Club Field Safety Benches
Joe Di Prima and Charlie Meyer
The Meroke RC Club (an AMA Gold Leader Club), with 125 members, flies at Cedar Creek Aerodrome, which is a Nassau County park in Wantagh NY on Long Island. More than 500 permits to fly are issued each year. The Aerodrome is a busy flying site that has been in use since the mid-1970s.
Because of budget constraints, Nassau County has not been able to provide many amenities. We had a few old, broken-down picnic tables to rest our airplanes on, so last year club member Charlie Meyer and his brother Bob Meyer decided to form the volunteer group "Friends of Cedar Creek Aerodrome" to make some improvements at the field. The team consists of club members and nonmembers. One of their major concerns is safety at the field.
The team has been working with Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg to get materials and make some changes. We needed benches to hold our airplanes rather than use the few cumbersome picnic tables provided by the county.
After collecting donations from the fliers, Charlie designed and built a prototype bench. It was given immediate approval by all who used it. We decided to build five more benches using leftover wood from a member who had built a deck. But since we have two runways, six benches were not enough; we needed more.
Being the busy guy that he is, Charlie asked me to coordinate the next building project. I asked the Meroke RC Club's board of directors to allocate $150 to build five more benches. After getting the money, I was ready to purchase the lumber. Fred Abeles, our club treasurer, suggested that I try to get a discount at the local lumber supplier. I wrote to the company, and instead of a discount we got a donation of enough lumber to build the five benches. I immediately wrote to four other suppliers in the area; we got lucky and received more lumber donations—enough to build five more benches.
The new benches at the field are always grabbed first. The guys love them. They are a convenient and safe design, are easy to build, and are inexpensive enough, even if you have to pay for all the supplies.
This is a great club project and can involve several members, which fosters teamwork and camaraderie.
Design: This bench's design promotes safety. With the strong 2 x 4-inch vertical wing restraints, the airplane cannot move forward—even with the engine at full throttle. However, we do not recommend running full throttle at any time without holding the airplane by hand.
The bench provides a place to put the airplane while adjusting the needle valve from behind the propeller. There's no need to lean over to pick up the model! It holds the transmitter, starter, and glow-starter battery. It also allows the pilot to stand behind the engine, close to the airplane, when making adjustments to the running engine. The pilot does not have to lean over the model to pick it up and carry it to the runway. You can leave that heavy field box at home and take a small, portable one to hang on one of the extensions. There is a good, safe feeling when using these strong, sturdy benches.
The materials for each bench cost approximately $38 in the Long Island area. You can attempt to get a discount or a donation from your local building suppliers. Money can be raised by collecting donations from club members, holding a raffle, or putting a donation can at the field.
Materials for Each Bench: All lumber is in eight-foot lengths and is CCA (chromated copper arsenate) pressure-treated.
- 3 2 x 6 inches
- 1.5 2 x 4 inches
- 1.5 1 x 4 inches
- .5 1 x 6 inches
- 1/2 pound #8 deck screws, three inches long
- 1/8 pound #8 deck screws, two inches long
- Scrap carpet
- T-50 staples
Tools needed for construction are a tape measure, a hammer, a wood chisel, a framing square, pencils, a Skil saw, a nine-inch chop saw, an electric drill, a 7/64 drill bit, an electric screwdriver, extension cords, a T-50 staple gun, and a utility knife.
Assembly
We built five benches at a time and made templates of all the pieces to be used for building more tables in the future. The wood for all five tables was precut.
Construct the bench tops first. Predrill all screw holes with a 7/64 drill to prevent the wood from splitting. Lay the 2 x 6s over the two 2 x 4 crossbraces. Note that the rear crossbrace is inset the width of a 2 x 4 on each side. After spacing the top pieces evenly, insert one screw in each corner of the top pieces. Square the whole thing with the framing square, and screw in the other screws on each piece. Use two screws on each end.
After the top is constructed, add the horizontal spine centered under the middle, long 2 x 6 top piece. The spine must be notched where it meets the rear crossbrace. This notch does not have to be precise; it can be cut with a Skil saw then knocked out with a hammer. Make several cuts before knocking it out. You can use a chisel if you prefer. Use six evenly spaced screws to fasten the spine.
Add the 2 x 4 front legs. Use two screws on each. Draw guidelines across both legs at 26 inches and 27-1/2 inches. The legs are attached 10 inches back from the front of the top and with the top centered between inches and extending the center top piece by six inches. The 2 x 4 leg/restraint lengths are not changed, so the restraint height is increased by seven inches. The rear leg is 19 inches. If a wider top is needed to accommodate wider landing gear, additional top pieces can be added. This Giant Scale bench is well liked.
Wheels can be added to the front legs so that one person can move the table more easily. If wheels are added, the rear leg will have to be extended to make up the difference of the wheel height.
Cup hooks on which to hang a transmitter can be added to the edge of the bench or the box supports.
More information and drawings can be obtained from the Meroke Web site at http://home.nyc.rr.com/merokerc and from the Hi Flying Buddies Web page at http://communities.msn.com. This will bring you to the communities Web site; type "Hi Flying Buddies" in the inquiry box to get to this interesting site.
You can contact me or Charlie at [email protected] and [email protected] respectively. rga
Joe Di Prima 775 Magnolia Dr. Franklin Square NY 11010
Charlie Meyer 263 Foster Ave. Malverne NY 11565
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
