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Free Flight Model Aircrafts
Flying a model airplane can be really simple. Even the kids know that. Who hasn't played with a paper airplane as a kid? We are no longer kids now but we still like to play this exciting game, don't we? Of course adults always want to make the things more complex. Free flight model aircraft are easy to build, cheap to buy and fun to play with. People even create competitions for free flight model airplanes all over the world. |
The simplest free flight model aircraft is a an aerodynamic toy without moving parts. It can be thrown away by hand and can keep flying for few minutes depending on its weight and the wind.
Powered Free Flight Models
Essentially all flying models are powered in one way or another - even if the starting power comes from the muscles on your hand. But there are plenty of other options as well - rubber band powered, mechanical gear motors, gas, electricy or CO2 models.
Typically the free flight models rare include too complex or expensive motors because of the risk of losing the airplane. For this eason even the complete models that are sold on the market are typically very cheap, sometimes under $10.
Photo by sofafort at Flickr
Free Flight Model Aircraft Kits
Like with the RC aircraft and the static models, there are plenty of kits for free flight models. The kits come in parts or as almost-ready-to-fly kits where you need just to compose few things and eventually paint your aircraft.
The most popular free flight kits are for airplanes, but you can easy find kits for helicopters or gliders, and why not even airships.
The prices of free flight kits start from $10 - $20.
The quality kits contain parts of modern composite materials which are light and ensure great flight. The parts are laser cut to avoid roughnesses and discrepancies.
Creating Free Flight Model Aircrafts Yourself
If you have read the article about static model aircraft you already know that building scale models is a task for advanced modeling enthusiasts.
The free flight models do not need to be exact copies of real aircraft and can be pretty much simplified. You can create your model with larger wings and lighter fuselage to ensure better flying.
If you have no experience building model aircraft and have no serious knowledge in aeronautics, the best way to start building is to use model airplane plans or even kits. You can find a lot of free plans on this site. Make sure to follow the instructions exactly if you want your airplane to fly.
There is nothing as exciting as seeing something made by your hands soaring in the sky. Once you experience it, you will want to create more free flight models - and you may even decide to try building an RC aircraft yourself.
