Story ID: 397
Alpha Chocks Offers New Options
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: An alternative to heavy and unwieldy rubber chocks, Alpha Chocks are available for any size aircraft.
Word Count: 364
Swiss manufacturing firm Alpha Chocks has expanded its lineup of metal aircraft chocks with new functionality, as well as optional special coating attachments for extreme conditions.

Located at EBACE 2022 at the Mototok booth (Y79), Alpha Chocks feature a folding mechanism that makes it easy to remove the chocks, preventing the age-old problem of chocks getting stuck under tires. Simply pulling on the handle collapses and folds the two chock surfaces so the upper surface no longer contacts the tire. Alpha Chocks are 10 to 20 times lighter and much smaller than traditional heavy rubber chocks, according to company founder and engineer Daniel Stieger, and they don't get stuck by the weight of the aircraft pushing the tire against the chocks. 

The optional polyurethane Rhino plate attaches to Mid- and Max-size Alpha Chocks, and this is helpful for gripping on epoxy-coated hangar floors without damaging the floor’s coating. The Rhino material adheres to a stainless steel plate that prevents corrosion. A stainless steel weather plate is also available for gripping on ice and snow.

A new feature for the Mini Alpha Chocks is a two-position adjustment. The first is for aircraft without wheel fairings or with fairings that aren’t too low to the ground. The second position allows the use of the Mini chock on Cirrus single-engine airplanes with low-hanging wheel fairings and not much room to accommodate a chock.

The Mini chocks weigh just 0.3 kg (0.7 pounds) and can be used for aircraft with mtows up to 20 tonnes (45,000 pounds) and wheels measuring up to 50 cm (20 inches). The Mid-size chocks (1.3 kg) accommodate larger aircraft weighing up to 65 tonnes with wheels up to 75 cm. Both the Mini and Mid are made of forged T6062 aluminum. For the heaviest aircraft with mtows of up to 350 tonnes, the composite Max chocks do the job and weigh just 3 kg; these can fit wheels measuring up to 125 cm.

Alpha Chocks come with soft cases and range in price for a set of two Minis at CHF380 ($391), two Mids CHF760, or two Maxs for CHF3,240. Rhino and weather plates are available for purchase separately or as part of package deals.