The Plane Trailer

I have been flying for about two years now, but they have all been small/slow flying planes that I can fly around in the front yard like the Flyer or Delta.  This past Christmas, I got a Guinea Pig, and a while before that I had gotten a Bloody Wonder.  And if you have flown either of these planes, you know that they are not fast, but they are not slow either.  I needed a new way to transport my planes to the field in my neighborhood a mile away. Now, you might say that I could use a car, but I feel that a car is a bit inefficient and I prefer not to drive when I don't have to.  I wanted to find a way to bring all the neccessary plane paraphernalia on a bicycle for a succesful trip to the field.

The good thing is, I had a old bike trailer to pull small children in just lying around, so I though I should see what I could do with it.  Below I have some pictures of the building process as well as the finished product.  

First, I removed the frame of the canopy an the seats of the trailer, leaving a rectanglular piece of aluminum and with wheels and a trailer hitch. I bolted the two wooden boards above into the holes where the canopy mounted in.

Sorry I didn't take more pictures of the build process, but after I bolted the first boards in, I used the same type of wood to cover the front and back of the trailer.  I then took a sheet of plywood and glued that to the top of the four boards.  I followed up with wood screws afterwards.

The next step is a bit tricky to explain: I put on the side walls next.  I used carpenters biscuits to strengthen the joint, and I used wood glue to glue the sides down to the floor of the trailer.  The two items above are carpenters biscuits. After I got the side walls on, I just screwed the front wall onto the two side walls.  No glue was needed for this step.

This is the last step: I needed to put a back wall on.  However, I wanted it to be able to swing  back like the tailgate of a pick-up truck.  I  used three small hinges to attach it.  NOTE: If you decide to do this, make sure that there is about 1/8 inch clearance on each side of the tailgate, or else it will get stuck opening and closing.  I put a knob on for aesthetics.  My next problem was that I needed a way for the door to lock in the upward position.  I thought of ways to drop a pin in a hole for it to stay, but in every position I could think of, the pin would fall out with road vibrations.  I decided to bolt the two boards on only the tailgate, so that they could swing up and allow the tailgate to open.

Here are some shots of the finished product.  The plane in the picture is a trainer I designed and I will release plans and an article on it in the future if it is wanted.  Let me know!

Here I have loaded up the Guinea Pig and the Bloody Wonder to the trailer and a wagon

I used bungee cords to attach the wagon to the trailer.

I also use bungee cords to secure the planes down when I am traveling.

It may look like a lot to pull on a bike, but it does not feel as heavy as it looks.  It takes a little longer to ride up hills, but evreything else is totally fine!  I can manage a solid 15 mph on flat ground.

This was a really fun project, and I suggest that if you want one, build it!  All the parts came from Home Depot, except the original trailer itself.  If you don't already have a chop saw, table saw, drill, etc., you can rent them from most home improvement stores.