In Early June, my Wife and I were on a mulch, fertilizer, and potted-plant run to one of the houseware megastores. Our mission took us through the garden section where we went past a display of garden carts. Completely without benefit of the thought process, I said “Hey, that would make a cool flight box!” It was an unacknowledged remark. Actually, neither one of us even broke stride and I completely forgot about it. A coupla’ weeks later, Father’s day rolled around, and I’ll be darned if “those who call me Dad” didn’t surprise me by scraping up enough pennies for one of the very same garden carts I had noticed.
This is how I became the proud new owner of an Ames Lawn Buddy. I expressed my gratitude as my beaming family looked lovingly on, expecting miracles. But hey, I am a MODELER. I make boxes of balsa sticks fly. Miracles are a piece of cake!
| | Now that I have a chance to look at it, I like it even better.14” high, 14” wide, and 25” long. Four 7” diameter wheels for easy rolling in bumpy grass. The top doubles as a seat, and it flips up to act as a pull/push handle, so I can drag it around like the proverbial “little red wagon”, even though it is green. The top even has two drink holders molded in! Opening the top, I find a large, removable tray that nestles above the cavernous interior. The axles and the hinge pin for the seat are robust3/8” diameter steel rods. Everything else is sturdy molded polyethylene. This cart looks like it will take years of use without splitting, being attacked by glo-fuel or moisture, or any of the many other things that normally kill a flight box. It even has a Limited Life-Time warranty! |
To turn this into a flight box, first I had to decide what it had to carry. There is a pretty traditional list of stuff for a flight box: fuel can, fuel pump, battery, power panel, glo-plug lighter, tools, and spare parts. Some flight boxes have a cradle on top for the plane. I don’t use a cradle. I find that the cradle’s padding gets oil-soaked and makes black smudges on the airplane. Also, In my experience, the cradle is a magnet for damage, and is always either getting snagged and pulled out of alignment, or the fasteners are getting lost. So I elected not to add a cradle. It can be done.
 | I put the “Lawn Buddy” up on my workbench, and started fitting components-moving things around to see how it will all fit together. The arrangement of the components has to be practical and SAFE. I started with the largest component: the fuel can. I am a big believer in using metal cans for glo-fuel. I believe that since the metal cans are impermeable to moisture they keep the fuel fresher, longer. My local hobby shop (Charlie’s Discount Hobbies) keeps one-gallon metal cans in stock. I bought a fresh new can for the new flight box. It is too tall to stand upright in the bottom of the box, but it fits amazingly well lying on its side, snuggled between the two ribs that are molded in to support the removable tray. |
 | Next, I placed the battery. I wanted to keep the battery separated from the fuel can. It turned out that my battery would just squeeze into one of the bays molded into the bottom if I trimmed out one end of the bay. This locks the battery in place without having to fabricate elaborate supports for it. I used my trusty Dremel® tool with a 1/8” Roto-Zip® bit to trim out the bay for the battery.. There’s a little taper to the sides of the box, so I had to shave a little bit of the remaining divider. It was a little tedious and the plastic shavings were messy, but it was not difficult. Someone without a Dremel tool could use a hot knife as effectively for this. |
The starter fits in a pre-molded bay in the bottom with no modification to the unit at all. Just roll up the starter cord, and drop the unit in.
 | My first thoughts were to install the power panel into one of the flat sides of the unit. My power panel has exposed connectors on the back. The Lawn Buddy has single-thickness sides. I reasoned that if I cut a hole in the side and dropped in the power panel, it would be possible for something to touch the connectors, possibly causing a short. So instead I fabricated two hardwood standoff rails to mount the power panel outside the box. This keeps a nice, thick, safe layer of insulating plastic between any shifting tools and powered terminals. I put the power panel on the end of the box. This lets me mount it with the shortest and most reliable wiring to the battery. |
 | Also, when I start the airplane, it’s now easy to push the flight box out of the way before I taxi out. Since the business end of the flight box has the power panel on it, I elected to mount the fuel pump next to the power panel. The mounting points on my Hangar9™ manual pump fit the same rails that I used for the power panel, so It was easy to mount. I put the fuel connections at the bottom of the pump, so any possible leaks would drip harmlessly away from the electrics. |
That takes care of arranging all the “big” items. The tools I usually take to the field fit easily into the three-compartment removable tray. They are on top, ready for immediate access. The top of the handle of the tray could not possibly have been any more ideal for my glo-plug lighter!
Spare parts would seem to beg for some organization. I was
cruising through the hardware department at K-Mart, and found an
adequate 12-compartment transparent plastic box that holds my
assortment of glo-plugs, wheel collars, prop nuts, and extra nuts
and bolts. Your needs may be different. A little tackle box, or a
sewing notions box, or even an old ice-cube tray might serve your
purposes well.
Now I was to the point where I knew what I wanted to carry, and where it fits. How do I make it stay put without shifting? Velcro™ Straps! Although the Velcro™ straps shown in the photos are just some I had lying around, I found 18” Velcro™ “Cinch Straps” at Home Depot and they are much better than what I originally used. To install the straps, I marked the wall of the Garden Buddy where the fuel can or battery case came up against the sides of the unit. Move the fuel can and battery out of the way and cut a slot with the Roto-Zip® bit where I marked. Then I just threaded the strap around the tank or battery and pulled it snug. The straps provide secure fastening, and they are easy to remove whenever you need to extract the fuel can or the battery. The battery strap runs through a wheel well, but I made sure the wheel does not rub against the strap.
The only tricks for the final battery installation were to trim the power panel wires short for a direct run to the battery, then install some spade fittings. I also insulated the positive(+) terminal carefully. I covered the spade connector on the positive terminal with heat-shrink tubing, and put a blob of Charie's Hobbies' "Miracle Glue®"(Similar to shoe-goo® or PFM®) on the exposed part of the terminal. This protects the battery against a possible short, just like the rubber positive terminal cover under the hood of most cars. It can’t hurt to insulate BOTH terminals. Charge the battery through the starter terminals on the power panel.
 | Since the fuel tank is lying on its side and internal to the flight box, it’s necessary to plumb lines to get the fuel to and from the fuel pump. A vent must be at the highest possible level, and the main fuel connection must be at the lowest possible level. Otherwise you will be unable either to fill the can completely or to drain it completely. I marked the can where there would be some protection from bumps and abuse. Then I found some leftover brass tubing from a clunk tank. I cut two 1” pieces of brass tubing. Then, using a nail and a hammer, I pierced the can where I had marked for the tubes to be installed. Piercing the can leaves more metal surface for the solder |
That’s all there is to it. I got a chorus of “oohs and aahs” at the field with it, and it only took me about six hours to put it together. The Lawn Buddy is priced at less than $30, which compares VERY favorably with a field box kit. Think of it as an ARF flight box!
Ames Lawn and Garden Tools, Parkersburg, WV 262102
Velcro USA, Manchester, NH 03108
Charlie’s Discount Hobbies, 7350 Waters Av. W., Tampa, FL 33615
Hanger 9, Horizon Hobby, Inc., 4105 Fieldstone Rd., Champaign, IL 61822
Dremel, 4915 21st St., Racine, WI 53406