Hi all,

I am a beginner to RC aircraft and was in need of a flight box to house my increasing collection of field equipment. After looking at the overpriced and/or poor quality flight boxes on offer at my LHS, I decided to have a go at building my own. I spent a few hours searching the web for examples, ferreting through the shed for materials and scratching out a rough plan. I wanted to stick to a simple design made from some bits of wood left over from other projects. It was time to start making noise and saw dust

The pictures below show the basic structure around which the rest of the flight box would be built. Two 12mm plywood supports are glued and screwed to a 12mm base. A section of 25mm diameter aluminium tube is partially recessed into the supports to form the carry handle. You can also see the frame work which will support two sliding draws and a piece of 3mm ply which will be the base of a tall compartment. More to follow...

The rest of the centre frame work was easier to build on the bench before attaching it to the box. 6mm ply pieces are glued and nailed to 12mm square supports. With a bit of imagination you can see space for large and small drawers, a tall compartment and two short compartments separated by a divider. The short compartments are sized to fit an electric starter and the tall compartment will accommodate some tools, (screwdrivers, chicken stick etc) a spray bottle and the re-fueling hose.

Lookin' real sweet RH1NO!

What are you going to use for a finish?? Clear polyuerathane sure would look nice.
Dennis-

good looking box,want me to field test it for you?

Nice job! You take nice clear pictures too [8D]

That looks great!! The only input I have is concerning weight. I built my own box as well and kept it much smaller than yours. The thing is still plenty heavy.

Nice work!! [sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

Agree about the clear poly finish - will make the nice grain pattern pop out well...

Looking at the design, it lends itself to fold up sides, hinged at the bottom, latched at the top - instant closing and a work surface to boot!! Would make it a bit heavier, tho'.


Jim

Thanks for the comments guys.

The flight box will be painted bright yellow because I already have the paint and I wan't it to stand out so I don't trip over it. All pictures are taken with my wife's new Fuji FinePix S5000 digital camera which I bought her for Christmas - good planning on my part. The 12mm ply will make the box heavier (but also stronger) then the average commercial flight box. As tempting as fold out panels and clear poly paint are, they would constitute a greater complexity then I am equipped for. I'm not a cabinet maker by trade and have to make do with a jig-saw for cutting the wood.

Now back to construction. The first picture below shows the 6mm side panels and 3mm end panel clamped into place to check the fit. the left hand compartment will house the battery and power panel and the right hand platform will support a 5 litre fuel container. After taking the photo, I shortened the battery/power panel compartment to a more practical size. It will comfortably fit an 18 Amp Hour 12 Volt SLA battery but I will be using a 7.2 Amp Hour battery - after all I'm only starting a 46 size trainer.

The second photo shows the smaller of the two drawers. It is made from 6mm ply sides and a 3mm ply base. Pieces are glued and nailed together using standard white glue (no need to use expensive CA glue on a flight box) and 1mm diameter by 10mm long nails. I partially pre-drill the nail holes to prevent the wood from splitting and knock the nail heads below the surface of the wood with a centre punch. The drawer is really strong and will stand up to plenty of rough handling.

If you click on the pictures it will open a larger image.

Oh, I like it. When are you going to start selling kits?

That is some box ya got there! I believe only a nucular blast will phase that baby! It sure looks like a nice job. But it is gonna be heavy. I hope it works good for you. An congratulations on a job well done.

Mark Shuman

Rhino,

Do you have plans for this? I should also start building a field box as I will need it soon!!
Oh yeah, it looks great!

The flight box is now fully assembled and ready for paint. The battery compartment end panel has four ventilation slots and is held in place with self tapping screws to allows easy removal for access to the battery. The draws have semi-circular cutouts as opposed to knobs or handles for opening. This is simple yet effective, costs nothing, and there are no protrusions to catch on things and break off. Draws fit nice and snug but I will use either magnets or velcro (haven't decided yet) to hold them closed. So far it's not too heavy but 5 litres of fuel and a battery will put an end to that.

Now where did I put that paint[8D]

For those who asked, I will be happy to release a kit just as soon as you send me a laser cutter. But seriously, I will measure up some key dimensions and post them for you. The photo's should be a good enough guide for the rest - just measure up your own flight gear and build the box around it.

Painting away. I gave all surfaces a good sanding followed by a wipe with a slightly damp cloth to prep the surface. Then I applied two initial coats of paint by brush as this lets me work the paint into the wood and seal up the grain and any small gaps. Then another sanding. Then the top two coats were sprayed on (from a can) to give a good surface finish. It may just be the paint fumes but I'm feeling really pleased with my project

Ok, when are you going to make more?

Say it ain't so! [] All of that nice wood covered up by paint. What a shame.

Kerry

Super box and pics... Thanks! Also would like to see a set of plans or major dimensions!

Gotta love the shorts and T shirt!! Waiting patiently (NOT!!) for summer north of the equator!!

Jim

All painted up. I found that the drawers were binding initially as one shiny painted surface tended to stick to another. After the initial panic, and a few minutes deep in thought, I tried dusting a little talcum powder on the sides of the drawers. Now they slide nice and smooth again[8D]

Trust me Kerry, the photos have a way of making the wood grain and the finish look a lot better then they really are. If you look carefully in some previous pics, you can see where I splintered the wood at one end of the aluminium handle. This was caused by not clamping the wood to a backing surface when cutting it with a hole saw. Took a lot of filler to hide the evidence.

Working on some dimensions.

Now thats what I call a field box,very nicely done.Wouldnt mind haveing one of those myself.

Nice Job
NdFrSpeed

Looks like a new business RH1NO. Nice job, and I like the bright yellow. That's a good colour to have when the box is on the ground with people walking all around.

How is Sydney town? I miss living in Australia.

How much does it weigh now that it is finished?

OOOOH, I'd rather not say this, It goes against all my lifes ideals,I will be punished and banished for this, I am definantly going soft!!!!

THAT FIEKD BOX IS PRETTY DARN GOOD FOR AN AUSSIE BUILD< I WONDER HOW LONG IT"LL LAST??

Key dimensions are as follows:

Length (of base) 520mm
Width (of base) 210mm
Height (total) 410mm
Width (of centre section) 285mm
Height (of centre section) 250mm
Bare weight ~4Kg

At 4Kg, it's just under twice the weight of similar commercial units - but arguably twice as strong. If I was to do it all again (and I don't plan to) I would use 8mm ply instead of 12mm and replace as much 6mm as possible with 3mm. Fortunately, at my club, I fly virtually from the boot of my car so I don't have to carry the flight box very far. Perhaps I should add wheels[>:]

Hey Zimbo! I almost took offense to your comments but then I noticed your location. Is "FIEKD BOX" a typo or perhaps your KIWI accent showing through Sweep bro - fancy some fush and chups

Now that the flight box is built, It's time to start fitting accessories. Rubber feet are screwed to the bottom to keep the wood off wet ground and stop the box from sliding around in the car boot. Screw eyes are installed to allow the fuel container to be secured by mini bungee straps. I found the bungee straps in the camping section of my local department store. A good find!

I initially thought about making my own power panel (electronics is another hobby of mine). I soon discovered that just a few of the key components were going to cost more then a commercial unit so I abandoned the idea. Besides, who really needs a micro-controller equipped power panel with automatic menu based control and graphic LCD display? . I settled on a MPI super panel because it has an automatic glow driver circuit (no need to adjust), glow starter charger, and the electric fuel pump connections are on the inside of the panel.

Crap man.....I shoulda got my grand paw and me to make one.....instead my grandmother knew a woodworker and he got the dimensions of my fuel tanks and equipment, and lawn mower battery......I got one "custom" made for $50....luck for me my Maw-Maw payed for it.....Darn.....shoulda made one for myself......I think that I might have to do something like yours.......with the drawers....I wish I has drawers...(I have just one big hole for everything.........and it weighs a ton....but I like what you have done......but one thing that I don't like is you painting it......I do think that a good mahogany stain would make it look great mate!!! But, you did a VERY GOOD JOB......if shipping wasn't so much I would seriously ask you to make one just like.....or similar to yours.....but it would cost more to ship from Austrailia than to buy it......VERY GOOD INDEED.....

aah, rhino

I didn't mean it, honest!! I am actually Zimbabwean, from the good old city of Harare.
And I hat typing so that was a typo!!
Keep up the building man!

Hooray, I finally worked out how to upload an avatar

Now for the flight box fueling/defueling system.

I made some adapters to fit the cap of my fuel bottle. 1/4" brass threaded rod is cut to size and a 3mm hole is drilled through the centre. A section of 3mm brass tube is pushed through the brass rod and soldered into place. Half-height nuts secure the adapters to the fuel cap and a 1mm piece of fuel hose is fitted between each nut and the fuel cap to provide an o-ring like seal. These are really easy to make and you only need a hack saw, drill and cigarette lighter style gas torch.

An electric fuel pump is installed into the tall compartment and the wires are fed through a small hole to the back of the power panel. Fuel lines are fed through the centre of the aluminium handle, via the fuel pump and to a piece of curly retractable fuel line. The return/vent line passes through the centre of a piece of dowel designed to neatly retain the fuel line. The bottom picture shows what it looks like when the curly line is extended during refueling.