Free Flight ?.. Where's the fun in that ?..

Free flight has been a great source of amusment to scores of modellers for many years. All of the flying models that we enjoy so much today would never exist if it was not for the pioneers of free flight in the early days.

I will not do a full history here as there are others far more qualified than me that I hope will cover this subject in more depth.

Imagine the determination though of the guys who used to not only build their own models (mostly without a plan even), but also cast, machine and build their own engines to power them. And dont forget the technology and machinery available to them was very limited. Never could they have dreamed of being able to pluck a new OS off the shelf, bolt it in and go flying.

This branch of our hobby is about enjoying the whole process of choosing the most suitable balsa for the job, tracing the components from the plan onto the wood, cutting them out and building the model in such a way that when finished it can be trimmed to fly by its self without interferance from the pilot.

This is done by careful adjustment of the thrust line, power and various trim tabs on the model.

Even some notable figures in the free flight modelling buisiness that I have spoken to recently are sceptical of being able putting this branch of our hobby back in the main stream.

Its not that there is no Interest in this area as many people that I meet would love to just "have a go". The problem though that they all report to me is that there is little or no information on this subject for the every day man in the street.

From what I can see, the introduction of r/c became the natural progression of free flight as technology advanced. Dont forget the only reason at the time that people flew free flight was that there was no radio, and so flying "was" free flight. With radio now available free flight had become just another branch of our hobby instead of being the hobby its self.

Radio became ever cheaper and more reliable. Also, it opened up a whole new market in its own right and expanded at an alarming rate. In fact the content of the model press over the years became entirely radio orientated, with one notable exception in the UK. That of course being Aeromodeller who stayed faithfull to the F.F theme.

As technology advanced pre fabrication of model products and kits came down in price until we reached the stage that we are at now. In fact now you have to 'look' to find a good kit to build.

The main reason for the decline in publicity in the magazines for F/F I believe is because when all is said and done. They are a buisiness and only have so much room for articles and advertising. With the new boom in radio products they followed it as they saw that this was where the money was going to be in the future.

Understandable as this move is it led to a declined in knowledge and the skills needed for F/F until now when this apparently "Black Art" is considered difficult. I actually built my first free flight model, A Guillows SE5a (albeit with limited success) at the age of six. So how hard can it be?.

I realize that these days the thought of giving a six year old a scalpel might have the social services screaming blue murder but with the correct supervision this should not pose a problem.

What I would like to do here with the aid of some more knowledgeable contributers,. is to offer a source of information that hopefully will spark off in some of you the interest and hours of fun that can be had in building models that have there flying characteristics built in rather than applied by radio.

Many free flight designs can be built on your knee in front of the telly. Your building board need only be about two foot long. Imagine that. If your missus is complaining that you dont spend enough time with her and the kids then to quote a phrase "Take the mountain to mohamed". But dont start using dope in the living room unless you are very brave (it has a smell that will put you in the dog house for many moons).

Some of these models are built from kits and others from plans. Some, and I hope to deal with this later, are built from plans that have been scaled up from a magazine article. A good freind of mine Alex Imrie provided many of these with his Vintage Corner articles in Aeromodeler magazine (now an integral part of Aviation modeller international).

Free flight is, if nothing else an excellent way to learn the skills required to build a model with excellent flying characteristics. It is also a very cheap option for those who cannot afford modern radio control systems. Also if you are a parent and your son/daughter is showing a keen interest in model flying F/F can be a better way of introducing this subject to them, without spending hundreds of pounds on a five minute wonder.

The cost of a small free flight model kit is usually less than £20 and motors are usually under £50 for a deisel engine. If built from a plan the only cost is the wood/tissue and glue £15 for a finished model is not unusual (rubber power). and it'll save you a fortune in beer money (But the wife will still complain).

For the reasons stated above sources of information on this subject are few and far between. Having read this far maybe we can change that for the benefit of others.

A very good place to start looking is:

Sams is possibly the UK's foremost source of free flight suplies. From the Finest Japanese silk and tissue coverings to the absolutely stunning Gasparin Motors and kits and every conceivable accessory in between This is probably the best place to start your long and absorbing journey into the world of free flight.

You will also find a link to his web site on our links page.

Article by Daren from Bumpy Green Model Aerodrome
2nd January 2001