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I thought I would split this out of the Brake Lines thread, so we don't get two discussions at once.
Here comes my biased rationale:
The main benefit of a park brake is starting and stopping in the wind or on a hill. Getting into your plane in a leisurely manner, and simply releasing the brake and taxiing away. This is particularly true when you're on your own in some remote location. I cannot remember the last time I was at a perfectly flat parking spot on a windless day. But there are so many other reasons why light aircraft "run away". Slopes, prop wash, people leaning on it, etc.
Many of us will have seen an aircraft rolling away, usually when a wind gusts or when the owner parks on a slight slope. Often they are headed towards a parked car, hanger, or someone else's aircraft. Nobody wants to be "that guy". The argument for parking brakes is simple, its the same reason why almost every vehicle with wheels has a park brake. You wouldn't leave a car without setting the brake, and a plane is much more expensive than a car! Compared to chocks a parking brake is lighter, smaller, more effective, a whole lot less hassle, and so much easier to use - which means you're much more likely to use them every single time! It saves a heap of mucking around and it's convenient. It's painful to watch someone do the chocks thing in a stong wind or steep slope, all for the sake of a couple of hundred bucks.
I use my park brake several times on every single flight. Even at the holding point or during a run-up, I always use the park brake - it is so much more comfortable and relaxing having my feet resting easy on the pedals. It's much easier on the rudder cable assembly too, which have to resist your weight on the pedals. They also hold the plane parked for countless hours. Yes park brakes sometimes bleed down overnight, but the plane should be tied down long before that happens.
The parking brake device itself is tiny, super easy to install, weighs nothing, and so simple that they aren't prone to fail. They cost next to nothing in aircraft terms. I wont dwell on the mechanical side of the install, nor the maintenance and cost implications - I firmly believe parking brakes are a no-brainer in that regard, when I think about how useful mine has been.
The most common argument against parking brakes seems to be fear of landing with the brakes locked. There are always anecodes about this happening to someone's buddy. I cannot imagine why people would operate the park brake during flight. There is absolutely no reason to do that on purpose... Or by mistake - to lock the brakes, you have to push the brakes in (hard) and then close the brake valve at the exact same time - it's a two step process!! That doesn't happen by accident. What's more, in a Bearhawk you choose where the brake control is located on the panel. You can put it far, far away from any control you touch during flight. Due to the paranoia, mine is wired to a warning light so when the park brake is on there's a big red light in my face. I find that warning light unnecessary in hindsight, and I only added it because of the scaremongering about the "dangers of parking brakes" which I got told during the build. Poppycock!
Originally posted by nichzimmerman
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The main benefit of a park brake is starting and stopping in the wind or on a hill. Getting into your plane in a leisurely manner, and simply releasing the brake and taxiing away. This is particularly true when you're on your own in some remote location. I cannot remember the last time I was at a perfectly flat parking spot on a windless day. But there are so many other reasons why light aircraft "run away". Slopes, prop wash, people leaning on it, etc.
Many of us will have seen an aircraft rolling away, usually when a wind gusts or when the owner parks on a slight slope. Often they are headed towards a parked car, hanger, or someone else's aircraft. Nobody wants to be "that guy". The argument for parking brakes is simple, its the same reason why almost every vehicle with wheels has a park brake. You wouldn't leave a car without setting the brake, and a plane is much more expensive than a car! Compared to chocks a parking brake is lighter, smaller, more effective, a whole lot less hassle, and so much easier to use - which means you're much more likely to use them every single time! It saves a heap of mucking around and it's convenient. It's painful to watch someone do the chocks thing in a stong wind or steep slope, all for the sake of a couple of hundred bucks.
I use my park brake several times on every single flight. Even at the holding point or during a run-up, I always use the park brake - it is so much more comfortable and relaxing having my feet resting easy on the pedals. It's much easier on the rudder cable assembly too, which have to resist your weight on the pedals. They also hold the plane parked for countless hours. Yes park brakes sometimes bleed down overnight, but the plane should be tied down long before that happens.
The parking brake device itself is tiny, super easy to install, weighs nothing, and so simple that they aren't prone to fail. They cost next to nothing in aircraft terms. I wont dwell on the mechanical side of the install, nor the maintenance and cost implications - I firmly believe parking brakes are a no-brainer in that regard, when I think about how useful mine has been.
The most common argument against parking brakes seems to be fear of landing with the brakes locked. There are always anecodes about this happening to someone's buddy. I cannot imagine why people would operate the park brake during flight. There is absolutely no reason to do that on purpose... Or by mistake - to lock the brakes, you have to push the brakes in (hard) and then close the brake valve at the exact same time - it's a two step process!! That doesn't happen by accident. What's more, in a Bearhawk you choose where the brake control is located on the panel. You can put it far, far away from any control you touch during flight. Due to the paranoia, mine is wired to a warning light so when the park brake is on there's a big red light in my face. I find that warning light unnecessary in hindsight, and I only added it because of the scaremongering about the "dangers of parking brakes" which I got told during the build. Poppycock!
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