| Often
when flying my lightweight soaring trike, it's a real trial starting the engine. Not just
because the d*mn thing is a b*gger to start anyhow, but because usually I'm in a place
where I have no assistance, and no way to stop the trike rolling away if I have to
pull-start the engine from outside the seat, as I usually find I have to. Conventional chocks solve that problem. but present another. How do
I get the chock out of the way of other aircraft (if I'm at an airfield) after removing
it, if I have to stay in the aircraft? I can't just leave it sitting there for
someone to run into! I also needed something that was easy to remove while sitting
in the seat of the trike, with no component that might foul the prop as I taxi away. 
Well it may be trivial, but here's my recipe for what I call my Low,
flat chockie. Not only can I remove it while sitting in the seat of the trike,
but once removed, it represents almost no danger to any aircraft taxiing at a safe
speed. It also comes with integrated spikes to provide traction.
The prototype is made of a bit of scrap 12 mm thick craft wood,
four 8cm hinges 12 1/4 inch x 50mm roofing bolts and 12 1/4 inch by 20mm roofing bolts.
The only other stuff required is some super glue gel to act as a lock for the
bolts. I've also painted it red so that other people can see it and so that I don't
forget to collect it at the end of the day. 
The diagram is of course, self-explanatory. To use the
chockie, you just lay it flat on the ground, stamp on it to set the spikes, then fold the
two flaps together. Your nose wheel sits on the flat plate section. To
"unchock" you just reach forward with your foot (if you have no pod, like
me) and, with your heel, kick the rear flap upward and backward, and the whole
thing just flattens out.
You can, of course, build a two-ended version that will restrict
rearward movement as well.
Enjoy your chockies! |
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