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How to Make a Helicopter Stand

Remote control helicopters require a great deal of training to pilot proficiently. They can be cumbersome and are prone to damage in accidents, particularly when the operator is just learning. Just as attaching training wheels to a beginner's bicycle provides stability, constructing a helicopter stand for training purposes is an effective and cheap way to reduce costly damages to your helicopter.

Things You'll Need

2 semi-flexible rods
4 pingpong balls
Wine bottle cork
Thin and pointed Phillips screwdriver
4 zip ties

Instructions

Making a Helicopter Stand
- 1
  Poke a hole through the length of the wine bottle cork using the screwdriver. The diameter of the hole should be just a little bit thinner than the diameter of the rods. Remove the screwdriver and poke another hole through the width of the cork. The second hole should be a little bit to either side of the first so the holes do not intersect in the middle.
- 2
  Poke a hole through the center of one of the pingpong balls using the screwdriver. Make sure you puncture the ball all the way through the other side. Do the same to the remaining three pingpong balls.
- 3
  Skewer one of the pingpong balls with one of the rods. Push it all the way through so that between half an inch and one inch of the rod is protruding out the other side. Repeat this step with the other rod. You should now have two rods with one pingpong ball attached to each.
- 4
  Push the end of one rod (the end without a ball on it) through the lengthwise hole of the cork. Keep pushing until the cork is positioned at the middle of the rod.
- 5
  Push the other rod through the widthwise hole in the cork. Push this rod through until the cork is at its middle. You should now have your two rods in the form of an "X" with the cork positioned where the two rods cross.
- 6
  Poke the rod ends without balls through the two remaining pingpong balls as you did in step four. You should now have an "X" shape with a pingpong ball on each of the four ends.
- 7
  Secure the stand firmly to your helicopter's landing skis using the zip ties. There should be four fastening points -- the front and back of the left ski and the front and back of the right ski.

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