Guys,

What do you use to restrain your planes at the field when starting them? I usually ask someone at the field to hold it, but I have seen commercial hold downs on RCU for sell?
We have a guy at the field uses a rope and ties it to a post. What do you use? The reason I asked had someone holding a giant ugly stick for me last weekend, when the G38 cranked at high idle, he did not have a good hold on it, and it moved about a foot, thank goodness when I flip the prop, that I move to the left away from the plane!!!!!!!!!

Thanks
Ellis

I use a restraint by Midwest. Works well for me anyway http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXAR03&P=0

Bare in mind I always make sure the thing is being started on idle.. but to be safe, I usually still have someone hold it for me as well.

The Midwest restraint works well for small to medium sized planes. Just be
aware that it can reduce the effective range if you use it to hold the plane
while range checking. Has something to do with its tuning fork shapeand
steel construction.

For larger planes use a loop of nylon strap threaded through
a piece of foam pipe insulation (to protect the plane...) and tie it securely
to a fixed obect, eg, a fence. Loop the foam protected strap over the
turtle deck and back under the stabs. You can buy the nylon straps of adequate
length at camping supply outlets.

I have a big thick rope.. cheap and effective

bhanley's got the idea I like and use...

You can get a pair of 12 foot long, 1 inch wide adjustable cargo straps from Wally World for $5.00 IIRC, and you can attach those to a pole or anything solid, I've even wrapped one around the rear tire of my Jeep. You can use additional foam around the strap where it fits over the tail if you want. I was taught to restrain models in some way right from my trainer days, and on one particular occasion it saved me from being eaten by a 110 size glow engine spinning a 16x6 APC prop at 9000 plus RPM. I'd forgotten to change the model in my tx and the throttle servo had reversed travel, so it went to full power when it started... [X(]

Two things to keep in mind; you must make sure the strap doesn't cut across any control linkages or delicate parts when you put it on so it might run over the top of the fuselage or the bottom. The other thing is that I only use this for starting and usually do power checks like a lot of guys, standing over the fuselage with a leg on each side of the horizontal stab. That works for my 50 size gasser, but the 100 size I always ask someone to hold when doing power checks. The gassers can damage the tailfeathers if you do power checks with just the strap holding them. I've got a friend who taught me the cargo strap trick find out the hard way about running power checks on an 80 size gasser he'd just built and only the strap holding it, then he had to rebuild the tailfeathers.

Either way, even if it does get away from you and damage the tailfeathers, it WILL keep it from damaging you... [8D]

Mine's called a Big Bird restraint. I bought it at a swap meet for $13 brand new ($20 at LHS). It's just conduit bent into a big U. There's a hing that welds the U onto a huge nail. Then some foam over the tops of the U. A friend made one that works good.

You can kind of see it here.

How much would he charge to make me one?
I now use a rope from Lowes wraped around the tail and the leg of a table.

The one in the pic is the one I bought. Not sure if my friend would have time but I could ask him. He's painting his house now and can't even fly for a while....I'll e-mail him this thread.

Hey Geist..heres a link to an earlier thread..page down and you will see the one I made out of some pvc..works great and is cheep!

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_43...tm.htm#4372688

One of the newer guys flying at our field has large U - shaped tin straps about 3 or 4 inches wide that go over the leading edge or his main wings. These are attached to a large rope which he fastens around one of the fence posts. There is no way that plane is going to get loose or damage his wings. From what I understand that was a requirement from whatever field he flew from before moving to the States. I think while being laid up this winter I'm going to fashion a set for my plane..... It's still a good idea to have someone hold the plane especially on the first start of the day. I always start at idle and never rev her up using only the restraints. On a few of my smaller planes I have made the mistake of having the wrong plane on the radio also. Shame on me but mistakes happen. Whatever keep yourself safe. Bill

This is what happens when the tail tips the stakes and the plane chews meat. Ruined a perfectly fine day of flying.

Oh man, I sure am sorry to see that happen. Looks like lots of stitches and a missing finger?? Looks like the prop struck you several times. You've been through the mill with that one. How was it that the tail tipped the stakes?? When you get a chance please give the full story on what happened so others including myself can try to avoid accidents like that. Looks like you won't be doing any flying for a while. Like I said, so sorry to see that man... Bill

Sorry to see that happened to you, but I'm very glad you chose to post the picture as I think too many of us get complacent when working around our models since things almost always go according to plan.

Your picture is a vivid reminder what can and does occasionally happen when things don't go according to plan.

I hope you don't have too much of a disability with that hand, and thanks again for the reminder.

Actually, it hapened about a year and a half ago. I still have all my fingers. Things healed up pretty good.

The plane was staked down in front of the horizontal stab. I started the plane and left it idle a few minutes. As I reached to pick up the radio, the plane went to full throttle. When it did, it tipped the stakes enough to slide up over the top of the stakes. It went full throttle into my left wrist. This all happened before I knew what happened. The prop actually shattered into toothpicks. Wood splinters were in my wrist, up the side of my arm, and embedded into my sweatshirt. It cut arteries and tissue, only requiring stitches. It hammered the bones hard enough to turn my arm black and blue halfway to my elbow. The prop was just at the right angle to fillet the tissue off the tendons, which were easily visible when the flap of meat was lifted.
I've always been safety conscience with these beasts. Obviously not enough. The stakes were into the soft sand about 9 ", not enough. I shouldn't have reached in front of the plane. The radio was a couple feet in front of the plane. Glad it was a wood prop. A stronger prop could have severed more than it did.
I decided not to write this post until I found out what caused the plane to go to full throttle. As hard as it is to believe, it was a 6 volt regulator. You could wiggle the regulator, and the plane would glitch and all surfaces including the throttle would deflect fully each way. Sometimes the the servos would just stop, sometimes the signal would be delayed. What would make this happen? The regulator was new. I switched it back and forth with another new regulator and it did the same thing every time with the first regulator. The second one worked perfectly.

I will make a call tomorrow to the local hobby stores around here and get the contact info for a killer tail stand many of us use here in the Okla City area. It has a 3/8" spike at least 12" long that is pushed into the ground. The padded horizontal stakes are curved to keep the tail down until your ready to taxi. To release your plane simply pull the plane backward a few inches until the stakes clear the tail. They automatically fall down and you can taxi right out of the stand.
Maybe someone will see this before I can make the call tomorrow and post a website or phone number. But I'd even be happy to make the buy and ship to those that need it. About $35.00 is the going price if I remember right. Had mine for over 3 years of heavy use.
As you can see in these photos they will accomodate planes from 25 size to giant scale. The largest I've witnessed was a 40% Sukhoi.
And if a big twin gasser can't budge it ,,, I'd call it it foolproof.

I've watched Kurt's restraint system, and the other guys that use it. These work pretty well. There are only two drawbacks; One - you must be able to drive it into the earth/surface. Two - it transfers the FULL forward-pulling load to the leading edges of the stabs.
Airplanes with removable stabs and stab-tubes get a LOT of stress this way, and I've seen lots of structural wear from the nylon ropes/straps/webbing.

Another system that works is a "shear pin" restraint, where a "push pin" is inserted into a tube crossways in the fuse, usually installed at a junction of vertical side/formers/bulkhead, such that the "load" from the pin is distributed on the sides of the fuse/plywood internal crutch.

Works very well, if you remember to loop the rope from the pin over the stake (forgot that once and got a belly full of an Ultimate with a 3.0 Fuji at full throttle. Wasn't pretty.)

Pics attached of 30% Yak restraint. Pin example (there are MANY like it) from McMaster Carr.

Josey, Thanks for the link.
All, I have to agree that on planes with a removable tail, this is tough on them.
I usually only do this to get them started, I still run it up with me straddling the plane and my legs as support against the stab.

planerestrain.com. I use it on my 35% Carden. The best $30 you can spend.

Al

Yea I dont use mine for running up either..I just start up then pull the tail back..the uprights fall to the ground and then I support the stabs with my legs and run up..It took me about 20 minutes to make mine.

Call me chicken-- I have yet to see a portable restraint which I would trust.
I still the guys who rope their plane to a fence - take a big chicken stick and slap the prop with engine at high idle - the plane lunges forward at the restraint -
somehow the rope holds -once more -
The shock load could easily rip the rope /fence/stabs .
buried posts which are 3 ft high and padded can be used as a restraint for the wings- possibly the safest "stooge
still , a helper who knows what is going on - holding the plane is the best
At least if you really screw up -someone is there to take you to the Emergency Room--
I sometimes use a single post against the left wing and me close to the other wing- should something go wild the plane rotates the one wing against me. This OK for small planes but anything over 40cc no thanks - I get a helper or don't fly.
We MUST use an observer at our field anyway regulations because of light aircraft traffic - many of the old farts in em can't see a 600 ft paved runway from 1000 ft -- or 50 ft for that matter .

here is what we use at our field..keeps the tailfeathers from getting cracked also.

Although no one at our grass field is flying anything with more power than a 300 4 stroke, at the present time, what works well for us is a pair of approx. 1/2" dia. metal stakes (rebar could work well here ) driven into the ground about 3 ft. apart each covered with a "swimming noodle" (kids pool toy ). They stick out of the ground at 18" plus and restrain the wings. We have had no accidents due to lack of restraint and liked the effectiveness so well that we drove holes into the turf and planted 8" pieces of PVC tubing into the upper part of the holes to preserve them. After the first hole "drilling" session no sledge hammers are needed to drop our stakes into the holes at each flying session. If you intend to run the engine up to full power, first apply full up to the elevator to keep the tail on the ground.

How far did that plane drag that van during runup??????

Dick - you are FORTUNATE to be able to fly WITH an observer. Round these parts, if I didn't figure out a way to fly by myself, I'd fly less than I do already, which ain't NEAR enough.

Your points are valid, and well-made, though. THis is about safety, and reliable double-checks of systems... since my Ultimate Eats Belly episode, I've modified everything I do in the pits prior to starting these monsters.

The "pin in tube" restraint is very positive-locking, very reliable, and incredibly strong. I now do that install as a routine on every airplane I assemble. ALum tubing, width of fuse sides, slides inside hardwood blocks that are epoxied to the junction of a bulkhead/former and the plywood main crutch. Locking Pin goes through BOTH blocks, so the horizontal strength is VERY strong.

I have tested this with full power runups, AND "shock" restraint, by leaving pin and rope slightly loose, then nailing throttle... no damage. Those tests get done in a "safe" environment to assure my confidence in reliability.

But - sadly - one must REMEMBER to hook it up. Some kind of automatic engaging restraint would help my feeble memory.

I have designed a airplane restraint system fow larger/giant scale aircraft. After I was injured by my 30% yak I serched the internet for a QUALLITY restraint and fount none to my liking. The unit I made drops down over the tail of the aircraft and is lifted up and folded back when ready to roll out leaving nothing in front of you! It is very safe for both you and your plane. see my photo gallery to get a better idea how it works. I can custom make it to fit any plane i'll I need to know is the distance from the front of the tail stabilizer to approx 1 1/2 inches past the rudder. these are patten-pending, built very well...please contact me at 559-625-4193 ask for Brian anytime...I welcome any feeback or sugestions you may offer