?Joe, somewhere on the net is a drawing of ?a tail tie down that you can
release from the cockpit and take with you. You can pull the chocks, climb
into the plane and then release the tail tie??down.
I have one of those mechanisms sitting on my work bench.? ? ? I haven't always
been cautious. ?My engine starts with one pull at the lowest rpm. ?I became so
confident that I stopped tying it down when visiting other airports.
?Eventually I stopped tying it down altogether. ?One day the throttle was not
all the way to idle. ?The engine roared, the plane started rolling forward, the
tail came up. ?I couldn't get around the propeller to get to the throttle
before the tail came off the ground. ?My favorite propeller hit the ground.
?The tip of the propeller started flinging dirt and then splinters. ?I finally
got to the throttle to shut it down. ?I miss that propeller, I have tried three
propellers since then and none are as good.
Joe Nunley?CW2 US Army RetiredBaker JROTC Instructor?Baker Florida?
