PA28 stabilator control lock
This post is prompted by a 05:30 visit this morning to the coastal strip where my PA28-180 is currently parked, to check that it was still the same way up as when I parked it...
The control locks I have inherited consist of a padded control surface lock for the ailerons (very simple, very effective), and a tube that fits over the yoke shaft holding the controls fully aft. Just thinking about that as the wind whistled about the chimney pots in the early hours, it occurred to me that yoke fully back is the worst possible position for it. In that position, the wind will acts to push the tail downwards, rotating the wings to take-off position. The tail tie down prevents the tail from lifting, but not moving downwards, and I suspect that wings that can produce a couple of tons of lift when demanded may prove too strong for spiral die downs in wet turf. I concluded that it was probably better to position the yoke neutral or forward, and hope that it stayed there... Obviously that is not very satisfactory, so I was just wondering whether any other PA28 drivers (particularly those who park in windy locations) have any suggestions for keeping the yoke in a forward position and for preventing the control banging in gusts? Given the swarms of PA28s around (to use a topical word) there must be some simple solutions out there.