Free Flight Resource List by Bob Clemens
Terminology
Updated January 2008
Thanks to the dedication and hard work by several hundred dedicated entrepreneurs around the country, an amazing array of free flight necessities are readily available. Sadly, most of their products cannot be found in hobby shops or other retail outlets and can only be obtained via mail order using catalogs or the Internet. The following is a basic list of some of these “hidden” resources (there are many more), and is aimed primarily at newcomers and “returnees” to the hobby of free flight. Those vendors highlighted in yellow offer many model kits suitable for inexperienced firt-timers.
Please feel free to copy and distribute this list, and understand that merchandise availability, prices, e-mail addresses, and web site URL’s are subject to change without notice.
Bob Clemens, WNYFFS Rochester, NY
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A brief glossary of frequently used free flight modeling terms
Adhesives: These are vital products used to stick model parts together. Commonly used model adhesives include aliphatic resin wood glues such as Titebond, traditional model airplane cement in tubes such as Testors, Duco, or Ambroid, various epoxies, and “instant” glues such as Zap. The aliphatics are strong, safe, and easy to clean up with water.
Adhesives are also used to attach tissue covering to a model’s framework. Commonly used for this purpose are clear dope (see below) and glue sticks. Dope is a liquid applied with a brush. Glue sticks work well and have little if any odor or fumes. They are available wherever office supplies are sold. Be careful not to crush delicate framework when using a glue stick.
Dope: A lacquer-like liquid that available in clear and colored versions. Clear dope can be applied to a model’s framework to attach tissue covering and can also be used to seal tissue after it has been applied. Colored dope is used over tissue for decoration and realism, especially on scale models. Dope is available by mail order or from hobby shops that carry model airplane supplies.
Electric Model: A model powered by one of the every-growing number of tiny electric motors now available. Power is supplied by small rechargeable batteries carried in the model. These motors can power free flight models ranging from 12 inches to several feet in wingspan. There are some good almost-ready-to-fly (“ARF”) models that use electric motors. You can often these at toy stores as well as various Internet retailers.
Endurance model: A power, rubber, or glider competition model that is designed and built solely to stay aloft for as long as called for under the competition rules for its particular event. There are many competition categories for indoor and outdoor endurance models. These models may or may not have a realistic appearance, and are a good starting projects for beginners rather than more difficult to build and fly scale models.
Free flight model: A model that flies "free" of any outside control while airborne. It uses settings of balance, flying surfaces, and propeller thrust angle put into the model prior to launch for in-flight guidance and stability.
Glider: A model plane that flies without a motor. Free flight gliders come in three types: Models that are launched by throwing them into the air, models that are launched using a rubber band catapult, and models that are towed aloft on a long line like a kite, then set free at the peak of the tow. Hand launched and catapult launched gliders are generally small models with wingspans of 12 to 20 inches and are typically made from solid sheets of lightweight balsa wood. More recently larger hand launched gliders have appeared in competition that use a discus-style launch by means of a reinforced finger grip on one wingtip. Towline gliders use stick and tissue style construction and generally range in wingspan from 48 inches to six feet.
Indoor model: A model built specifically for flying in an indoor site, such as a school gym, fieldhouse, aircraft hangar, or other draft-free interior location with suitable floor space and ceiling height. Gliders, rubber-powered, and electric-powered models are flown indoors. They are comparatively lighter and more fragile than those intended to be flown outdoors. Some of the more robust indoor models, such as the Right Flyer, can be flown outdoors under calm air conditions.
Laser Cut: A term referring to the relatively new technique of precisely pre-cutting model parts, such as wing ribs and fuselage formers, from balsa sheets using a very thin, precise laser beam. This eliminates the traditional and time-consuming task of manually cutting out parts printed on balsa sheets using a knife or razor blade. A growing number of kit manufacturers are using laser cutting.
No-cal scale: A class of comparatively simple, easily-built semi-scale rubber models having a two-dimensional profile fuselage in place of the traditional built-up, three dimensional hollow fuselage. Typically they are of stick-and-tissue construction are covered on only one side of their framework. They can be flown indoors or out. “No-cal” is short for “no calories,” a reference to the lean, minimal structure of these models.
Outdoor model: A model built for outdoor flying, using relatively robust design and construction compared to indoor models. Various types of gliders, rubber-powered, and engine-powered models are flown outdoors, often using thermals (rising warm air currents) to achieve long flight duration.
Power model: A model plane using an internal combustion, electric, and CO2 motor or engine as its power source.
Peanut Scale: A popular class of small rubber-powered scale models with a maximum wingspan limit of 13 inches. There are many kits and plans available for peanut scale models. They can be flown both indoors and out. Not recommended for beginners.
ROG: Initials for the term “rise off ground.” While generally applied to small, comparatively simple rubber-powered models equipped with landing gear that permits them to take off under their own power, it also describes a takeoff capability or requirement for any free flight model so equipped.
Rubber lubricant: A slippery substance, usually a liquid, applied to a rubber motor to reduce friction between the strands when they are tightly wound for flight. Use of a proper lubricant is vital! It enables many more turns to be wound into a rubber motor than would be possible without it. While dedicated rubber lubricants are sold by some of the listed vendors, automotive protectants such as Armor All, Formula 2001, and Son of a Gun make very good rubber lubricants too and are readily available in retail stores.
Rubber motor: The loop, or loops, of rubber strip that provide power for rubber-powered model aircraft. Tan rubber strip (see below) is formulated especially for powering model planes and is sold by a number of the above vendors, most notably F.A.I. Model Supply. When used with a mechanical winder (see winder, below) and a proper lubricant, rubber motors can be wound several thousand turns to give long flights of several minutes duration with a properly prepared free flight model.
Scale model: A model plane designed, built, and decorated to closely resemble a particular full-size, man-carrying aircraft. In competition, scale models are scored on their depiction of the subject aircraft, overall craftsmanship, and flight duration.
Stick-and-tissue: Model airplane jargon referring to the traditional method of free flight model construction which uses balsa wood sticks and pieces for the model’s framework and tissue paper to cover it. This tissue is most often a fine, lightweight grade imported from Japan. Many of the vendors on the above list sell Japanese tissue.
Stooge: Free flight slang for a fixture designed to securely hold a rubber-powered model in place while it is being wound for flight. This omits the need for another person to hold the model during winding. Once wound, the rubber motor is hooked to the model, which is then removed from the stooge and is ready for flight. Some vendors, such as F.A.I. Model Supply, sell stooges. Some web sites have pictures of various styles of stooges.
Tan Sport & Super Sport Rubber Strip: The brand names of rubber strip specifically formulated for powering model airplanes, named for its light tan color. They are sold as long continuous strips of various widths, usually 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 3/16, and ¼ inch. Its thickness is approximately .045 inch. Rubber-powered models fly using one or more loops made from one of these widths.
F.A.I. Model Supply of Sayre, Pennsylvania markets Tan Sport and Super Sport directly to both modelers and vendors and works directly with the U.S. manufacturer to constantly monitor and upgrade its quality. Vendors such as Indoor Model Supply cut it into an even wider range of custom widths required for flying various classes of ultralight indoor models. Many serious modelers have their own rubber strippers, but these very useful tools are expensive. See Thayer Syme’s web site (see below) for pictures of various rubber strippers. Super Sport has a somewhat higher power output than Sport.
Tools: Basic tools for model airplane building include a flat work surface such as a sheet of smooth ceiling tile or homosote, a supply of single-edge razor blades, a hobby knife such as the Xacto, needle nose pliers for bending wire, sandpaper and sanding blocks, straight pins for holding parts in place during assembly on the plan (ceiling tile and homosote make this easy), waxed paper or plastic wrap to place over the plan to keep adhesives from sticking to it, a metal straight edge/ruler, adhesives of choice for sticking parts together, and glue sticks or dope for attaching covering. The Don Ross book explains all this in more detail (see below).
Winder: A hand-held mechanical device used to conveniently and quickly wind the motors of rubber-powered free flight models. A proper winder is a must-have piece of equipment for successful rubber model flying! Winders have a hand crank which turns a simple gear train connected to a hooked output shaft. The hook holds one end of the rubber motor; the other end remains attached to either the rear rubber hook or propeller shaft of the firmly held or anchored model (see stooge, above). The lubricated motor is then stretched to three or four times its slack length and winding is begun. With each single turn of the hand crank, the output shaft turns anywhere from 5 to 20 times, depending on the particular gear ratio of the winder. The person slowly shortens the length of the stretch as he winds, starting to come in at about 50% of desired turns and finishing with the motor at its flying length. The motor is then carefully transferred to the model. This classic technique allows many more turns to be put into a rubber motor than would be possible using manual winding of the propeller. Stretch winding permits 1,000 or even more turns to be quickly put into a rubber motor for longer flights. Thayer Syme’s web site (see below) has pictures of winders.
New to all this? Try an AMA Cub or the Right Flyer
The AMA Cub is a simple, very easy to build rubber-powered model. The balsa wood sticks that comprise its wing and tail framework are glued directly to the paper plan, which when trimmed becomes the covering. Tens of thousands of Cubs have been built since it was first kitted back in the early 1970’s. It’s robust and can be flown indoors or out, the latter when the air is calm. You can see a picture of the Cub and order kits on the AMA web site, www.modelaircraft.org, either singly or in bulk packages of 12 and 40 kits for group projects. The Delta Dart sold by Midwest Products is a clone of the AMA Cub. See their web site. Visit www.luminet.net/~bkuhl/rubber.htm where you’ll find lots of excellent basic Cub information. I highly recommend this site!
The Right Flyer model from Midwest Products (see vendor list) is a good trainer for newcomers to free flight modeling. Somewhat more complex to build than a Cub, it’s a fine flier and can fly for a minute and a half or more under a 20 ft. ceiling. Its sturdy construction, using a tough paper covering material, can withstand a beginner's rough handling as well as the inevitable collisions with walls, chairs, and other obstacles usually found at indoor flying sites. It can be flown outdoors too, providing the air is calm. Midwest sells kits of the Right Flyer in “class packs” of eight and 24 models as well as single kits. Some hobby shops may carry the single kits, or can order them. The Flyer kit is complete with very good instructions. Midwest also sells their own version of the AMA Cub.
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| Tom Hallman Photo |
