How To Hang An RC Plane On The Wall

If you have recently purchased an RC plane or you’ve had one for a while but are wanting to store or display it on your wall then this is the article for you. A wall in your storage room or garage can be a much better and safer place to organize your RC planes instead of having them lying around on the ground and risking them being stepped on or squashed. 

If you have many RC planes, you might not have enough storage space left, and your planes can be at risk of being stepped on or crushed by the weight of other planes and ruined. Finding a way to hang your planes on the wall will not only allow you to have more space to move around, but it’ll help avoid accidents and, when neatly done, can be a nice looking display too. 

There are a few different things that you should keep in mind when hanging your RC plane. You should make sure to always use good hangers and properly attach them to the studs in the walls. You should also make sure that the way you are hanging the planes will not allow them to fall off the wall easily.

Of course this is just the beginning as there are many other things that you do to ensure that they are safe while being hung up while also looking nice. We will discuss some of those things in the rest of this article as well as give you some additional hanging tips. 

You can also check out this video below if you prefer to watch and see some other methods. 

Basic Hangers

While these are basic, they are also very common ways to hang your RC plane. One basic way that you can hang your RC plane is to fasten a nail or nails into the wall and then hang rope or wire from it to attach the plane with.  This is an easy method to use which is why it is so common but there are some variations to this method which we will mention next. 

• Lighter airplanes could be hung on  sturdy bungee cords draped over 2 large nails, each hammered into both studs’ sides — then the landing gear goes into the hook on each side of the bungee.
  
• Heavier planes, you can use bicycle hooks. The disadvantage to this method is it puts a lot of pressure on the tail wheel, but you can prop something between the wall and the bottom of the fuselage to keep the tail wheel assembly from bending out of shape.
  
• Get a length of angle iron with holes, some lengths of steel rods small enough to fit through the holes, and a bit of rubber tubing/hose and you are ready to go. Mount the angle iron to the ceiling wherever you wish, using lag bolts into the ceiling joists and bend the rods into a suitable S-shape for holding the plane. You will then slide lengths of the hose over one end of the rods. And then hook a couple of rods through the angle iron, just wider than the fuselage at the tail. Then you can hang your plane by the horiz stab, with the LE of the stabs resting on the tubing/hose. This way you can hang any kind of plane.
  

Elaborate Hangers

These are much more elaborate, and primarily for .40-.60 size airplanes.

First Construct the Fuselage hanger

Arrange the airplane fuselages on the floor with the tail pointed towards the wall approximately 4-5 inches from the wall. If you put the largest airplanes next to each other, you usually fit a smaller model between the two, move it a little further from the wall such that it does not interfere with the horizontal stabs of the larger aircraft. Then slide 2 2x4s under the tails of the aircraft. The longer fuselages will hang from the 2×4 closest to the wall, the smaller ones from the other 2×4.  

Using a square and the fuselage as a guide make two marks on the 2×4 the width of the fuselage at the leading edge of the horizontal stab. Each fuselage will hang from its horizontal stab. Increase the gap by making two additional marks 1 ½ inches outside the first two; this will increase the gap to 3 inches. Repeat the process for each fuselage.

Measure the distance from the floor to the leading edge of the stab for each aircraft recording the largest distance. The dowels will need to be cut 2 inches longer than the highest stab. Cut two dowels to length for each fuselage you will be hanging.

Drill a ½in hole through the center of 2x4s at each mark you made for the dowels. It. Glue the dowels into the holes and then let the assembly dry overnight. 

When the glue has dried, sand the structure removing any rough edges.

Prime and paint the wooden structure, and mount it on the wall. For typical drywall over stud construction, walls use 4″ (#10) wood screws or lag screws(with washers).   

The fuselage hanger should be mounted level on the wall using the screws to attach it to the wall studs. 

The screws must be in the studs to support the weight of the hanging aircraft. If the wall you are using is of a different construction like concrete block, brick, etc. you will need to use appropriate anchors to mount the hanger.

Cover each dowel with pipe insulation cut to length such that the end of the dowel is flush with the pipe insulation. Screw a cup hook into the end of each dowel. Hang your aircraft as you arranged them on the floor. String plumber’s chain between the cup hooks on the end of the dowels making a safety chain to keep the fuselage from accidentally falling off. 

Begin by cutting the ½in plywood; it will be the shelf used to store the wings. The shelf should be 2 inches wider than the maximum wing length; the length of the shelf will vary depending on the number of wings and their sizes. 

Then next, make a ‘lip’ around the shelf to prevent the wingtips from sliding off the shelf. Nail the 1in trim around 3 sides of the shelf (not the wall side), keep the bottom of the trim flush with the edge of the plywood, this will create a 1/2in lip around the perimeter of the shelf. Sand the shelf removing any rough edges, then prime & paint the shelf.

Using 2, 10in shelf brackets mount the shelf on the wall, approximately 18in above floor and ensure the area above the shelf is clear. Screw another 10in shelf bracket to the wall 30in above the first shelf aligned with the left or right edge of the shelf. Cut an 18in length of ½in dowel (or width of shelf used). Attach the ½in dowel to the upper bracket, cover the dowel with pipe insulation—place cup hooks at either end of the dowel.

Put wings on the shelf vertically leaning them against the dowel that extends out from the upper bracket. 

String the plumber’s chain between the cup-hooks as a safety chain.

As you can see this is a much more elaborate process than simply hanging your planes with nails and ropes or cords but many people who are professional RC plane users will often have a set up like this. 

Conclusion

Your RC plane can be safely and properly stored on the wall if you know just what to do. You can easily prepare and make your own wall hangers to safely store your RC plane by just following the steps we have outlined above. 

For most people the basic hanging instructions will work just fine while other people will prefer the look and function of the more elaborate hangers. Ultimately only you can decide what you like and want to go with.