well I've been looking around for a trainer and hopefully will be able to get my hands on one soon, and started to think about what all I need to bring to the field with me. I've seen kits and stuff all together but trying to keep a budget. was thinking of getting a box that I could have a power panel on as Im assuming that would be easier to have everything be able to plug into it, but will that make it more expensive, or can I just get a battery and put it in a regular field box and have the starter and whatever else i need to have just hook up straight to the battery and have a manual fuel pump?
Like I said I dont have a plane yet so dont really know what I need, just know I need a starter and the fuel so still making my list.

Man a lot of people are going to give you model numbers and links to field boxes. Frankly, I wouldn't bother. I have had 2 in the last 18 months since I soloed and I haven't used one in over a year. I just use a big duffel bag....at least I did for my glow planes. Now it's just an aluminum carrying case and 2 gallons of gas.

I think field boxes are heavy, bulky and unecessary, but I fly almost every day and I like to eliminate things I don't need.

Yep. Agree. I started out with the traditional wood field box. But outgrew it quickly. I now use a toolbox that I picked up at Lowe's. It has wheels on it so that I don't have to carry it to the pits area. There is room underneath for a 12v lawn mower battery and 2 one-gallon fuel jugs for fuel. I only carry what I need in the box for the flight line. That is my glow starter, chicken stick, fuel pump, starter, voltmeter/tachometer, field charger and tie-down stakes. All the rest of the tools stay in my truck.

I do have a power panel on my box, but that is just because I had it when I made this box. When/if this power panel dies I won't replace it. My glow starter is a Ni-cad rechargable so it doesn't need to plug into the power panel. My fuel pump is a hand crank pump so it doesn't need the panel either. Do yourself a favor and get a hand crank pump. I had electrics and went through about a pump a year, but now that I have a hand pump I have had the same pump for about 5 years now. The only thing I plug into my box is my field charger and the electric starter, and you don't need a power panel for that. You can go to Radio Shack and get a set of banana plug jacks and put them into the side of the box, you can then plug the 12v field charger or your electric starter into that. If the truth be known I rarely use my electric starter, I prefer to use a chunk of broom handle as a chicken stick.

I see many people jump into this with both feet and drop $200-$300 on just their field equipment. You really don't need that much to get started. In essence all you really need is something to put fuel in your plane, something to heat the glow plug, and a way to turn over the engine. As I said, you can use a hunk of broom handle as a chicken stick. Get a hand crank fuel pump for ~$15. Get a rechargable glow driver for ~$15. You can carry that to the field in a cardboard box if you need to, and you spent less than $50 to get started. As you are training don't worry about the electric starter too much, as most instructors have no problems with using their starter. I prefer to see my students learn to fly before they drop a ton of money on "stuff", so I don't mind loaning them things as they are learning.

Hope this helps.

Ken

Sounds like you're looking for the Thunder Tiger Side Kick:

[link=http://www.ehobbies.com/ttr3002.html]Thunder Tiger Side Kick[/link]

For $29.99 you get a chicken stick, 4-way wrench, fuel pump, glow ignitor w/ charger, fuel line, fuel filter, fuel bottle nozzle, and it's all packed into a lovely cardboard box with handle. It is exactly what is needed to start flying a glow trainer without anything unnecessary.

Ed,
Now that looks like a great deal. I can't see were you could go wrong with that. great deal on the stuff you need to get started with.

Ken

This is what I use for a field box. Bty, Fuel, Pump & all I need together.

Yeah, the glow ignitor and fuel pump are worth the cost alone. Getting the fuel tubing, 4-way wrench, chicken stick, and bottle cap kit all thrown in are practically a bonus. Plus the picture at eHobbies that I linked to shows the deluxe cardboard carrying box.

2H that's the same field box we got works good.

I agree , keep it simple. Use your common sence while you still have some. If or once , this hobby gets a hold of you , you well find yourself with a lot of stuff in the future.

Wow ! That is a good deal.

i just use a 9 dollar plastic toolbox from lowes. I like my electric starter only cuz my engine is inverted and i am not going to sit there for 30 mins trying to start it. I mounted my panel on the side and put the battery in the middle of the bottom layer and all my stuff goes around it. and in the top tray I have my tools. I like to have them near me cuz I like to tinker alot and I am always messing with stuff. Its all a personal prefrence.

I got a $5 toolbox from Big Lots. Just large enough to hold tools and spare parts. I use a glowlighter and manual fuel pump. My engines all start by hand, so I only need to carry a chicken stick. I'll post pictues of my setup in a fre minutes. I gave up commercial field boxes about 5 years ago when I realized I was carrying stuff from the last 5 planes I flew and enough tools and spare parts to build a model at the field!

Dr.1

Im at this stage too, i understand what you all saying but i need some setup to carry these and fuel and electric starter, Transmitter and screw driver with my plane.
or in other word to put it in one bucket.

with the kit you menttioned i was thinking something like this: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDJD6&P=7
and
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0161p?&I=LZ2593 but then i dont need pwoer panel and the tote itself..



yes i know its getting inflated...[:-]

Alex

I use the same box he has in his pic. They cost $24.99 at Wally-World. There is plenty of room in the very bottom compartment for your battery & fuel can, (I use a small 1 gallon gas can) because it fits so nicely. Cut out a square hole for your power panel with a dremel. The next section up is plenty deep enough for lots of spare parts, props & tools. There is also a tool tray that sits at the very top of that middle compartment. I can carry everything needed to completely re-build an ARF all in this one box on wheels. In fact that is exactly how I assemble new planes these days. I just wheel it into the living room & put them together right there on the coffee table. With this one box in the pitts or just left in the back of my pick-up bed sometimes, the only thing I carry to the flight line with me is my ignitor in my back pocket, my cordless starter, & my radio. Makes things a breeze. I don't have to lug around a wooden field box with me, which by the way will start falling apart on you as fast as you can assemble it unless you build your own out of real wood, yet I still have any tool, part, prop, or type of glue I could ever possibly use right there with me should the need ever arise.[sm=wink_smile.gif]

Forget the store-bought tote. They are IMO all junk. Made of sawdust & glue. They never last very long. I do think the cordless starter is a worthwile investment. I have a few starters but the only one I ever use anymore is my cordless. Lot of people borrowing the cordless too because they're sick of dragging so much stuff out to the flight line & worrying about keeping the cord out of the prop , or pulling the banana plugs out of the power panel. I originally bought this box primarily for the satelite starter box but as I allready stated it started falling apart right away.


http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXPS86&P=ML


With the detachable satelite starter box it at least lightened the load to flight line, unfortunately I still had to keep the cord out of the way & the boxes themselves are just poorly made. The only ones I see last very long are homebuilt with at least 3/8" hard wood.

I use this tote from Byron -- I could not find at my LHS but they were nice enough to order for me. I am sure it is not for everone but works great for me -- I only carry the bare essentials to the flight line. I have a power panel in it because I had one but if I wew starting from scratch I would skip it because I use a cordless starter, cordless g;ow starter, and a hand pump for fuel. It makes a very light weight tote (especially if you dont put a 7Ah battery in it).

http://www.byronfuels.com/pages/pit_...t_cuddler.html

My .02

Mark

I live far from my field so I take lots, i think about getting something smaller but just think of the amount of trips i saved, or dead batteries I had.

And yes that is a cigarette lighter for my lunch box cooler(when i get it), tire pump for air reatracts, light for at night to double check i've got everything, and anything else you can think of. Also no, I don't smoke

Thanks Dave,

This is a good setup!

Can you charge the Rx batteries from this panel in the field, what kind of Battery you need for this to run the starter too?

Thanks

Alex

thanks for all the ideas... think that tiger setup is good enough to start with, and can get a toolbox from somewhere local and later on if I decide to get into carrying around a battery I can hook up something like dave has there. Now to get a hold of a plane still on that hopeful search for a not so expensive nexstar, but if not Ill just wait a little bit and get a new one

Your TX is expensive and can be easily damaged. Carry it in a separate TX box. A pistol case from your local gun shop works great, as do the metal "small/electronic tool" boxes from Home Depot and Lowe's.

Dr.1

This is an excellent point!! The last thing I want is my JR radio bouncing around amongst my tools in my big Wally-World Tote!!

I don't have a Lowes near my town so I found some very nice hard-shell electronics boxes at Harbor Freight. They are a chain store of generic & discount tools, but they do have some quality stuff too. As for the radio boxes I found them to have a nice variety to choose from, from smaller boxes that might fit a single Tx to a number of bigger boxes that fit both my radios in just perfectly. They come with already corrigated sponge rubber squares making it very easy to pluck out the squares to achieve a perfect custom fit for whatever model radio you have. If memory serves me I believe I paid about $20 for my double sized box which carries my two best radios perfectly. With the all the sponge rubber intact around my radios they fit very snug so that there is asolutely no travel of the radios while inside the box.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=39196


This looks very similar to the one I bought, I just didn't use the divider panels, & used the pull-apart foam pieces to create a custom fit.
I actually found a much wider selection to choose from at the actual store than here on their website.

Actually I put my tx in the top part with lots of foam, I can store 2 transmitters in there, I haven't ever damaged my transmitters.

Hey Dave after looking at your box I realized it is the same box That I & a few others have. Only difference that I can see is that where yours is orange, ours is yellow. Other than that I think they are the same animal. Either way they are close enough to be brother, & sister, as well as husband & wife in many parts of Alabama!![sm=72_72.gif]

Except for me, it's even further to Alabama, never mind the boarder crossing!!!

Many of us bring way to much stuff with us to the field. And then once there, one thing is always missing, in spite of the fact that we have two or three boxes of stuff.

I went to Home Depot and picked up two pretty neat boxes, hard to describe, but they have four drawers on each side and the front and back have fold down storage areas. I have one for electric and one for glow. They end up being light enough to handle and easy to store and transport. In each, I have put what I usually need for each type of flying (again, glow or electric). Everything is in there that I need, and then some, including tools, spare parts, and small quantities of various types of glue. Invariably, someone at the field will need something and I usually have it.

With that said, I had to replace my glow plug on my OS 1.20AX a couple weeks ago and, would you beleive I could not find my glow tool !!

DS.