Aircraft Storage
Build a simple rack to maximize your storage space
by Walt Wilson
If you are one of those people who builds, buys, or otherwise acquires airplanes faster than you crash them, sooner or later you will have a storage problem. You can hang your aircraft from the rafters, hang them on the walls, or leave them on the floor, but storage eventually becomes a problem.
Roughly a dozen airplanes can be safely stored in an approximately 4-by-6-foot space by building an inexpensive airplane tree. If open rafters are in your storage space, it's a breeze to securely attach the top of the tree, with the base set on the floor.
If the storage area ceiling is finished, a base can be built and the height adjusted as needed. The wooden parts can be stained and finished similar to furniture if the tree is used to display assembled aircraft in a home or in public.
The dowels and PVC pipe mentioned in the materials sidebar are for a tree built with 12-inch spacing between the dowels. If larger and/or smaller aircraft are to be stored, spacing and quantities may be varied.
To ensure equal spacing, arrange the 2 x 4s and drill 5/8-inch holes in both boards at the same time. Use a drill press so the holes will be perpendicular to the wood.
If chucking a 5/8-inch drill is a problem, spade bits are inexpensive and generally have 1/4-inch shafts. Drive the dowels into the holes so that equal amounts protrude from each side.
I selected 5/8-inch dowels or 1/2-inch ID (5/8-inch OD) PVC pipe. That size matches the smallest foam pipe insulation material available at the Home Depot where the supplies were purchased.
PVC pipe comes in 5-foot lengths and is less expensive than dowels. Each length can be cut in half to make two supports.
Select a place where the airplanes can be stored and mount the 2 x 4s to a rafter with the bottom ends set on the floor. For most .15- to .91-engine aircraft, 18- to 24-inch spacing between the 2 x 4s is a good starting point. Square them up and use wood screws to attach a scrap-wood spreader piece across the lower part of the 2 x 4s.
Cut pieces of foam insulation to length and slip them in place, and you're ready to begin stacking fuselages and wings. The foam may be glued in place if it tends to move on the dowels.
—Walt Wilson [email protected]
Sources
- Home Depot
- (800) 466-3337
- www.homedepot.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
