Launching turnarounds

[rogerflies]

One of the guys I fly with launched my friend's turnaround yesterday. The pulley was on top of a 24" long 5/8" diameter steel rod which had been driven about 10-12" into firm dry turf. There were also two ropes going about six feet back from the pulley to 9" plastic tent pegs driven all the way in. That's the usual setup we use, and we've done a pull test that put at least 60 pounds on the line and 120 on the TA. The 2025 winch motor wasn't anywhere near stall when we quit the pull test.

The pegs broke off several inches down, and the entire rig flew over 200 feet toward the winch. :eek: He was about halfway up on the launch when it let go.

Which brings up the question: How do you secure your TAs? The holes in the base of the TAs sold by Jim and Tim don't look like they can take more than a 3/8" peg, if that. There's no provision for ropes. What kind of pins do you use and how far do you drive them in?

Roger

[OVSS Boss]

Timber spikes sold at Lowes...

[Test005]

I use one of these for my hi-start and properly screwed down in firm soil, there's no way to pull it out.
You can buy them in pet stores, they are used as stakes for dog chains...

http://www.bitsforpets.com/images/pennine-tie-out-stake.jpg

[fnnwizard]

I use one of these for my hi-start and properly screwed down in firm soil, there's no way to pull it out.
You can buy them in pet stores, they are used as stakes for dog chains...

http://www.bitsforpets.com/images/pennine-tie-out-stake.jpg

I use this too when the ground is soft enough to twist it in. Dont use the ring on the thing, it will eventually break even on my histart, just attach right to the stake itself.

I have the McCann turnaround and I use a piece of chain, the center link goes with the stake into the TA and two other stakes attach the chain end spread out like a triangle. Bought chain and 12" spikes from Lowes. When ground is soft, I use the cork screw thing and screw right over the chain. Again dont attach to the ring on the cork screw.

[Bryan Quick]

I 'third' the screw in stake if it is feasible. You may have pulled 60 lbs. on the turnaround to test it out but, the plane on tow can generate more than 150-200 lbs. of force if it encounters a gust.

I also have a couple of nails that are roughly 5/16" diameter and 18" long that are great stakes when the ground is too hard for the screw.

Bryan

[jbrandon]

The Turnarounds (http://www.theshope.net/) I make and sell have provisions for three stakes and I recommend using all three.

The stakes we use here in the Midwest are the spikes from the local Ace hardware store. We get the 12” ones which are 3/8” in diameter and they have a good head to grab onto when time to remove them. Generally speaking with three stakes the turnaround will not pull out of the ground unless it is very wet then the longer one is used instead of one of the 12” ones.

In soft ground I have made some 3/8” stainless steel stakes about 18” long with a 90 degree bend on to make them easier to get out of the ground. Stainless steel was picked because it is hard enough to resist bending when pounding in and pulling out. Ones made of mild steel were bending.

Jim Brandon
www.theshope.net (http://www.theshope.net/)

[dephela]

Used for F3B, all stakes go all the way into the ground.

[IBWALT]

We have several of the old Rahm turnarounds that we still use. They have one hole and we use a 10 or 12 inch timber spike to hold it down. The only time we have ever had one come out of the ground is when the ground is really damp (after several days rain). Then the farthest I've seen one go is about 20 or 30 feet. We usually just nail it back down and keep launching.

The soil here is a thick black gumbo. Heavy on the clay content. So I would say that the makeup of the soil is probably the greatest factor in determining what kind of or how many stakes are used to secure the TA.

Walt

[Robglover]

Roger -

Turnaround stakes are dependant on the ground that they are being used in, as well as who is launching and how strong the winch is. Sounds like you needed some bigger ones.
We've resorted to a pair of 1/2 inch rebar 4 ft long stakes during monsoons in Muncie

[John Walter]

I have seen a turn-around on an F3B winch pull out and fly 100' past the winch! That shows how much energy is stored in stretched mono.

[Soar_dude]

I use a dog lead cork screw stake for my turn-around and it does not budge at all.

Soar Dude

[lincoln]

On my own winch, which is seldom deployed, I use an old style lug wrench, worked ALL the way in. These are good because you can almost always get them out by twisting. But you have to get them in that way too, because you can't really pound on that funny angle. I think the old style lug wrench might be 15 to 18" to the bend.

Anothe setup we use is a big metal post as mentioned at the top, braced with 5' or so lines to really big metal spikes. (Like giant nails, maybe 12 to 14" long.) The spikes get driven almost all the way in, the main post goes in pretty far but I don't know how far.

[Robglover]

By the way -

Once you graduate to really big nails to anchor your turn around and winch, you will need to have a really big pry bar to pull them back out of the ground with. Might as well get this before you drive them into the ground. Hope it's not too late...