Do you tie down for a lunch stop?

I almost never tie my plane down. On concrete, overnight is about the only time I do.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I almost never tie my plane down. On concrete, overnight is about the only time I do.
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So first officers have to tie down the plane, too? In addition to all the other duties, like cleaning the lavatories and bringing the captain his coffee?

Wow, they keep you guys busy!

:biggrin:
 
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Half Fast said:
So first officers have to die down the plane, too? In addition to all the other duties, like cleaning the lavatories and bringing the captain his coffee?

Wow, they keep you guys busy!

:biggrin:
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Man, that's gotta be some long ropes.
 
Half Fast said:
So first officers have to die down the plane, too? In addition to all the other duties, like cleaning the lavatories and bringing the captain his coffee?

Wow, they keep you guys busy!

:biggrin:
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FO's are legendary. You should see them park the plane with the hand held nose tow bar!
 
Two decades ago fighting fire in interior BC we had an hour wait for a Heli pickup to get to the fire on a nearby peak. We spent an hour leveling out a nice helispot, found some rocks and painted them for a neon triangle to mark the landing. Put some flagging on a stick and put it on a small nearby hill for a windsock. We were pretty proud of our work, was a nice little LZ.
Huey came in and spent a bit of hover gently putting it down - on the hilly spot right next to the windsock. We asked why he didn't like our helispot. Looked down, and said - "oh yeah, that would have been better.... I'm a heliski pilot, we always land next to the pin." Coming off the hill that evening, he again skipped the landing spot and landed right next to our trucks. Sent a fair bit of gravel up to chip the paint. "Didn't want you to have to walk too far."

When I park for lunch I generally always tie down if I'm more than a quick sprint to the plane. I've worked in a lot of jet fuel powered microburst and met some of the crazies who fly them(with all due respect to whirlybird operators).
 
How long does it take for folks to tie down? Compared to the wait for the lunch queue, doesn't seem to be relatively significant.

If I'm in that big of a hurry to eat, I'd pack a sack lunch and eat on/under the wing.
 
My airplane is hangared at home. Tying down on a lunch run gives me a chance to practice the knots so I can do them quickly when I have to. But I admit that I only tie down for short periods if there are good ropes in the tiedown spots. Though I carry my own ropes, something in me chafes at having to tie both ends. I'll tie 2 or 3 knots for lunch, but not 4 or 6!
 
I think there's an important question that's been left out. Has anyone ever done a weight and balance after a lunch stop, looked over at their traveling companion, and said "I'm sorry man. The bbq was good. But now, it looks like you're going to have to stay behind."
 
Albany Tom said:
I think there's an important question that's been left out. Has anyone ever done a weight and balance after a lunch stop, looked over at their traveling companion, and said "I'm sorry man. The bbq was good. But now, it looks like you're going to have to stay behind."
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The trick is to burn at least as much fuel out of the airplane getting there as you put into the pilot and pax at the stop. :D
 
Albany Tom said:
I think there's an important question that's been left out. Has anyone ever done a weight and balance after a lunch stop, looked over at their traveling companion, and said "I'm sorry man. The bbq was good. But now, it looks like you're going to have to stay behind."
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Please tell me you're not monitoring his rest room production as well......
 
I've decided I'll always tie down and install my gust lock. Too many times I've seen planes get prop blasted by clueless pilots parking nearby, or helicopters departing near the ramp where I have to park.
 
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