Sport Pilot Talk

Does anyone have experience with this product:

CL100 Gust Lock
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/ ... key=227560

I'd like to use it on my 2012 Tecnam P92 Eaglet but as you can see it attaches to the bottom of the control panel. Since the control panel is only plastic, I wonder how it can possibly hold up in a storm. I emailed the manufacturer planepoop.com and they said they had not had any reports of problems on P92s.

I use one of those on my Zodiac, which has an angle aluminum cross member stiffener at the bottom of the instrument panel. The fastener "tit bolts" (for lack of a better term) are installed in the stiffener with the tits pointed down. It works great. I did have to provide POOP with custom measurements so the elevator is in a neutral position when the control lock is installed.

Thanks Stan . . . for your solution and the good pics of such.

Looks like a good solution, though perhaps a bit pricey. And, Aircraft Spruce really needs a proofreader:

The latching mechanism is tow locking buttons that cannot come loose until released by the pilot which insures the owners that their ailerons and elevators are safe from wind damage.

Tow locking buttons? Insures? Really?

drseti wrote:Looks like a good solution, though perhaps a bit pricey. And, Aircraft Spruce really needs a proofreader:

Mine was $60.00 ordered on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/str/prideofownershipproducts

I considered fabricating one myself, but in the end decided that rounding up the attachment hardware and other materials plus the time it would take to put the thing together would cost more in time and money than just paying the $60. I see they're $83 from AS&S.

I have the exact same one on my SportCruiser and love it. Goes on very easy with no chance of it ever coming loose. Wouldn't use anything else.

Looking at the P92 lower panel, it would seem to me to be a simple matter to rivet or bolt a piece of sheet aluminum or bar stock to the bottom of the panel to accommodate the tit bolts and provide the necessary structure to withstand high winds.

Of course if the airplane is still registered as an S-LSA an LOA from Tecnam would be required.

As Stan pointed out you need some sort of return lip on the bottom of the panel to mount the TENAX bolt stud to. The SportCruiser panel is all aluminum with a 1" return lip on the bottom of the panel which is perfect for this gust lock. If all you have is a plastic or composite panel you would need some sort of stiffener behind it as they will no doubt rip out under high winds. Again, this type of modification is for E-LSA only.

Mine is indeed an SLSA. I'll have to wait until the Italians are accepting LOAs again. At the moment, they are only processing ADS-B LOAs.