Here's another beginner question.

How do you transport your plane to the airfield?

I'm concerned about damage as the plane moves around. I'm thinking of having a padded sleeve (like a gun carrying case) made for the wing. That'll protect it from minor damage if it shifts during travel.

What do you do with the fuse? Do you take the wheels off? Do you tie it down??? Etc...


It'd really ruin my flying experience if I arrived at the airfield with a broken plane.


TIA

Lyndon

i have a small car so i just lay the passanger seat down and set my nexstar in the seat then slide the wind in, im getting ready to work on a Double decker PVC ;rack that will hold both my trainer and mustang.

whatcha' flyin'? Whatcha' drivin'?? You'd be uprised on how much shifting can go on without any damage. I use bungee cords strung along the top side of the cabin in my Nissan Torrenno (Nissan Pathfinder for you in the states) for the wings and let the fuses sit in the back w/ the field box and tool box holding them in place. Just don't drive like a punk teenager and you'll be kosher!

I drive a Nissan Frontier pickup with a shell on the back. Here's some pics of what I can get in the back of it.

Ken

For larger planes that sit on their wheels, a lot of guys at my club have simple wood wheel-chock sets. Basically you just need 4 triangles cut from a 2x4, and some scrap to connect them. Basically, you want to do something that looks like this (pardon the ascii art):

|\_/|

Where the wheel sits between the two triangles. Just that is often enough to keep a plane from rolling around.

I've actually used clothspins clipped to a wheel to keep a plane from rolling.

Usually I put something heavy against the wheel, and call it good.

For the wings, I have some bungee cords run between the handles in the back of my van.

my 'moto is only small, so i take the wings off and put them behind the passengers seat and lean the other end up against the back seat headrest. then i put the fuselage into the boot sideways and put my toolbox, fuel and TX around it to help keep it still whilst in transit, i can even get 2 or maybe 3 planes in the little Vauxhall Astra Estate (my moto, my Dads flair cub, and the Kadet)

The wife and I are having a great debate now what car to buy. I saw a 1965 Chev station waggon and really wanted it. Those old waggons will hold a 4x8 sheet of ply laying flat. Let you imaganition run from there.

I drive a 91 Lexus LS400. My trainer fuse would fit sideways in the trunk. I crashed it and built a stick type fuse and that one ended up a couple inches to long to fit the trunk. My quicke 500 fits the trunk with no problem, as well as some large guliders I have (the wings break down on them. I just finished a GP Supper Aeromaster, and that guy will fit in the trunk also, wings and all. I have a 4*60 that is my main flyer, and with that guy, I lay the passengers seat back and put a plastic throw over it (the engine always seems to find a few drops of fuel to drip on the way home from the field). I put the fues in tail to the rean and one wheel dropping down next to the seat belt latch. I then throw a sheet of the rubber web drawer linner over the engine and prop area and then lay the wing over that. I could handle a little larger plane that way, but it gets iffy I have a GP 60 size cub kit that is setting and waithing for a larger car. The one piece 100+ inch wing won't fit in my car. I think from a practical stand point, the 4*'s 72" wing is about maximum.

This is a photo of one of the guys van. His other six planes that he brought to the field that day were already unloaded. His comment, " when I come to fly, I want to make sure I have a plane for the wind conditions as well as a back up". I've never seen him blown off the field.

Don

get a volvo estate/station wagon.i can get at least 4 40size high wingers and a 1/4 scale tiger moth in mine.i don't bother with tying them down as they sort of fit together like a jigsaw!

Btw, I have a Toyota Sienna mini-van for my airplanes. It ususally has the middle seats out, and the rear ones folded into the floor. I got some cheap carpet at the hardware store that I cut to fit, and backed with some plastic sheeting. Works great for transporting my planes around. (yes, I DID buy the van for the airplanes. It's my van, not my wife's, and we don't have kids ). There are 6-7 guys in my club with the same van.

RCKen, I'm glad to see your photos. My wife and I use the same Red Frontier with a shell ourselves. My wife thinks I put a lot of stuff in ours, wait till she sees yours! The only limititation I found was that any 1 piece wing longer than 82" is tough to fit. We used to haul our stuff in an '86 Nissan P/U with a shell. Even in that 'little truck' you could get 3 planes without damage. All it takes is a little practice and smooth driving.

I chock the wheels with an old towel and prop the wing up on the leading edge and sandwitch it between the side wall and my Bag-O-Stuff that I take to the field.
I have had quite a few planes and quite a few trips to the field and only had damage one time from anything shifting. That was when someone slammed on her brakes in front of me for no reason at all. Put a repairable hole in the covering of the rudder (put a piece of clear packing tape on it and have flown it numerous times just like that- some day I will iron on a piece of monocoat)
I have had far more damage done loading and unloading.

well at age 17 and my g2 test (g1- can only drive with a g driver next to me, g2- allowed to drive by myself G- full driver) next month I have a 1973 vw station wagon I am working on and it atill needs a lot of work but after I cut the head liner off with a batt operated chemical mask because of all the mouse poo. my dad is selling this car and was brought out of storage after 18 yrs, and in another month or so it should be ready to go! the colour is green with yellow wheells. the one pic with my dad under it is at our storage spot.

I normally use the pickup with a wing rack and a shell, and some wheel blocks. I have fit 2 40 sized planes in a toyota corolla on more than one occasion.

Works for me now but when i get my next plane running i'll have to build a cradle for the bed of the truck.

I have a Ford Explorer and put my plane in the cargo carrier I made out of 1/4 PVC. PVC is not just for plumbing

I have a foam pad in the back of my van. It has sort of an egg carton texture on the side I put up. Just set smaller airplanes on it and they do not move around.

Do you think one of [link=http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42708]these[/link] with like a wood box built would haul quite a bit??

Yes, in fact I have been kicking the idea around of getting one myself.

Here is a tip for those with Mini-Vans. With the Seats folded down or removed, a plywood shelf can be built that will sit on the armrests. It almost doubles my carrying capacity and can be quickly removed for people transportation. Sorry, no picture

How about a hearse? I was looking online for a vehicle and came across used hearses for sale. You can get a low mileage (around 50-60K) for anywhere from $1,500 to $6,000) Long enough to carry most fuses and wings, with room to spare for field boxes. Makes it appropriate when you bring a plane home in pieces.

Don't know if any of you guys have checked out this part of the forums but there is ALOT of kewl stands

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_236846/mpage_1/key_Storage%2CStand/tm.htm]Stands[/link]

i'm into mini cars, so have just purchased a 1978 Austin Mini Clubman Estate just for transporting my airplane.
i have heard you can fit a trainer sized plane into a standard Mini salon, but my other mini hasnt got any rear space due to a mid mounted V8 engine.

well i think i'm just about done with my Dual Plane Rack for my Car, i think all i have left is to finish glueing and just some minor little adjustments to my PVC. Hope to have pics up sometime after labor day..

Here's my setup. Works great!!!!

Kewl!! I had a '71 VW squareback which replaced the hotrodded (1900cc dual port / Webber carb / Isky cam, ect.) '69 VW beetle I had as a kid. The SB held all my sailing gear way better than the beetle (but I had the baddest, coolest bug in town).

For my "toy" airplanes I have a '91 Mazda PU with an aluminum shell on the back and a plastic bed liner. Everything slides around on the bedliner so I bought a cheap foam-backed 3x6 kid's play rug and toss it in there. I have some SonicTronic wheelchocks which keeps the trike gear trainer from moving around. To keep my flight box from slamming into the airplane I retain the box with elastic bungee cords.

I have some CL friends with some nice racks they built out of PVC pipe which allows them to stack 4 and 5 airplanes. I'll post a picture later tonight.