Securing Your Glider at Night

At the JWGC one of the teams secured their glider by tying the wing wheel to the ground. A 1-point tie-down, now you can imagine what this did in high winds, well we can imagine many horrible things happening... The glider rolled back pivoting on the 1 tie-down running into the glider tied-down behind, the rudder was the weakest point of contact.

In the US, generally securing your glider and trailer is taken much more seriously. The first thing you notice when you show up to Mifflin PA are the straps running over the top of the trailers securing them for hurricane style winds.

When I am off at a contest I will tie-down both wingtips and generally the tail. If I am concerned about weather I will de-rig. I also know some contest pilots that will tie-down the main wheel. The trailer needs to be tied-down also, especially when they are empty. I watched a GW-4 trailer log about 150ft.

Sometimes we get really lucky and we are able to get the gliders into a hanger, which can be an adventure on its own. The GoJak is designed for 7inch tires and clears gear doors, they make sliding around in the hanger much easier.

Many of us use the claw tie-downs, they are very simple to use and work in every soil I have been tied down in. Covers are also excellent as they remove all lift from the wing while protecting from minor weather.

 Garret Willat holds a flight instructor rating with over 8000 hours in sailplanes. His parents have owned Sky Sailing Inc. since 1979. He started instructing the day after his 18th birthday. Since then, Garret has represented the US Junior team in 2003 and 2005. He graduated from Embry-Riddle with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics. Garret represented the US Open Class team in 2008 and 2010 and the Club Class team in 2014. Garret has won 3 US National Championships.