Tie downs, ultralight tie downs, ultralight aircraft tie downs.

Ultralight aircraft Ti-Downs - Ultralight product review.

What does it cost?: $90.00 post-paid (discounts and other sizes available, see website)
Size: 16.5" long, 0.4 lbs each. Entire kit less than two lbs.

Instructions: Yes, one page.

Warranty: Two years!                                        

Cheers: Very lightweight and strong; Won't rust or corrode; Comes complete with rope, cheater bar, storage bag, and cleaning pad; Great conversation piece; Fantastic warranty.

Jeers: No suitable place in the plane to keep them on display (they have to stay in the bag....). 

You have just arrived at the biggest RV flyin in the area. Of course, there were a couple of "little" bounces in the landing since so many folks were watching your landing. After parking your toy, you decide to tie down the plane since you are staying overnight. Out of the dark recesses of the baggage compartment comes one of the following:

1) A set of plastic tent stakes with mauled tips from the last time you tried to pound them into bedrock at your son's Boy Scout campout, or

2) A custom-made set of 2x2 pine stakes complete with baling twine, or

3) A set of doggy stakes from the aviation department of Wal-Mart.

Now the only above option that has any chance of holding down your plane in a stiff breeze is the doggy stakes. These low-grade steel corkscrew-shaped anchors have made an appearance at many airshows, sometimes successfully restraining the aircraft if they didn't self-destruct from being forced into hard and rocky soil. However, these puppies are heavy, not to mention the indignity inflicted on your precious RV be being leashed to the ground by DOG STAKES!

No longer does the love of your life (your airplane......) have to endure such humiliation. Randy Simpson is offering pilots a set of Ti-downs that are appropriate for use on the most popular of homebuilt aircraft (matter of fact, they should work quite well on regular 'ole run-of-the mill production planes). We're talkin' titanium here! The same stuff that goes into space shuttles and R/C race cars! Not only is titanium extremely light weight, it is very strong (Randy uses 6AL-4V alloy, the good stuff). But besides offering the securest anchor this side of a ramp tie down, these Ti-Downs are cool. Just toss one of these Ti-downs to a pilot, watch him cringe as he sees it coming, then watch his eyes go big as he hefts the thing in his hand. The first thing he will say is, "Where did you get these?"! Even though the Ti-downs look at first glance like just another set of dog stakes, the moment you hold them you know something is special about this set of tied owns.

The observant will notice that something is unusual when they see the shipping weight on the box. Yep, it seez "2 lbs". Included in the flyweight box is three Ti-downs, three 8' lengths of hefty rope, cheater bar, cleaning pad, carrying bag, and instructions on how to get the crazy things back in the bag! Don't laugh, there is one way to "wind" the stakes together so they will stow compactly. However, if you have the ability to build an RV, you shouldn't need more than a half-hour or so of practice to figure out how to get everything back in the bag....

It has been several weeks since we have received much rain in North Alabama. I found the rockiest, chunkiest, most hard-packed Alabama clay in the area. I have seen regular doggy stakes transform themselves into spaghetti when forced into similar ground; Consequently, this was deemed a fair test of the durability of the Ti-downs.

A cheater bar is included in the kit, and this was used to screw the Ti-downs into what we call soil when it receives the proper amount of rain. With about two coils left exposed, the Ti-downs were as far into the ground as I could turn them with the cheater bar. At this point, they were starting to flex a bit, and I was concerned that I might bend them if I twisted any harder with a bigger bar. I don't know much about titanium, so I don't know if the stuff is easily deformed permanently. However, the Ti-down was firmly attached to the ground, and as it turns out, the length of the cheater bar prevents you from being able to inflict permanent damage to the Ti-downs. If the ground is too hard for the Ti-downs and the included bar, you parked on the runway instead of the grass.

Once the Ti-downs have performed their duty and you are ready to stow them., a few quick swipes of the included cleaning pad will remove dirt and restore a shiny luster to the stakes. Then you get to impress your flying companions with your Mensa membership as you deftly perform the secretly practiced manipulations required to wind the Ti-downs back together so they slip neatly into the bag. Toss the two-pound bag to somebody just for effect, then stow the bag into the dark recesses of the baggage compartment.

On second thought, you may want to find a way to store the Ti-downs exposed on the glare shield; They are just about too snazzy to put away in an inconspicuous storage bag. However, when your friends find out that you spent a hundred dollars for tie-downs it may be hard to convince them that you really need some help with the gas money....

Randy Simpson's Ti-downs are expensive, but when you consider the consequences of having your plane blown against a hanger (or another plane!) due to poor quality dog stakes (or because you left the ratty tie-downs at home because they are such a hassle to mess with), the high quality and longevity of the Ti-downs becomes more economically rational. I think Randy has a fine product, and given the cost of titanium and the difficulty of working it, his Ti-downs are reasonably priced. This is a product that is unobtainable elsewhere, and few of us have the machine capabilities of fabricating a set for ourselves. I intend to carry the Ti-downs in my RV, and have absolutely no reservations about recommending them to other pilots. Besides, with a warranty of two years (Randy told me he has never had a ti-down returned due to failure) how can you go wrong!

However, I do suggest that you not loan out these tie-downs.....more than likely they will never come back.

Recommended.

Sam Buchanan
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