New Hobby???? Free Flight.....

Good pastime it is. Both building and flying

I built a rubber model from a Turkish made kit in my early teenage years. It was named as Serçe -Sparrow- and it is look alike to your rubber model. A good remembrance  

I gave nearly all of my model planes as a gift to other friends, whom several of them are modelers, due lack of storage space. Today I only have two built models and three kits only.




I found kit box picture.

Looks good NEW, You can’t go wrong with a high wing mono plane type…. Easy to trim to fly and will teach you a lot along the way… Please keep your progress posted

I like Serçe too Levent…. Nice lines…And a long nose, Great for easy balance for rubber power….. You guys are making me want to build another rubber powered free flight!!!

For just about anything you would ever want to know about rubber powered models, This book by Don Ross covers it…. I learned so many good things from it concerning building and flying…. I still refer to it from time to time for parts that are good for small r/c as well…

Thank you for the replies. I just realized I forgot a couple pieces in the front end. So I just added and glued them in place. Nothing major, but will keep on tomorrow.

Reminds me of the joy of building stick and tissue. The translucent paper tissue covering adds a sense of beauty and to fly under rubber power was fun of itself. They also make beautiful static display models.

Way to go New , good to see you back on here and building something ! Sorry your country doesn't allow what you want to fly that really throws water on the fire . I got a rebuild of a Clown .15 size gong on its been a bit of a pain but will get it sorted out its here > https://www.coxengineforum.com/t17489p25-2023-run-what-ya-brung-unlimited-speed-contest?highlight=2023

Well, not much new going on. Got the second side laid up and glued atop the first. No pictures, cause it would simply look like the other one. Lol. Probably take a day or two break now before trucking along on seperating the fuselage sides and gluing in the cross pieces. But just to clarify, I did indeed lay another piece of wax paper between the two sides. I am thinking of sanding one of each side so the cross pieces do adhere properly. Time will tell.....

Ok. So as planned, as I am a slow builder such as I get easily distracted, I got a little progress. Thank you for the help so far. I did as suggested, and glued the three crosspieces at the top of the cabin / wing area. I pinned them down over the plans with glue on each end then proceeded to place the sides to them, then I pinned the sides down using the 'T' of my 'T' pins. Once dry a couple days later, I did the same with the lower crosspieces. Only then I realized the bottom was NOT flat! D'oh! So I put glue on each of the lower crosspieces then carefully placed them in their respective places in the fuselage. I then pinned it down sideways till the glue dried. I will probably get a couple more done this weekend, but fingers crossed I may just try to get the fueslage done. Here are a couple of pics of where I am at now.

Looking good New… Stick and tissue is pretty cool!!…. Just be careful when you get it flying…. The just right little riser and she’ll fly away….

Thank you all for the comments. Now off to go add another cross piece or two....

rdw777 wrote:
For just about anything you would ever want to know about rubber powered models, This book by Don Ross covers it….

I got started in rubber FF last year.  My CL club has guys who are really into Sky Bunnies, and got me to build a couple. I also cut out a few of those 'Skinny Bomber" kits for a postal contest a few months ago. They're enthusiastic, but not very knowledgeable on trimming.  I've searched the internet and various sites for trimming tips, but most assume you already know more than just a beginner, so they leave out a lot.  I watch the maxfliart videos, and they're great.  But when he has a video titled "trimming", it's just video of him test flying his planes.  I tried contacting him to see if he'd make a video on basic trim principles, but he's not really interested.  

So, I just ordered Don Ross's book on Amazon.  It's funny.  I read the reviews, and the bad reviews are all along the lines of, "This information is old!  The book must have been written in the 50's or 60's!", or "Your kid has to be a PhD to build a plane from this book!", or the one about "This book only talks about rubber powered planes.  It doesn't cover electric or gas powered planes!  It's garbage and you shouldn't waste your money!"

Yes, the information is old.  That's why the book is so good.  It has knowledge that's been forgotten by the club flyers over the last 60 years with their new-fangled electronics and electrickery power.  And that's why I want it.  I can build very well.  I can fly control line and RC.  But I've never had a FF mentor and have no one I can turn to in my area.

As a plug, the maxfliart videos are great.  His Free Flight Basics series is must-watch material.  Especially his video on making oval fuselages on a jig:



The Not Quite Old Enough Mark

I'm fortunate to have a few of the old timers left in my club. Many of them fly at Lakehurst, New Jersey where the Hindenburg disaster occurred. They fly indoor rubber there. Other members fly free flight gas at a sod field not far from there. My son has quickly picked up this talent and he's quite amazing in trimming out a model. It really surprises me how quick he can diagnose and resolve. I guess you can't teach a old dog new tricks. I build them he flies them. A few years back, we did a demo at the VA home in the auditorium. Unfortunately, a few models got stuck in the bar joists which we had to retrieve. The lighting in there gives off heat and the models would rapidly climb once they flew over the lights. We had a few rubber models towing banners and the US flag. I certainly got excited over seeing this it was really spectacular.

Looking Good New222 , take ur time wee are not in a hurry , Yes old is much better if you want full instructions and better info even get a laugh now and then

All this talk excites me into considering winter building, one of my rubber powered kits that I have stashed away for so long.

My spreadsheet of unbuilt rubber powered model aircraft

"sin constuir" is Spanish for unbuilt. This is for "mis modeles aviones de propulsado por el motor de goma" (my rubber powered model airplanes).

George, I recently built a p-30 rubber kitted by R/N models. I believe this was Bill and Jean Shive of Penn Valley Hobbies. They owned a warehouse around the corner from the hobby shop. They manufactured rubber powered kits that were usually out of production. One in particular though was called the Hobbit. I built it and it covered beautifully. Unfortunately, it doesn't fly. I don't know why. I've tried everything. It spirals upwards almost hanging on the prop. What I think it needs is more rubber. I also built a Guillows Lancer which I'm going to install a capacitor motor in. I think this is going to be really neat.

Ken, it was may be a decade ago that I was in personal contact through the Ebay messaging system with Bill Shive. Then, he and I believe Jean were still alive, his Penn Valley Hobby Store was closed but he was clearing remaining items through his Ebay store. Prior, over the years I bought by mail order various items from his store. On Ebay, I bought a number of items from him to include engine parts, propellers (think that is where I got the Plastikote 7x2 woods plus other props) and other items from him, lovely Christian couple.

He along with the late Joe Wagner, Ken Willard, William "Bill" Winter, Tom Runge, and etc. who I wrote at various time and received correspondence from were such wonderful people, always friendly, willing to help, good promoters of the fun in building and flying model airplanes of all types.

They are all part of a by-gone era that I was blessed to be a part of.

So, I just ordered Don Ross's book on Amazon.

That’s great Mark, I know you will enjoy it….. After going thru it you’ll whup up on your flying buddies at impromptu free flight contests

A quick trimming reference from Air Trails magazine, Old but still viable IMO….

rdw777 wrote:So, I just ordered Don Ross's book on Amazon.

That’s great Mark, I know you will enjoy it….. After going thru it you’ll whup up on your flying buddies at impromptu free flight contests

A quick trimming reference from Air Trails magazine, Old but still viable IMO….

Woo Hoo! The book came last night! I'll enjoy reading it cover to cover.

That trimming guide is better than all the advice I've gotten so far. Saved. The question is, do I print copies of the trim guide to help the other club members? Or keep it to myself to look like a trimming genius and make them jealous?

The Emancipated Mark

Well Mark, Since you have taken the initiative I think you do all the dark magic for your own first for awhile and show ‘em how it’s done…..Then later being the good folk modelers are you can spill the beans …. … You may get a little nerdy like me and start checking all your balsa sheets against the weight chart on page 11 and mark them accordingly LOL!!!…..


Hey I’ve got a sort of Free Flight/ General aviation question for anyone that might know…. I have a Guillows # 501   P-40 …. I’ve seen it in pre-war colors only on the box art below…(Bob may have posted that?)….Anyone know of any online photos or references to it in this color scheme?….I really haven’t found much….If I ever build it would be nice to have some photo examples of full scale for reference….

rdw777 wrote:Hey I’ve got a sort of Free Flight/ General aviation question for anyone that might know…. I have a Guillows # 501   P-40 …. I’ve seen it in pre-war colors only on the box art below…(Bob may have posted that?)….Anyone know of any online photos or references to it in this color scheme?….I really haven’t found much….If I ever build it would be nice to have some photo examples of full scale for reference….

Searched but no success. It may be an imaginary color scheme, because there is no information about #106 other than camouflaged scheme:

https://johnniepetachavg.com/2013/04/24/p40-106-panda-bear-squadron/

Thanks for looking into that Levent, I’m surprised you even found “106”….Maybe if there ever were any photos of P-40 pre war color schemes they have disappeared into obscurity….Or like you say, Was someone’s imagination….Looks good on that plane though…

Robert