Hello,

Can a plane be stored nose down (ie standing on the spinner, leaning against a wall) without doing any damage to the crankshaft / bearings? In between filghts, I leave my Driller leaning up against the garage wall due to room constraints, and I just want to make sure I am not damaging anything...

Thanks!

I have never heard of anything bad to say about this practice. You should probably use some sort of "after run oil" just in case though. Actually, the after run oil is a good idea no matter what.

I've seen posts up here that say you could eventually do damage to the engine bearings but then I've seen posts in the same thread from guys that say they've done it for years with no adverse affects. I store mine nose down but hanging from the tail so the weight is off the engine. Probably not good for the tail though. Do what you gotta do.

I'm one of those guys who's done it for years with no adverse effect.

I hang my planes nose down only problem I have is if I forget to drain my tank the fuel runs out and fills up the spinner.

I've did that, only I had the plane in my bedroom closet at the time.
took a few days for the Cloths to air out,
dont think that pink spot on the carpet will ever come up.

I did have a clunk in a tank eventually bend down to the front of the tank and get lodged in that position. Now I give the plane a quick swing to hear the clunk clunking around before fueling.

Tim

Here's my 2 cents. I don't like nose down storage for two reasons:

1) Like mentioned above, the clunk tubing will deform toward the front of the tank.
2) After run oil has a tendency to collect on the prop shaft making it easier for the nut to come loose.

Here's a quick solution to the Clunk-to-the-front-of-the-Tank problem. Put a piece of brass or plastic tubing (some tank MFGR's supply the plastic tubing with the tanks (in the feed line INSIDE the tank). The clunk can still swing, but can't bend forward.

If I'm using the plane I store it nose down, if the plane is not going to be used for a couple of months I store it level,reason? Thats the way my racks are built.

I stored mine on rack until I ran out of rack space and now I am back to leaning some up against the wall. I only use after run when I know I will not be flying for a while.

I've put mine up on the wall in our laundry room. I've taken one of those bicycle hooks (< 1 USD @ Home Depot), screwed it into the wall such that the hook faces to the side. Then, I hooked the nose gear over it to hang up my plane. It seems to work just fine...once I've drained the fuel.