field box plans?
 

Anyone have a set of field box plans they would like to share?
I've been looking to get my first field box, and most look to be sorta junk.
So I went on ebay and found a guy who is building them out of pine. Very nice.
Kinda rich though too. $100 basically. So I thought I'd build my own.

Can anyone help?

gpshemi

RE: field box plans?
 

There are a couple of sets of plans on my web page.

RE: field box plans?
 

Kinda hate to give this standard answer but this question has been asked mannnnny times. Try doing a search for the many threads on this subject, there are some great ideas in them.

RE: field box plans?
 

One thing to think of besides maybe building a flight box is to use one of the current set of toolboxes available from your local home improvment stores. I had to go to one of these because of back problems, the new toolbox is on wheels and I can roll it to the flightline. I've found that it is such a huge improvement over the old flight box I used. I have more room to carry stuff and it's a lot easier to get to and from the flight line.

Just something to think about.

Ken

RE: field box plans?
 

RCKEN makes a good point. With a plastic tool box that you basically just have to mount your stuff in the price is hard to beat. They are also fuel proof. I bought mine for just over $10.00 and its big enough to hold a starter battery, starter, power panel, fuel pump, tools and a 40 oz. fuel tank. [8D]

RE: field box plans?
 

Thanks Lightfoot. That's exactly what I was looking for.

You SHOULD hate to give that answer. I tried the search engine - and also google.
YOU try a search for "field box plans"...nothing. Not the hot topic I thought it would be.


The tool box is a great idea too guys. Thanks. I think I'll pursue that before building one out of pine. That might actually be the best idea. I could even modify one with some plywood to get what I'd want. Those are the remarks I was looking for.

gpshemi

RE: field box plans?
 

You SHOULD hate to give that answer. I tried the search engine - and also google.
YOU try a search for "field box plans"...nothing. Not the hot topic I thought it would be.
gpshemi

[/quote]

Sorry you couldn't find them. I just did a search and found quite a few threads about field boxes.

RE: field box plans?
 

One hint if you use a tool box; install the power panel so that the front of the panel is accessable with out the lid having to be open. [8D]

RE: field box plans?
 

Good job Bruce.
I still don't find what I was looking for though.


I did find the tool box idear though. That's pretty slick. I might just try that instead.
Glad I asked.

RE: field box plans?
 

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/tm.asp?m=167247
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/tm.asp?m=126656

The second is an existing kit but by looking at it you could design your own. You could also look around your flying field and decide what features you like in the other fliers boxes and design a box that suit YOU best. It will take a little more time but it will be the only one like it.

RE: field box plans?
 

Something I've noticed a lot of the guys I fly with doing is building 2 boxes. 1 larger box for all your tools & props & spare parts, etc. then a smaller flight line box for just battery, power panel & starter. This gives you a small light box to carry to the flight line with you as we leave are big boxes on the tables for any repair or prop changes that we need to do through out the day. This seems to work very well. I bought the GP Master Caddy for this very reason. It has what they call a satellite box for the starter, battery & power panel that unhooks from the main box. I like the idea of a smaller start box for the flight box. Unfortunately since most of these pre-fabbed boxes are made of sawdust & glue instead of real wood it is already starting to fall apart on me & it is less than a year old. I still like the size & configuration of the whole set-up so I will copy the whole thing in 3/8 ply myself as soon as I get motivated enough to do it. A friend has built his own like that out of 3/8 ply & they are very nice looking & very sturdy too. He does very nice work with wood.

I would definitely recommend building your own over buying one like I did unless you buy something like Ken suggested at home depot or lowes or some place like that. You might want to look at the ones available at Tower's site just to see which one you like & then just build it from there. Once you have seen it, it is simple to build without drawn out plans. Good luck in your building project.

RE: field box plans?
 

It is ‘store bought’ but I like the Goldberg Mini-Tote.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDJD6&P=0
It holds fuel, glow driver, battery, power panel, starter, and a couple of screwdrivers; which is exactly what I need to fuel and start the engine.

Everything else stays in a couple of big plastic tool boxes, in the truck, until needed. Most days the big boxes are never unloaded.

Something like this would be fairly easy to scratch build by looking at the photo and measuring your field equipment. The bottom and handle are 1/4” or 3/8” aircraft plywood and the rest looks like 3/32” or 1/8” lite ply. There is tri-stock in the corners and I used epoxy for all of the construction. Other glues would probably be fine but I went for something fuelproof.

RE: field box plans?
 

Neither of those are plans bruce88123...they're examples. Thanks for looking though.
I totally agree guys. I can get a ton of example off Tower Hobbies. I was looking for actual plans is all.
I'm a design engineer in my daily life. One thing I'm sure of in this world is that I could take a picture
and design one. However, why reinvent the wheel?

As far as looking at my flying field goes, I don't fly at fields. I fly at home and some vacation property I have.
So it would mean a special trip to a field -somewhere- just to see someone's box.
Again though...I was looking for plans.

Even still, I'm going to look for the plastic tote tonight. That sounds like the better idea.
Hadn't seen that before.

Thanks everyone!!

gpshemi

RE: field box plans?
 

EOM

RE: field box plans?
 

If you're leaning towards the plastic tote idea, you can try Home Depot, Lowes, & another store you might find a good selection of boxes to choose from is Harbor Freight. I didn't realize they were such a big chain but apparently they are all over the place. I found a lot of neet stuff to use for airplane tools there along with a very nice hardshell aluminum case for my radios for a lot less money than the radio cases on Tower's site. They had a few different styles to choose from & they all have the eggshell foam in the top of the case & the bottom has 3" thick foam in it that is already perferated into 1/2" squares making it very easy to just pop out the squares you need to make your radio fit like a glove in there. I set it up for 2 radios in just a matter of minutes. So anyone looking for a nice radio case but don't want to pay 40something bucks for it go to Harbor Freight, I got mine for $29 & it is very nice!!
I also found a nice set of T-handled allen wrenches that are color coded & come in a nice little rack that mounts to your flight box.[sm=thumbup.gif]
Beware though, I went in there just to get a radio case, $135 later I walked out, too much good stuff in there. They are on the web too if you want to take a look or find the nearest one to where you live.

Sorry I don't have a link to any plans for you, I saw some in here once but that over a year ago & I couldn't begin to know where they are now.
I do hope you find a tote you like though.

I just checked Harbor Freight's website & they are in Mi too. I didn't see your town listed but you can look on the site to see if any of the stores are within driving range for you or not. If one isn't too far away it might be worth the trip.

RE: field box plans?
 

Here is the link to Harbor Freight if anyone wants to see if there is a store in their area just click retail stores then your state & a list of the cities they are in for that state will come up.

I also found a set of small screw drivers there that work like those Jewelers screwdrivers, the ones with the little swivel head on the handle so you can plant it in the palm of your hand & just spin it between your thumb & fore-finger, Very nice handy little set of drivers for $4.99 I was like a kid in a candy store at this place. No real brand name tools, just lots of generic stuff for cheap!!

Sorry that I drifted off of your subject here but they do have lots of boxes to choose from there too & I wanted anyone who doesn't know about this place to have an oppurtunity to see if there is one near-by to where they live. Because like I said they have all sorts of good stuff that can be used for our flying desease.;)


http://www.harborfreight.com/

RE: field box plans?
 

Another good place to get radio cases is at Lowe's. They have an aluminum shelled case for $24 (the same case is $44) on Tower's website. It comes with foam that is perforated so you can make cutouts to fit whatever you want. It is large enough to fit 2 transmitters with room to spare.

Ken

RE: field box plans?
 

Lol, Ya mean I drove to Stockton to spend 5 extra bucks?? Oh well I would have had to drive to Livermore to get to a lowes, & as I said I found all kinds of other cool stuff to spend money on that I really didn't have once I got there.:)

RE: field box plans?
 

Hey guys. Just picked up a black and yellow tote with wheels last night at Wally World (Walmart). I paid $23 for it and it's slicker then snot. The fuel jug fits underneath, multiple radios in the center, and the top has a pull out tray with room for props, wrenches, and all sorts of stuff. Between the two sections there's a tray that rotates out 180 degrees with little bins in it for screws, glow plugs, rubber bands. It even splits in half so you could take just a tool box and leave the wheel part at the truck. It really couldn't be more perfect. I swear they designed this thing for RC planes.

gpshemi

RE: field box plans?
 

Great, glad you found something that you like and will work for you. [sm=thumbup.gif]

RE: field box plans?
 

That is a pretty nice looking tote for $23. Nice find.;)

RE: field box plans?
 

Wouldn't have considered it without you guys though. Thanks all.
It really is the ticket.

gpshemi

RE: field box plans?
 

Looks good. Just a suggestion, if you have a 12 volt battery inside on one side of the box the inside and the power panel mounted on the other side through the side so that you can plug in your starter and glow driver with out having to have the lid open then the set up will work well for you. [8D]

RE: field box plans?
 

Actually I was thinking I'd go wireless.

I'm buying the powerpack for under the starter, and I already have a battery powered glow warmer. I don't need to plug that in.
Not going to use a power console or 12v battery. Just throw it in the box and go.

gpshemi

RE: field box plans?
 

Then with out a 12 volt battery you will need a hand crank fuel pump to fill the plane with. I figure I have enough to do to get the planes ready with out hand cranking the fuel pump as well (read lazy!) so I like the electric pump. [8D]

RE: field box plans?
 

I was workin on a list of stuff I need when I saw this....I GOTTA HAVE ONE!!...going in the morning to wallyworld.....Rog

RE: field box plans?
 

Got one this morning..$24.83,,no reason you couldnt put a power panel off the side..it is a cool set up of a field box..wheels and all....Rog

RE: field box plans?
 

Darn, I just turned down a trip to Wally-World with the wife. She asked if there was anything I needed from there & I forgot all about looking to see if they had this tote on wheels.[&:]

RE: field box plans?
 

I got one of those rolling toolboxes a year ago and could not live without it! Mine has 2 pumps (smoke oil and glow), three fuel cans, power panel, and airplane supports.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ofIMGA0788.jpghttp://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ofIMGA0789.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ofIMGA0790.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ofIMGA0794.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ofIMGA0793.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ofIMGA0791.jpg

Mods

RE: field box plans?
 

After my last post I decided to go catch my Wife & Elena, at Wally-World. They had 4 of them left at our store & 1 of the 4 actually had wheels that turned freely so I got it. It is much easier & quicker to set up than building the new one that I need. So now it's off to the garage to decide how I want to set it up. I must say after looking at the pics Mods put up while I was gone to the store to buy mine, it looks like I might be stealing some of your ideas.[8D]

That looks like an excellent configuration you have there Mods, thanks for posting those pics!!;)

RE: field box plans?
 

I like the idea of a tote on wheels.
I just use a plastic toolbox, with a removeable tray. It can get pretty heavy when full of gear. I will look into this tote at Wally-world, and the price is right.

Happy flying

Weathervane

RE: field box plans?
 

Here's my field box. Just grabbed some scratch wood, and build it :)

[link=http://img369.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fieldbox8lm.jpg]http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/2...dbox8lm.th.jpg[/link]

RE: field box plans?
 

I feel like I'm going to rain on someones sunshine.
You don't need much on the Flight Line.
All you need is a
1. Fuel Jug with Hand Crank Pump
2. Glow Starter
3. Battery
4. Chicken Stick or Electric Starter
The guy that owns this plane carried around a
HUGE flight box for many years.He's been flying
for over 30 years. He went with this system .
keeps all the tools and whatever in a tool box,
inside his truck.He told me "Its lighter and simple".
I personally would go small with the Flight Box.:)

RE: field box plans?
 

Actually Radcom, the "battery box" in your pic is about the same size as the top half of the tool box ..it just snaps off and you can leave it at your car or wheel it to the field...anyway, I'm happy with mine, just need to set it up something like Mods did...Rog

RE: field box plans?
 

Flyinrog
That is True,
I had one on wheels also.I found it to be a hassle to load and unload.
Also took up extra space in my truck when I could of have more room
for another plane.
I went with a small flight box and I still think its a hassle carrying it
to the flight line,But its lighter and easier to manage.
I broke my back in 1965 in three different places(Spinal and Ribs).
I'm lucky to be walking around today,
As I get older I'm careful of what weight I lift.That was another
reason for me to go with a smaller set-up.
The Old Timer in the picture,most likely the same reason
(getting old).
I'm glad your happy with your set-up and enjoy getting many
years of use .Personally I think it an awesome set-up.

RE: field box plans?
 

I think It is all in what you prefer. Everyone has there own ideas. Some work out better than others.


Happy flying

Weathervane

RE: field box plans?
 

Top half comes off so you can take it to the flight line. Bottom half you can leave at the truck if you want. Or....vsv I guess.
As far as getting it out of the vehicle, it has a handle on top. Pretty easy to just lift out like any other box. In fact you could break this one down in halves and just pull out a half at a time.

Nice Mods.

gpshemi

RE: field box plans?
 

Hmm new bandwagon... must jump on. Note to self "go to Wally World tonight.

RE: field box plans?
 

All ABOARD!!! I ran into a little snag with mine. I really want to turn the bottom half of the tote into the fueler. The plastic jugs that I buy fuel in & have the cap set up for the pump, is just a little too tall. So now I need to find something to use as my fuel tank. Other than that I think I would like to set it up very similar to the way Mods did his. I found the perfect fuel tank, a nicely tig-welded aluminum tank that a friend picked up at a swap meet. He has 2 of them & won't give up either one of them.[:@] It sits down in there perfectly too. So now I will try to find something like that but I have no idea where to look for it.[sm=confused.gif]. The problem is after seeing how nice that one would work I won't be happy with anything else.[&:]

Let the search begin!

RE: field box plans?
 

Grumpy,

I've not tried this but, I'm thinking about it. Take a look at these plastic [link=http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fna me=28146&product%5Fid=14120#]tanks[/link].