free flight airplane

Free Flight Airplanes

The original form of official aero-modeling, the free flight airplane, simply flies without active control. This means no radio electronics is controlling the models path. These aircraft are designed to fly slow and to be stable in the flight path, typically by designing in a much lower wing loading and balance via added wing dihedral and particular attention to the center of gravity.

In 1871, Alphonse Pénaud, is credited in designing the first model, powered by rubber band, which was an aerodynamically stable flyer. This free flight model, called the ‘planophore’ shown below was simple, yet elegant in its design and has some of the same features you see in in all types of aircraft today.

free flight airplane planophore

Classes of Free Flight Aircraft Models

Per the FAI Aeromodelling standard, Free Flight Aircraft are divided into two major categories. They are indoor and outdoor. Competition for all these models is strictly based on time in the air after successful launch. Typically, these free flight models are design to fly in a circle.

Indoor Free Flight

F1D Indoor: This indoor free flight model is best known outside of the hobby, but there are many! This class of model is for indoor flying, powered by rubber-band. These models require large indoor spaces to fly and can remain airborne 30+ minutes easily. They are constructed of extremely light balsa, boron filament, carbon-fiber material and covered with an ultra-thin transparent film called micro-film, which is less than 0.5 micrometers thick. The propellers on these models, made from the same material described above, are large and typically rotate at or below 50 RPM resulting in a very slow moving model during flight. These are amazing to watch!

F1D Indoor Free Flight F1D

Other Indoor Free Flight Models, to name a few include F1L, also called the EZB, which requires all wood and no microfilm and the F1M, considered a beginners entry with higher weight minimums and restrictions on size and materials.

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Outdoor Free Flight:

F1A Glider: this glider, also known as the A/2 Nordic glider, is a large wingspan glider launched via a 50m towline. In competition, these models are beautiful to watch as they search out thermals prior to release.

F1A outdoor free flight glider
F1A outdoor free flight glider

F1B Rubber Powered: this model is powered by rubber band and is also known as the Wakefield class. These can range from simple store bought toys to complex high-end competition models where attention to rubber type, torque curves and folding props becomes very important! In competition, the initial energy from the rubber band is critical to get the model to a desired altitude for free flight.

F1B Outdoor Free Flight Model
F1B Outdoor Free Flight Model

F1C Motor Powered: this free flight model is powered by a motor that is not rubber and is typically an internal combustion motor of sorts. These motors are time constrained on how long they are allowed to run, which in competition is typically 5 seconds. Optimal power output is also critical for competition since time is limited. Interestingly, reducing drag by folding the wings during initial climb can also be found in the high-end models. Of special interest, the F1K class is very similar, but with the motors being CO2 powered instead.

F1C Gas Powered Free Flight Model
F1C Gas Powered Free Flight Model

Here are a few Related Sites from our main directory.

CIAM Indoor Free Flight

Share List
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    F1D Indoor Free Flight
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    The specifications of this class include: Minimum Weight of 1.2g, Max Wing Span of 550mm, Max Tail Span of 450mm and Max Chord of Lifting Surface of 200mm. Rubber motor Max of 0.6g

     

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    F1L Indoor Free Flight (aka EZB)
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    The specifications of this class include: Minimum Weight of 1.2g, Max Wing Span of 457.2mm, Max Wing Chord of 76.2mm and Stabilizer Area limited to 50% of Wing Area. Rubber motor Max of 1.5g.

     

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    F1M Indoor Free Flight (Beginner)
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    The specifications of this class include: Minimum Weight of 3.0g and Max Wing Span of 460mm. Rubber motor Max of 1.5g.

We have begun a journey to see if we can develop the skill and patience to design and build an Indoor Model. Follow along with us!

There is also a separate Indoor Initiative to design and build a competitive F1L Indoor Model.

As with all outdoor flyers, a good understanding of the Beaufort Wind Scale while flying kites is handy. Here is a simple video that helps to explain it.

Social Media: If you are on Social Media and would like to share your FF photos and videos, please track us down on Facebook @ifitcanfly2 and Instagram @ifitcanfly. Use our favorite hashtag #GETOUTANDFLYSOMETHING and tag us!

Happy Flying!

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