Free Flight Resource List by Bob Clemens
Vendors, Terminology, Publications, Web Sites and Other Necessities

 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
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Campbell's Custom Kits
P.O. Box 3104
Muncie, IN 47307   (765) 289-7753

E-Mail: thermalpiglet@comcast.net  
Web site:http://campbellscustomkits.com/

Lee Campbell, a veteran free flight competitor, is the proprietor and kit maker. His inventory includes lots of gliders: at least 14 hand-launched models, three catapult types, and several towline designs. All this plus rubber-powered duration models, power models, and scale kits keep Lee busy cutting the top-quality balsa wood he puts in his kits. He also sells kits and accessories from other manufacturers. He’s always adding new merchandise.

Diels Engineering, Inc.     
P.O. Box 263   
Amherst, Ohio 44001  
E-Mail: ddiels@mrdoc.cc 
Web site: http://pageproducer.acninc.net/dielsengr/

Dave Diels offers lots of excellent stick-and-tissue kits, many of pre-WWII and WWII military aircraft with vacuum-formed canopies where needed and great decals. Lots of plans, too, if you like to pick your own wood and tissue for scratch building. Send Dave $2.00 for a copy of his ever-growing catalog, or check his web site. Not recommended for beginners.

Easy Built Models
P.O. Box 681744
Prattville, AL 36068-1744      
E-Mail: daveann@easybuiltmodels.com               
Web site:www.easybuiltmodels.com

Easy Built models offers a staggering number of its own kits, plus balsa, tissue, a unique magnetic building board, rubber winders, propellers, and other supplies. Many of the kits are laser cut. Proprietor Dave Niedzielski is an experienced free flight modeler and supporter of the Flying Aces Club (see glossary). His web site is a must visit.

F.A.I. Model Supply   
P.O. Box 366   
Sayre, PA 18840-0366    (570) 882-9873    

EMail:faimodelsupply@cqservices.com

Web site:http://www.faimodelsupply.com/

FAI sells more than 100 free flight kits, and the list keeps growing and includes three excellent ready-to-fly indoor rubber models plus kits and materials for the Wright Stuff Science Olympiad event. FAI carries a great selection FF supplies and accessories, including Tan Sport and Super Sport rubber strip that is the performance standard of the hobby. John Clapp is the proprietor. His catalog is $2.00, a must for both beginners and experts.

Flying Aces Club
3301 Cindy Lane   
Erie, Pennsylvania 16506    (814) 833-0314
Web Site:http://www.aeroaces.com/flyingaces.htm

The Flying Aces Club is an informal, nationwide group of model airplane hobbyists who love to build and fly stick-and-tissue model aircraft of all types, especially rubber-powered scale models. Membership includes a subscription to their newsletter, the FAC News. Each issue comes with several full-size model plans, modeling news and tips, model photographs, contest results and announcements and club news. Their national contests are held in Geneseo, New York, each July and are the premier free flight scale meets with nearly 200 fliers competing. Annual membership fee is $15. If you enjoy free flight scale, the FAC is for you.

Golden Age Reproductions     
P.O. Box 1685   
Andover, MA  01810    (978) 687-0024
E-mail: garepro@aol.com
Web site:http:// www.goldenagereproductions.com/

Looking for model plans? GAR has hundreds of Comet, Peerless, Megow, Scientific, Ace Whitman, and other reprinted plans from the 1930's and 40's rubber-powered scale kits that those of us over 60 fondly remember. They also have over two dozen excellent rubber scale kits, most updated versions of those same old models, some of later design including the Curtiss Robin, P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt, and Messerschmitt BF-109E of WWII fame. Their catalog is $3.00, a must for rubber scale fans. Proprietor of GAR is Jim Fiorello.

HiLine     
P.O. Box 11558   
Goldsboro, NC 27532          (919) 778-6653        

E-mail: daverees@coastalnet.com

HiLine sells a variety of small electric motors for free flight and small RC models, plus chargers, battery packs, and plans for electric as well as rubber-powered models. There's also an excellent 10:1 rubber winder called the Scale Winder. Proprietor Dave Rees is a nationally known free flight scale designer and competitor. He sells an informative video on electric-powered free flight. The HiLine catalog is $1.00.

A.A. Lidberg Model Plan Service
1030 E. Baseline Road, Suite 105-1074
Tempe, AZ 85283
(480) 839-8154

E-Mail: C
Web site:http://www.aalmps.com/

Al Lidberg offers a most interesting and extensive selection of plans and kits. He has profile ("no-cal") scale plans, peanut scale plans, 16 larger size rubber scale plans, plus a growing number and variety of kits. Al is a master draftsman and his plans and kits are excellent. Check his offerings at his well-illustrated web site.

Midwest Products Co., Inc.
Educational Products Division
400 S. Indiana Street, P.O. Box 564
Hobart, IN 46342        1-800-348-3497
Web site:http://www.midwestproducts.com/

Midwest offers a number of model kits through its Educational Products Division. Ideal for beginners, they are avail be both as single kits or “class kits” for school or other group programs. Included are some gliders and four rubber-powered models plus teaching texts, wood, tools, and adhesives. The rubber models include a Delta Dart (similar to the AMA Cub); a larger Super Delta Dart; a 12” Shoebox R.O.G. (“Rise Off Ground”); and the Right Flyer, a robust 19” R.O.G. Both of these are capable of flights of well over one minute in a 20 ft. gym. Pictures of all their models can be seen on their web site.

The Ornithopter Zone
582 Laurelton Road
Rochester NY 14609     (585) 482-3481
E-mail: nathan@ornithopter.org

Web site:http://www.ornithopter.org/

Ornithopters are aircraft that fly by flapping their wings. No propellers! Nathan Chronister is the proprietor of the Ornithopter Zone and offers four ornithopter kits designed for easy building and great flying. He also has some conventional model plane kits and flying toys. Check out his web site for details and information on this fascinating aspect of free flight modeling.

Peck-Polymers     
A2Z Corporation
1530 W. Tufts Avenue  
Englewood, CO 80110      (720) 283-7200

Web site:http://www.peck-polymers.com/

Peck-Polymers, under new management and location since early 2007, has loads of kits, plans, supplies, CO2 & electric motors, select balsa wood, and tools of all kinds for both beginners and experienced modelers. Their peanut scale kits now feature laser cut parts. Check their illustrated web site, which now includes Indoor Model Supply with kits and supplies for lightweight indoor flying, including Science Olympiad kits. They take phone orders and accept Visa, Amex, MasterCard, & PayPal. Tim Goldstein is the proprietor. 

Penn Valley Hobby Center
837 W. Main Street
Lansdale, PA 19446    (215) 855-1286     (215) 368-0770
Web Site: http://www.pennvalleyhobbycenter.com/

Penn Valley offers free flight kits from many of the U.S. vendors shown elsewhere on this list, and at discount prices. They also have their own unique line of rubber scale kits, authentic reproductions of those pre-WWII kits so fondly remembered by most over-60 modelers (like me). Many of these are replicas of the 10¢, or "dime scale" models of that era that typically had wingspans of 16-20 inches. Some are larger, some are non-scale types. PV carries lots of other items, such as rubber strip, wheels, tissue, and more. Catalog is $2.00.

Shorty’s Basement
1036 Bexley Avenue
Marion, OH 43302      (740) 225-8671   (740) 387--0853
E-Mail: carolekane@shortysbasement.com

Web site:http://www.shortysbasement.com

At last count Shorty’s Basement was offering kits from at least seven manufacturers plus a myriad of modeling supplies such as tissue, wood, rubber, and propellers. The Basement also sells the hard-to-find Rapier rocket motors that are meant to power scale jet aircraft models, and has the jet kits as well. It’s a crowded basement indeed, with 223 products available! Be sure to check out their website. Carole Kane is the Basement proprietor.

 

Just getting started?  Here are some suggestions:

It’s a good idea to start with one of the many relatively simple, easy-to-build models available in kit form. They can be flown indoors in a school gym or auditorium or outdoors when the air is calm. They fly well despite their unsophisticated designs.

- The AMA Cub, a very simple to build and robust model that flies well. Some hobby shops carry this kit. 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 (see above), is a clone of the AMA Cub. AMA stands for Academy of Model Aeronautics, the national governing body of model aviation in the United States. Visit www.luminet.net/~bkuhl/rubber.htm  where you’ll find lots of excellent basic Cub information. I highly recommend this site!
 - Butterfly, Mayfly, and Bulldog ready-to fly indoor models from FAI Model Supply. They're ready to go, right out of their boxes! The Minnow ROG is another good beginner kit from FAI, and can be flown indoors or out.
- Right Flyer, a sturdy and great-flying model from Midwest Products (also from FAI and school science suppliers).
- Prairie Bird and Bostonian Pup non-scale endurance models, Nesmith Cougar and Lacey M-10 peanut scale models. All four are from Peck-Polymers and are basic stick-and-tissue models with boxy built-up fuselages and wheels with simple structures. They are excellent fliers, suggested as second or third projects, and will hone building skills needed for more sophisticated subjects, such as scale models. NOTE: Peck Polymers changed ownership in early 2007, but their excellent kits and modeling accessories are still available. This includes their easy-to-build Peck ROG, another good beginner kit.
- 15:1 and 10:1 K&P rubber winders from FAI, Midwest Products, and others. K&P winders have yellow plastic cases.

There’s nothing like a good book- or video:

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.

Web Sites

There are many excellent web sites devoted to free flight modeling. The following are just a few. Many of them have links to still other sites.

Academy of Model Aeronautics:     http://modelaircraft.org /     The AMA is the official governing body of all phases of model aviation in the United States. AMA Cub kits (see suggested models list on page 3) can be ordered on this site.

DC Maxecuters club site:   www.his.com/~tschmitt/index.html    The D.C. Maxecuters are one of the best known free flight clubs in the country, particularly where Flying Aces competition is concerned. Lots of great scale information, photos, and links.

Dumas Products, Inc.:     www.dumasproducts.com/     Dumas makes an impressive line of laser-cut rubber scale kits ranging from 17 ½” to 30” in span. You can see them all on this site.

 

Bill Kuhl’s AMA Cub web site:    www.luminet.net/~bkuhl/rubber.htm    This site is a must for anyone just starting out who’s interested in easy-to-build models. Lots of good information, pictures, and many video clips showing these fun aircraft in action. Bill’s site is particularly aimed at youngsters who want to get a model into the air. Highly recommended! 

Gary Hunter’s Plan Page:   www.theplanpage.com/     A great variety of excellent plans for downloading and scratch building, all free.   

Indoor Web Page:   www.indoorfreeflight.com   This very informative site is devoted strictly to indoor flying. Lots of tips, plans, and information.

National Free Flight Society:     http://freeflight.org    NFFS is dedicated to the practice, promotion, and enjoyment of free flight model flying. They publish an excellent bi-monthly illustrated newsletter for members. Lots of good links found here.

Tim Goldstein’s web site:  www.indoorduration.com   Lots of good information, photos, plans, and other items relating to indoor flying, including the Science Olympiad. Tim sells lots of specialized items for indoor flying as well at his second site, www.F1D.biz, including a new brand of rubber strip.

Thayer Syme's free flight site:    www.gryffinaero.com/models/   Thayer’s very active site is full of ever-growing amounts of information, tips, plans, and model photos. His pictures and explanations of tools and fixtures are very informative. Science Olympiad information is included too. It’s a great place to start surfing. This site is highly recommended!

Recommended reading:  Flying Models magazine has two excellent free-flight columns every month, plus periodic FF model construction articles and ads from the vendors listed above, and more. Sometimes hard to find on newsstands, it's worth the search. Better yet, get a subscription. Don Ross (below) writes an interesting column that appears monthly in Flying Models.

Rubber Powered Model Airplanes by Don Ross covers the basics very well. Your local library may have it, or it can be purchased from Don himself for $14.95 post paid:  Don Ross, 38 Churchill Road, Cresskill, NJ 07626.  E-mail:  flywords@comcast.net

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.

	Tom Hallman Photo