Hi

Has anyone used one of these type of flight stands?

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemId=248532

If so:
- Is the stand only for mounting the plane for repairs etc?
- Can I safely start my 40 size Sig rascal on these stands, run it in idle ?
- With weights (like toolboxes) in the trays below , and by strapping the plane with a rope to the bottom part of the stand , can I test the engine with full power for a long time? Will it topple the stand?

I have a plane with an inverted engine, which stops a lot of time, thus its painful to bend a 100 times a day in the field! A stand will help.
Is it safe to start and run engines while in the stand - has anyone done this type of thing??

Pls advise and share your experiences/thoughts . Thanks
--747

I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't trust it to not pull loose. Whenever you run a plane engine you need to firmly secure the plane to the ground to keep it from coming loose.

Ken

Even if I secure the fuselage by a couple of loops around it , tied to the stand on either side?

I remember the day I fastened an OS-FS70II with a 13 x 8 prop to a pine board and clamped the board onto a saw horse (2 x 6 top with 2 x 4 legs) and it started off right down the driveway! I had to stake it down in the yard with ropes and tent-pegs. It is amazing what our engines are capable of.

I am ready to break-in a new engine and would like to avoid holding the plane the entire time.

What is the best way to secure a plane while the engine is running? Can I buy something or will rope around the wings while tied to a stake work?

747,
Even if you secure the test stand down. There engines have enough power to pull the stand apart. As Charlie said you'd be surprised how much power they really have, and you don't want to find that out as the plane pulls free right into your stomach.

Foosball,
A length of rope and a tent stake. That's all I ever use. So far I've been able to secure up to a 1/3 scale plane with no problems with it. And the beauty of it is that it costs less than a buck!!!

Ken

Stake in the ground. 5/16" nylon rope tied to stake. Other end looped under horizontal stab., over fuselage ahead of vertical stab and then back under the other horizontal stab and tied to stake or itself WELL. Pull it up snug before starting engine (this is important).

I use a stainless steel Swiss Army Bayonet for a stake. Gets some stares but I never have to argue over a spot in the pits.

Thanks Ken.

Do you secure it to the elevators or the wings?

I secure it around the horizontal stabilizer. Just like Charlie said. Stake to the rear of the plane, run the rope up under the horizontal stabilizer, up over the fuselage, back down under the other side under the stabilizer, and secure to the stake.

Ken

Hi!
Much bettetr to just fly it in!
With the airplane sitting on the grouind it sucks in a lot of dirt and dust.

if you consider breaking it in in the air at least run one or two tanks through it on the ground to adjust the settings and get it running reliably

a guy at the airfield i go to has a rope looped around the tail and has it staked in the ground at the other end. he has a pretty big plane and it doesn't budge.

shoot, i use my 40 pound flight box and 25 pound aux battery in front of the wing half the time. Other times I use a PVC contraption that looks like a football field goal post with the single upright at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the cross bar staked in to the gound. No problem either way.

BTW, that's the 68" Carl Goldberg Extra kit in my avatar, and it's got a TT .90 in it. The "goalpost" holds it all day long at WOT.

yeah i have seen that too.. i totally forgot about that. i noticed that guys that use them though have to stand at the back of the plane and rest their calf against the rear to keep the tail end from lifting up to much

we use a tie down strap around the windsock pole