderstorms with strong outflow can and do happen in the UK, and they can easily move a plane or put one on its back.
I’ve always hoped that if I was over there (in the 172 from the west coast) when of these things rolled in, I’d have time to fly away. Failing that, I’d seek cover in the FBO’s hangar and check my insurance policy. No tie down’s going to cope with that, or anything like it. I tie my Warrior down in UK for 35kt, subject to much giggling from the clubhouse. I’d rather write on the claim form how it was the other aircraft that blew into mine…
I have been so busy that I haven’t seen any news.
That’s horrific. I really feel for these people.
We have it very easy in most parts of Europe.
Even with big floods, we never get close to that level of devatation.
Seriously ?
https://twitter.com/kionnemcghee/status/1168540276949954560?s=21
Lots of folks lose everything they have, even their life.
There does not seem to be metreports from the airport for the last couple of days.
Hopfully a proper tie-down not 10kg weights under each wing (I am still puzzled how that prevents 1T aircrafts with 50kts stall speeds from moving on 35kts winds?)
Anyway good luck to people over there as they would have to run for other stuff than the tie-down of an aircraft…
