My "fork" stooge for tricycle-geared 1/2A R.O.G. launching

Over the years... I've made a couple of launching-stooges for my 1/2A U-Control airplanes. Those stooges have been of the "release-pin through a tail-skid/tail-wheel" type of arrangement. More recently I started on a design that retains the model by means of an upright fork-shaped part that cradles the fuse just forward of the tail-feathers. This approach was partly out of necessity.. as I had recently built my first two "tricycle-geared" R.O.G. models which could not conventionally utilize my release-pin system. Those airplanes are my Tee-33-Dee (a stand-off scale profile Shooting Star) and my P38-J Lightning. The T-33 could have used an elongated tail-hook for a release-pin.. but not the "twin-boom" P38.

Like most home-brewed designs, I've needed to make tweaks. This stooge actually does use a release-pin.. but that pin releases the "fork" that holds the airplane captive.

Here's how it all started..

Making the "fork"; It needed to be tall enough and also wide-enough on the "inside" for a full-fuse airplane. I used some 7mm plywood that I had on-hand.







Here you can see the release-pin mechanism. I've made more simple release-pins.. but I wanted to incorporate an actual "compression spring" into this one.



Getting the fork to drop a full 90 degrees (from vertical to horizontal... smoothly) gave me a little trouble.. but I got it worked out. (It's those things that should be easy.. can sometimes boggle you)