Tie down caution

[Frank Castronovo]

For those of you using "The Claw" for tying down your airplane, or contemplating purchasing "The Claw," be advised that two of mine failed during a storm at the Sentimental Journey fly-in, doing $1000 worth of damage to my Defender. A J3 Cub, also using "The Claw" experienced a similar failure to hold the ground, and was damaged during the same storm. Three weeks ago I posted this incident on the fAA List, but I thought it was time to mention it on the NAA website as well. Dspite the manufacturer's advertising hype, I would advise against being overly-confident if you're already using this system, and if you're thinking about purchasing "The Claw," you may want to re-consider before plunking down a hundred bucks!

P.S. My email to the manufactureer, requesting an explanation, has gone unanswered for the past several weeks.


P.P.S The Defender has since been repaired, and is now airworthy again.

Cheers,
Frank

[joea]

Frank,

Sorry to hear about it and always thought that this tie-down was a sturdy one.

Would really be interested in hearing what the maker says when they do get back to you.

Joe A

[jc pacquin]

none.

[Nathan K. Hammond]

Dang Frank, sorry. I talked with some Cub buddies and they mentioned a Defender getting loose, but I didn't realize it was yours. Glad you were able to get it flying again.

nkh