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Gust Locks.... simple, small,lightweight, inexpensive

BH1166

Well Known Member
Shout out to those before me on the rudder lock design :). Plane poop has a wonderful aileron/ elevator gust solution at a helluva good price . 😉

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...Exercise caution when using external gust locks! There have been many accidents
with mostly fatal results with people forgetting to remove them before take-off. I lost 3
very good friends from this mistake in two separate accidents. This is what happened
to Flavio and his wife (Owners of Flabob airport) that were killed on departure. This
was why I designed the "Ultimate Gust Lock" the way I did, as it installs prior to exiting,
and virtually eliminates forgetting to remove it before take-off. Important to me!
Thanks, Allan...:D
 
Butch,

I like the internal stick gust lock - Do you think it would work on an Infinity Grip?

I use AirGizmo?s and since my straps started to deteriorate I had to get new straps. The new one?s seem too thin and don?t hold as well and slip.

Gust Lock idea?s are great, but when you try to contact vendors - AirGizmos or Anit-Splat no one seems to answer emails.

It seems these day many vendors have emails, but don?t check them often.
 
Alan . . .

...Exercise caution when using external gust locks! There have been many accidents
with mostly fatal results with people forgetting to remove them before take-off. I lost 3
very good friends from this mistake in two separate accidents. This is what happened
to Flavio and his wife (Owners of Flabob airport) that were killed on departure. This
was why I designed the "Ultimate Gust Lock" the way I did, as it installs prior to exiting,
and virtually eliminates forgetting to remove it before take-off. Important to me!
Thanks, Allan...:D

Any update on RV-14 Gust Locks?
 
...Exercise caution when using external gust locks! There have been many accidents
with mostly fatal results with people forgetting to remove them before take-off. I lost 3
very good friends from this mistake in two separate accidents. This is what happened
to Flavio and his wife (Owners of Flabob airport) that were killed on departure. This
was why I designed the "Ultimate Gust Lock" the way I did, as it installs prior to exiting,
and virtually eliminates forgetting to remove it before take-off. Important to me!
Thanks, Allan...:D
Yes!! Impossible to forget removal when it ties the stick to the rudder pedals. Even though I always do the "free and correct" check, external gust locks give me the willies.
 
Shout out to those before me on the rudder lock design :). Plane poop has a wonderful aileron/ elevator gust solution at a helluva good price . 😉

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I wouldn't think that these puny gust locks would stand a chance in Kansas winds. Here are my tie down rings after enduring winds at 38 knots gusting to 45.


 
Butch,

I like the internal stick gust lock - Do you think it would work on an Infinity Grip?

I use AirGizmo?s and since my straps started to deteriorate I had to get new straps. The new one?s seem too thin and don?t hold as well and slip.

Gust Lock idea?s are great, but when you try to contact vendors - AirGizmos or Anit-Splat no one seems to answer emails.

It seems these day many vendors have emails, but don?t check them often.

?.Wow! Never had anyone say that before! Two of us answer about fifty E-Mails
every day, and all telephone calls M thru F 8 to 5 are answered by me or James.
Also most people have our cell phone numbers if they need assistance on a
weekend. Just call (909) 824-1020 Thanks, Allan..:D
 
?.Wow! Never had anyone say that before! Two of us answer about fifty E-Mails
every day, and all telephone calls M thru F 8 to 5 are answered by me or James.
Also most people have our cell phone numbers if they need assistance on a
weekend. Just call (909) 824-1020 Thanks, Allan..:D

I?ll call you.
 
I am very happy with these. Not the easiest to put-on/take off
https://m.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/gustbusters05-11899.php

?..These things are heavy, awkward, hard to store, too complicated, too many
pieces to install Etc. They look like some sort of belly buster/thigh master combo
exercise equipment that gets sold at the yard sale for a buck after you gave up
on trying to use it. Nothing about this says "Airplane". Just my opinion! Thanks, Allan..:rolleyes:
 
I am very happy with these. Not the easiest to put-on/take off but they hold great whilst still providing a little flex so the foils themselves don?t warp.
They?re all internal so no way you can miss them on preflight. Even if you took off with the stick shocks installed you could still fly it (not recommended.)

https://m.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/gustbusters05-11899.php

Totally agree!

?..These things are heavy, awkward, hard to store, too complicated, too many
pieces to install Etc. They look like some sort of belly buster/thigh master combo
exercise equipment that gets sold at the yard sale for a buck after you gave up
on trying to use it. Nothing about this says "Airplane". Just my opinion! Thanks, Allan..:rolleyes:

Personally I think the GustBuster was the best system out there and I still love mine, but unfortunately I think the designer/builder has moved on to other things and the system is no longer available (I believe the one on ACS is for an RV6 and is the only one they have left)..

The system uses a spring/bungee system to control surface movement rather than "locking" the control system against hard stops. This allows the surfaces to move a bit, as the surface deflects resistance increases so it works like a shock absorber rather than a "lock". My airplane has been thru some serious winds storms with this system installed with no damage.

PS: I find the system to be compact, light weight and easy to install.
 
...Exercise caution when using external gust locks! There have been many accidents
with mostly fatal results with people forgetting to remove them before take-off. I lost 3
very good friends from this mistake in two separate accidents. This is what happened
to Flavio and his wife (Owners of Flabob airport) that were killed on departure. This
was why I designed the "Ultimate Gust Lock" the way I did, as it installs prior to exiting,
and virtually eliminates forgetting to remove it before take-off. Important to me!
Thanks, Allan...:D

Allan:

Any idea when this will be ready for -14/14A?
 
Nah, Mine wasn?t meant to bash at all. I think from all his posts he responds

appropriately and seems to have thick skin and a customer first attitude.

Mine was really only to vent on email responses being slow or no response from many...

I like emails, as they are easier than calling.
 
Alan's good. I bought one of his products, not one of the ones he manufactures, wasn't happy with it, and mentioned that here on VAF. He called me shortly and we talked for a while. The call was a complete surprise. He made the situation acceptable and I would be happy to deal with Anti-Splat again, no problem.

For that matter, I've dealt with a number of the various VAF advertisers and have uniformly enjoyed superb customer service. In fact, I've had zero problems and generally good communication with them.

Dave
 
WTH. Is it bash Alan day or what. FWIW I think Anti-splat is as good a business as it gets....

Newbie,
Nobody has bashed Alan. Jack just gave consumer feedback, and Alan responded appropriately...all good. Several folks have rendered their opinions about specific products. Alan criticized a product that is no longer produced (and the former vendor no longer advertises here on VAF), but that others find positive. I have 6 of Alan's products installed in KELLI GIRL.

I also had the RV Gust Buster kit, but have moved on to my own home-rolled rudder luck that I prefer...simpler, lighter, just as effective while easier to install, and yet I can't ever launch with it installed. The Gust Buster rudder kit is quite light and compact as Walt said, but for me just has too many parts and is more difficult to install than I like.

I still use the RV Gust Buster's bungee-based stick locks. Best of both worlds.
 
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Make no mistake, I'm not a basher. I have a number of Allan's products and love them all. Just thought I'd ask again about the gust lock for my -14. I know they have a backlog of interested owners.
 
No bashing here

Make no mistake, I'm not a basher. I have a number of Allan's products and love them all. Just thought I'd ask again about the gust lock for my -14. I know they have a backlog of interested owners.

I too have several of Allan?s products and am happy with what I have. Just want to understand a timeline for the -14 gust lock ...
 
I too have several of Allan?s products and am happy with what I have. Just want to understand a timeline for the -14 gust lock ...

?.OK! I get it, and it appears its time for me to do some explaining about what
happened with the RV-14 "Ultimate Gust Lock". I didn't have a RV-14 at my
disposal to model the gust lock for some time, and this was the first draw back.
I finely gained access to one and acquired all necessary dimensions Etc. to draw
up one and created a prototype. We actually made some and low and behold,
when I tried them on another aircraft they did not fit. Then I found that nobody
uses the Van's original stick that I had made the gust locks for, so back to the
drawing board. I found a gentleman in Phoenix who was kind enough to let me
fly there and get all the information off his aircraft so we could continue. I also
got one of the new sticks from Tostin to facilitate making the new required part.
At this point I thought we were over the hump and could proceeded with a
working prototype and then begin to produce this product. I sent it out to the
shop and began to produce parts, but unfortunately after a considerable pile
of scrap was created we caught the mistake and needed to make some changes.
Now all of this fiasco took a lot of time, and we hade neglected our other
projects and obligations. I stopped work on the gust locks to get caught up with
full intentions of returning to the task at hand soon. We obviously missed the
boat on that plan as other things came up that took precedence and required
our attention. I am not trying to make excuses or justify why we dropped the
ball on this one, but rather explain it as it was. I made some promises that I
wasn't able to keep and I apologize for the delays. We are getting caught up
with some of the backlog and should be able to get this going again. I have
saved everyone's requests and e-mail so I will inform all when this is available.
Again, I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused, and will do our
best to get these finished. Thanks, Allan...:eek::eek:
P.S. I don't feel picked on or abused so no worries there!
 
Or, just keep it simple, light and cheap. Compared to other approaches, this is stronger as you are not fighting the large rudder leverage arm like locks close to the hinge line. A padded piece of angle, some line and bowline knots - done.

Recommend not using bungee cord for this application.

Carl
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?.OK! I get it, and it appears its time for me to do some explaining about what happened with the RV-14 "Ultimate Gust Lock".

Hi Allan,

I watched your video on the gust lock, and it?s seems to work only when the stick is perpendicular to the pedals (if you know what I mean). Or maybe at a tangent to the point of rotation of the lock on the pedals (if that makes any more sense). If the stick was full back (I.e. for a taildragger) I take it the gust lock would not work?

Is there anyway to mount the bracket on the stick end at a different angle to allow for full back stick? (Or provide 2 holes in it and a pin and you can set it up for your aircraft)

Thank you!
 
Carl, I like your rudder gust lock but what/how does the front of the line get secured?

Loop the line around the two inboard elevator hinges. I use a 2? or so piece of heat shrink on the end of the lines to make it easy to fish up around the hinge. Tie with a bowline knot - not a slip knot. That way they are easy to untie.

After the lines are on, use the pilot seat belt wrapped around the stick to secure the elevators up and to keep the line off the bottom of the elevators. Then secure the rudder.

The belt around the stick also restricts aileron movement.

Again, avoid the temptation to use bungee cords.

Carl
 
Loop the line around the two inboard elevator hinges. I use a 2” or so piece of heat shrink on the end of the lines to make it easy to fish up around the hinge. Tie with a bowline knot - not a slip knot. That way they are easy to untie.

After the lines are on, use the pilot seat belt wrapped around the stick to secure the elevators up and to keep the line off the bottom of the elevators. Then secure the rudder.

The belt around the stick also restricts aileron movement.

Again, avoid the temptation to use bungee cords.

Carl
I've tried a lot of things over the years, and what I find best for weight/security/cost/safety is to just tie the stick back with the seat belt and use tie down rope to secure the rudder via the horns (in addition to the tailwheel spring). But I like what Carl has done with the rope over the edge of the rudder. Very light and effective connecting out there at the far edge. I'll have to experiment with that. Agree on the bungees. Must be a no-slack connection.
 
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Hi Allan,

I watched your video on the gust lock, and it?s seems to work only when the stick is perpendicular to the pedals (if you know what I mean). Or maybe at a tangent to the point of rotation of the lock on the pedals (if that makes any more sense). If the stick was full back (I.e. for a taildragger) I take it the gust lock would not work?

Is there anyway to mount the bracket on the stick end at a different angle to allow for full back stick? (Or provide 2 holes in it and a pin and you can set it up for your aircraft)

Thank you!

? We have several hundred in service on tail draggers, and they are all working
fine, so I don't really see what you want different. If you want the elevator in
the full up position it would require a modification to the stick saddle, but can
be done without too much trouble. Just let us know if we can help solve this
for you. Thanks, Allan...:D
 
? We have several hundred in service on tail draggers, and they are all working
fine, so I don't really see what you want different. If you want the elevator in
the full up position it would require a modification to the stick saddle, but can
be done without too much trouble. Just let us know if we can help solve this
for you. Thanks, Allan...:D
I have an RV9. Bought Alan?s gust lock. Had trouble making it work. Alan called me on Face Time and walked me through it. Turns out the problem was me, not the device. Alan stayed with me until I got it working as advertised. Works fine for a taildragger.
 
RV-10 Gust Lock

Here's mine. No moving parts, weighs 10oz. Works great and can't easily be forgotten. The fork engages the rudder pedals, push them both to tension the cables, then slide the round tube over the knob on the seat pan bulkhead and release. Velcro the stick into the rounded cradle and it's done.


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? We have several hundred in service on tail draggers, and they are all working
fine, so I don't really see what you want different. If you want the elevator in
the full up position it would require a modification to the stick saddle, but can
be done without too much trouble. Just let us know if we can help solve this
for you. Thanks, Allan...:D

Thanks Alan,

I?ve only ever left a taildragger with the elevator full up - since the wing and tail is in a flying position when parked. It?s this not a normal thing???
 
Thanks Alan,

I?ve only ever left a taildragger with the elevator full up - since the wing and tail is in a flying position when parked. It?s this not a normal thing???

? I guess you are correct, it's just the first time anyone has asked us about this
Thanks, Allan..:D
 
Thanks Alan,

I?ve only ever left a taildragger with the elevator full up - since the wing and tail is in a flying position when parked. It?s this not a normal thing???

It's the normal and usual thing. Good unless the wind is blowing from behind the airplane and if the tail is not tied down ;)
 
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