How do you store your planes?
I was running out of room and needing a creative way to store my planes. I searched on YouTube and saw a number of different ways however they didn’t suit the space that I had available. Also, I didn’t want to keep taking the wings off my planes every time I went to and from the airfield and then have to reassemble them every time I wanted to fly. The result has been brilliant (at least for me).
Mock Up
I created a mock up out of balsa wood to get an understanding of the dimensions and if it was actually going to work. I made sure that all of the dimensions I used translated to a larger full size model (by a factor of 10cm = 1m). I also realised if I put the wings of the aircraft right close to the frame then their centre of gravity (CG) would be right in the middle of the frame so this would work well.
At the lower footing of the frame I put a 45 degree brace as I thought the height of the frame would make it unstable however the end result didn’t need it mainly because of the type of wood joints that I used in the construction of the frame was strong enough.
The Real Thing
One of the more interesting calculations was in regards to the vertical distance between each pole. I measured a number of the aircraft under carriages but between gliders (no under carriage), EDF jets (no under carriage), foamies with under carriage and balsa wood builds, it was a difficult decision. The main thing I found was helpful was to make the the horizontal PVC pipes removable. This was particularly difficult as the drill bit drilled a hole larger than the pipe so I ended up wrapping some masking tape around the end of the pipe to ‘just’ fill the gap and it worked perfectly !
One of my foamies was so large that I had to remove one of the set of horizontal stabilisers just so it’s wheels could fit in.
The other interesting lesson I learned (after I built it) was to ensure I measure the distance between the uprights (the space where you stick the nose cone of the plane). I allowed 200mm for all nose cones and that seemed to work well. Once I had erected my plane storage shelf I realised ONE of my planes was a three bladed propeller in which the 200mm gap was not enough to allow it to go through… well at least without some teasing. I wondered whether providing a gap of 250mm would have been more appropriate however seeing how the rest are fitting well I think maybe just 220mm or 230mm may have been the go.
For more information on my plane rack contact me at rodney@ theclarkefamily.com.au