Daniel Stieger just couldn’t stop thinking about chocks. After retiring as flight department manager for Novartis last year, he put his mind to solving what many people probably never thought was a serious aviation problem: poorly designed wheel chocks.
Chocking a parked aircraft is an important aspect of ground-handling safety, but it seems that little attention has been paid to the design of wheel chocks. There are wooden chocks, which can easily skid away from a tire during a wind gust because they cannot grip the ramp surface. The ubiquitous large rubber chocks found at many FBOs are heavy, often filthy and easily trapped by a tire and the load of the airplane. Removing stuck rubber chocks often requires a pull from a tug, according to Stieger.
Some operators, such as Novartis during flights to Africa, carry their own chocks, not only to ensure that chocks are available but also to avoid the fees some FBOs charge for using their chocks. This can take up a lot of space in the baggage compartment, and lower the aircraft’s payload capability.
This nettlesome set of circumstances wouldn’t stop churning in Stieger’s brain, so he finally formed a company called Satcom based in Lugano, Switzerland, and designed a new type of chock that doesn’t suffer from all of the above bad characteristics. He calls his new devices Alphachocks.
Alphachocks are made of forged 6082T6 aluminum and are fitted with 16 carbide spikes on the horizontal lower surface to grip the ground. The chocks fold up flat when not in use, and open into a triangular shape that locks into place when the handle is pushed into the over-the-center position. Other than the over-the-center locking feature, there is no mechanical lock that needs to be released, so removing the chock, even from a tightly held wheel under load, is simply a matter of pulling the mechanism away from the over-the-center position. The Alphachock then collapses to its flat form and then can be placed back in its carrying case or suitcase. The series 1 Alphachocks can hold an aircraft weighing up to 121,300 pounds (55 metric tons). Stieger is designing another set of Alphachocks for heavier aircraft.
One Alphachock weighs 2.9 pounds (1.3 kg), far less than rubber chocks that each weight from 15 to 26 pounds (7 to 12 kg). An entire set of six Alphachocks in a portable case weighs just 19 pounds (9 kg), including bungee cords to secure a set of two chocks to each wheel. The chocks cannot cause any sparking, and the highly visible powder coated orange topcoat is resistant to hydraulic fluids and other chemicals.
Satcom can laser-engrave each Alphachock with company logos in any color. Alphachocks are also available without the carbide spikes but with non-slip “Rhino” industrial coating, for use on epoxy and polyurethane painted hangar floors. For fuel trucks and airport vehicles that carry chocks, Satcom offers a stainless steel Alphachock holder.
One set of Alphachocks retails for $370, and a set of six in the carrying case with bungees costs $2,466.