Marley Craig
This is the article I mentioned in my last article, "Four Sheet No Waste 80" Flying Wing" showing how to make a rack from 1 1/2" PVC pipe that will store a large number of airplanes, large and small in a fairly small space. I had an unused window alcove that measures 3'6 X 6'6 and a whole bunch of airplanes lying around in every available corner and on all of the furniture in my shop / family room. I decided that I needed to find a way to store them in as small space as possible. The ideal location would be a little used nook or corner with at least six feet of room in one direction and preferably in both.
The space you plan to use will determine the fittings and pipe lengths needed to make the base and top brace. If you are using a corner and can go 6' wide both ways the top and bottom assemblies would consist of the following:
Note: This is the top frame from my unit that fits the window alcove. It has 60 degree elbows next to the tees so the legs are not parallel to the walls as they should be. Just turn it over and you have the bottom frame complete with all of the sockets pointing straight up. They are simply a stack of short vertical pipe sections and tees to make up the height you have available. If you are using this arrangement you will need 36 tees, 36 sections of pipe cut to 6" and 4 pieces 3" long. Assembly of the verticals is similar to making the top and bottom frames.
You should also lay the assembly flat on its side every two or three fittings so be sure it is straight the other way. You can also see the left half of the bottom frame that the verticals are inserted into and a few airplane holders on the floor.
Rotate the verticals to a convenient angle spread evenly like the spokes of a wheel. Each joint, top and bottom should have 2 self drilling cap head screws to hold things in position. I drilled a hole in the back of one tee on each side and ran a long drywall screw into a stud. You could get a couple of screw eyes (at least 1 1/2" of shank and thread) and run them into the wall behind the top frame.
Then tie it back with some small cord or a couple of shoe laces. The arms that hold the airplanes are inserted but not glued into the open tee sockets of the verticals.
I found that 4" X 4" was not enough so I added two more 4" X 4" pieces hot glued on with a 1" splice to make platforms that measure 4" X 10" net.
I made most with the 10" dimension at 90 degrees to the pipe but a few with it in-line for wider wings, etc. My arms are all made from 12" PVC but if you have larger models you could make some (or all) longer such as 15" or 16".
