props for doing this. free flight is one of the most challenging things you can do in aeromodelling. this is your best video yet, imo. that 2min 50s flight is donut worthy. it's magic times like that those that bring it all together. AND... hearing my wife say "flaps one... flaps two"... your transmitter is using the Amber sound pack, which I made... and that's awesome too :)
@@ChrisHarmon1 , the sound pack should give all the regular read-outs as Amber's voice... but I am more than a couple of years behind of the latest updates to have it match the latest.
Congratulations, scale free-flight is a real challenge, but when you hit the sweet spot, it’s MAGICAL! My best is a consistent 1’30” with a Fokker EV (D8). One day it will catch a thermal, and this 62-year old man will transform into a little kid…
They're not telling you a few things! Firstly the rubber you need is called tan super sport (or something along those lines). Secondly those 3 minute flights are typically indoors in gymnasiums which are devoid of any major air currents for perfect flying conditions. Lastly, typically these indoor models have larger propellers made of balsa that spin slower to produce a bit less thrust but extend the "motor" run time drastically. Slow climb and slow descent! Bonus note: In my experience flying wings don't have the stability to handle the large amounts of torque produced by big propellers. Typically peanut and small scale people pick more traditional airframe configurations as the long tail makes for great stability and ease of trimming. Happy flying dude :)
Maybe you could build a mechanism that actuates when the rubber band tension drops and adds rudder. This way you could trim the aircraft for a straight climb, then the rudder actuates and goes into a gentle turn to glide down.
I was thinking the same thing using the tension of the rubber band to maybe give you lift and as it starts to lose tension. It would make the rudder turn it
The only issue is the added complexity will add weight, and weight is everything, so the best way to go about this would probably be to make it ever so slightly flex the entire airframe somehow when under full tension, this could be done with minor structural changes, and likely won't add any weight, but ultimately little adaptive mechanisms like these are incredibly hard to get right.
The challenge was to make a peanut scale rubber band model fly for 3min, no restrictions beyond that. It technically flew for 3min and satisfied all of the requirements.
@@Skinflaps_MeatslapperYou did a really good job and even exceeding 1 minute from the ground is a great accomplishment. But anyone could achieve 3 minutes from a height, even a simple glider without a rubber band. Just say'en.
What very nice you picked a Verheesch Delta. It ‘s from Belgium and there are many flying here, in The Netherlands, too! PS very promising maiden flight!
looks like cheating 🤣 you could just put a rubber band on a brick and as long as you take it high enough it will be 3 minutes until it hits the ground.
I was thinking similar. Same with the bouyant conditions that got the 2:50. The design really seemed like a solid 60 sec craft. Probably not the best style for the challenge. Over all a cool project though.
The little yellow winder he used has gears in it, so every hand wind makes the rubber band wind many times. It's very efficient and doesn't run out of battery, while the battery powered winders are slow af.
I would call it a fail. As unfortunately the cabin and entire top section is nothing more than a thin straight stabiliser. It only is similar in one plane (side on) the plane obviously had a cockpit that means wider at bottom than top and transitioning into wing. This is a wafer thin right angle
Back in the 1988 free flight nationals, down under, we had a pole, about 30ft tall, with a Mylar ribbon of same length secured at the top of the pole. Like the Mylar you used as covering. The ribbon would rise and fall, according to the rising air passing. It was so effective, that when a boomer went passed (big thermal), the Mylar ribbon would float almost vertically from the top of the pole. I don't know if thermal detectors have been outlawed, but this was for all competitors use. Congrats on another great vid'. I paid it at 2.50. Mmm donuts.. Stu. Melbourne
You're a better aero engineer than I'll ever be, but... 1. If your model survived a motor snapping, it's over built, that's why the guys at the nats were using blast tubes for winding. 2. I'm surprised you didn't braid the motor (like the guys at the nats...) 3. I would have thought (from a position of ignorance) that a smoother, less wrinkly covering could have helped.
For weight, also don't use gorilla spray adhesive, or whatever the gunk was that he attached the vert. stab. with. Delta may also not be the best planform for peanut endurance. I think he chose poorly.
Cool challenge, there’s a lot one can learn from these small models as well as improving your lightweight building skills, great job your donuts are well earned 😂
I think the winding thing is amazing, but I have an idea to make something even better. You could get a microcontroller (arduino would be fine) and use a stepper motor to wind it up to a set number. You could attach a button and a couple leds to cycle through a couple pre-set number of winds. If you want something really fancy you could add a display to show the number of winds it's set to. You could also add a number pad to enter any number of winds. The little thing you're currently using is perfectly fine though. I just like electronics :)
Free flight is very skillful to do in aeromodeling, you have to trim it perfectly, you have to set the rudder at the right angle and have to balance the CG perfectly. You have to launch at the right angle to get the best result. I had flown electric powered my scratch built scale model Santos-Dumont Demoiselle on a very large field and did my longest flight time is 6 min 39 sec, a lot of people were watching my best attempt ever, it flew so far that I had to use a binocular to track it and they clapped to me after I tell to them that it landed (it went 960m away from the launch site and its estimated max altitude is >150m)
Some grades of polyester film are thinner and have a higher tensile strength of up to ~125MPa, while other materials in the build can also be upgraded for better strength to weight alternatives
It got within 10 seconds of doing it the expected way, so the challenge wasn't too far out. But since a loophole was left open, it certainly was utilized.
Awesome video, just saw this! Glad my peanut videos could be of some help. That kind of duration on a peanut flying wing is really impressive, congrats. Did you work from someone's plans, or design your own? Maybe could get a little more duration with downthrust to smooth out the power stall with high torque and a higher-pitch prop? But consistent 1+ minutes is already excellent. Hope you can do more rubber/balsa/FF projects in the future, tons to explore in this medium.
Hi, I have a suggestion if you want to take another try at doing this. If you can find another similar aircraft design with two propellers, one on each side, you could have them spin in opposite directions to help the aircraft fly straight and not waste energy with turning. It also might be worth adding slightly more weight to the fuselage if you can throw the aircraft with as much force as possible straight up, to add to the flight time. And if youre worried about the covering ripping, plastic might work better as a covering.
You probably could build a small scale glider replica, and set up an artificial thermal in a gym. Small gas camping stove, or another heat source left in place long enough to form a stable thermal air column. And build the model with enough trim to remain in that collumn.column. I remember watching such a video where the model encountered an accidental thermal and stayed aloft for nearly 10 minutes. Often bumping the rafters.
have you thought about playing with the prop angle and gearing the motor so it can run for 3+ minutes? a reduction gearbox can be small and light for this application, with the propeller adjusted accordingly. try trimming it to fly in circles indoors
Old Fashioned doughnuts (and Maple Bars) are the best doughnuts. I've had a few hand thrown paper airplanes stay up past the 3 minute mark when throwing outside. It's rare, but sometimes the breeze is perfect and they just keep going.
Big slow turning propellers will slowly unwind the rubber while supplying a more constant thrust for a longer duration of time. Think of a spinning Ice skater arms out vs arms in. Your small propeller is wasting a lot of rubber winds at the launch resulting in faster speed and a faster climb and a faster depletion of the stored energy in the rubber.
There are guys in our Model club obsessed with free flight, they can have them flying for what seems like 10 minutes plus in the school hall during the winter, but is probably just a minute or two as our drone eyes glaze over after a few seconds of seeing them fly….
despite all the knew technology, i still think that free flight is the most complicated and technical subgenre of the hobby… ones you delve into it there is so much to consider.
That 2:50 is incredible and makes me think that if it can go down to 30 to 40 seconds, weather plays too much of a part in it. But since you opened the box lets see what else is inside. You made a cargo plane and dropped a rubber band powered plane out of it to go for 3 minutes. I want to see you make a plane that also gets dropped out of the cargo hold of a larger plane but is completely unpowered and have that fly for 3 minutes. I guess if you can add remote steering if you want but no propulsion.
Free flight rubber band models take me back to the mid-60s when I'd play all day long with Guillow's airplanes. Man, even the mere smell of balsa still takes me there.
A thermal is a pillow of air, not a column like many "artists' depictions" represent. The sun warms a small section of ground, like a parking lot, which radiates heat into the air just above it. Eventually, a pillow of warm air forms and when it gets warm enough, establishes enough buoyancy to break free of the ground and start ascending. Cooler air above the pillow slides over the top of it and down the sides, creating downdrafts, or "sink." Also, when the pillow breaks free of the ground, air beside the thermal rushes in beneath it, creating what we recognize as "summer breezes," which last only a minute or so. Another indicator of thermals are puffy white clouds with well defined, flat bottoms. At a certain altitude, based on conditions, the moisture in the thermal becomes visible, like steam, producing the flat bottom as the thermal passes through the "cloud base" altitude.
Very cool video! Excellent job on building and flying that tiny plane. The precision on free flight is amazing. After watching your videos and working with Josh, I am considering getting into free flight too. Looking forward to your next videos.
And normally i thought you'd go for a larger propeller to get longer flighttimes. That is how we used to do it when we tried making ultra-light airplanes. We made them as kids out of some balsa and with the thinnest paper and they did fly for (what felt like) a long time.
Enjoy those donuts, you crazy kids. Free flight is the purest - and finest - corner of the toy airplane hobby. The best free flight modelers build dethermalizer timers into their planes that pop either the wing or horizontal stab into AOA=Yes mode to let the model “parachute” down. I’ve never personally had one thermal out of sight, but I subscribe to the notion that having a free flight plane going OOS is winning the game. You built a tailless peanut that I think was very capable of winning. Keep it up. I still build my stuff from balsa with free flight sensibilities, but I like having a radio to let me get it back and a battery the size of my thumb with the equivalent of many thousands of winds in it. With a short-nosed model, if you use the battery as ballast I doubt it weighs much more than the rubber. With every free flight model I built as a kid I dreamed of doing touch-and-gos. Now I can.
Great video. Love your content and while you did manage to get a longer than 3 minute flight technically, I would argue that you cheated lol. Keep the awesome videos coming.
Could a tiny spring throw the propellor off once the rubber band has unwound to the point it no longer pulls the prop backward? Once the prop stops turning under power, it’s just weight and drag.
I built an easy built piper cub over 10 years ago when recovering from heart surgery. I’ve never flown it, I’m afraid of breaking it. I think another is in order, one I won’t care about so much.
teflon oil for cleaning grinder disk keeps clean /dust, and really more fluid mechanics movements Abra+ 70-30 Metaflux - in Europe not ecologic and dont last long - evaporate but for fun anyway value the cost
You should come to the indoor flying in Moscow Idaho Kibbie Dome, everything from peanuts to F1-D and EZB class freeflight. I managed an unofficial 14 minutes with my EZB. Tge F1-D guys are true artists of flight and building!
I would think a larger balsa/carbon prop with covering and maybe a gear ratio or a drag that can be set to limit the rpm so it doesn't use everything climbing. I have absolutely no experience with rubber power beyond seeing photos online, so its likely this is wrong.
I don't know the exact rules for this, but using another powered plane to drop from a height negates the purpose of the challenge. I could take a piece of wood to 10,000 feet and release it for a +3min flight.
I entered a paper airplane competition when I was in the 4th grade and beat everyone's flight time by 9 minutes. I used to make paper airplanes several times a day and the one I used made large circles and kept getting thermals that were generated from the concrete surfaces around the compound. I got first place and beat out people much older than me
I was going to agree with those who stated that if you for instance, dropped a brick from a high enough altitude it would travel more than three minutes till it hit the ground. Something in my head wouldn’t allow me to join this herd of sheep. So I listened to that voice in my head and I started at the beginning. He was clearly challenged by someone to do something. But if you read the actual text shown at the beginning of the video, the challenged to make a peanut size model that will fly for three minutes. If I had just come upon that challenge alone, I wouldn’t be aware of the implication that a rubber band must be used. Just a peanut size plane should fly for three minutes. And neither did I notice a mention that this peanut plane be ground launched. So, in my uniquely human and depressingly cyclical way I turned to Webster dictionary hoping it would provide me the key into the clubhouse off naysayers. There are MANY definitions of the word “fly” and “flying”. None of which make any mention rubber bands or any mechanical attachment whatsoever. Just that something travels from point A to point B upon the air. Well, I guess it’s possible that the dictionary could have been written by insects and squirrels, but I couldn’t find any proof. So I watched video one more time making sure I didn’t miss anything. I didn’t. I for one, am convinced that the peanut plane flew from point A to point B upon the air for over 3 minutes. The comments saying he didn’t don’t fly with me.
Living close to where the verhees deltas home airport in Belgium I have seen the real one on local airshows and just en-route to somewhere. Real one flies really smooth
I don't know if this is a real victory or not. I would have specified a hand launch and maybe powered flight for the three minutes. Still, the cargo drop was creative.
You seem to have an excess of power when you start so I’m thinking that if you could slow down the prop rotation you might extend the duration of available rubber. In my non-educated advice maybe increase the pitch of the prop or the width of the prop blade - maybe add more blades to the prop - anything to slow the prop -- a centrifical governor maybe? Can use smoke to locate significant updrafts.
somehow that feels like the music speakers from the 90ties with watt PMPO. essentially, how fast can my car go if I throw it out of an airplane. you were on a really good trajectory with that 2:50 flight. reminds me of one of my paper airplanes, that managed to stay airborne for over 2 minutes. it was in a castle in tuskany, dancing at the walls (and colliding several times with the wall). a: I can't prove it b: and even if, it was a very special situation with winds lifting it up and walls restricting its flight. for those, who want to look at the location: fortezza di montalcino / fortress of montalcino italy
Great content, really enjoy your videos. Keep them coming. Although you are the ones that spell tyre funny, and while we are at it, what’s with your steering wheel being on the wrong side of the car?
That's a nice looking airframe.... But ya know.... Using a thermal and a drop ship is sort of cheating to get your donut fix...... :D Things I noticed from my free flight background. First off, skip the carbon and glue used to hold the carbon to the wood. The weight savings would be dramatic even if you had to use slightly heavier balsa in place of your carbon strips. That stuff in this scale is heavy and you simply don't need that sort of strength. Focus instead on picking wood that when strips are test snapped they have a high degree of fibers across the break. That's the key to small strip model building that comes out light, resilient and survivable. I also see that you're using a typical small commercial plastic prop. Most of those don't have a great pitch to diameter ratio. Try heating the blades near the hub until you can twist and set the blades to a higher pitch value. Go for around 50 degrees half way out from the hub. I've got no idea who challenged you but 3 minutes from MOST PNut models is something many can only dream about. I thought you did great for your first PNut when you got a couple of 1minute flights. Especially with a stock prop!.
Use code THINKFLIGHT50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/47PU6bK!
Extremely entertaining engineering content 👍
How to design a rc plane . Set the dimensions?
Next challenge. A rubber band powered airplane ✈ that
you can ride in . LoL 😂 Great job 👍
Not trying to sound rude but your cockpit doesn’t look scale in width
Bigger prop turning slower ditch the plastic one make it
props for doing this. free flight is one of the most challenging things you can do in aeromodelling. this is your best video yet, imo. that 2min 50s flight is donut worthy. it's magic times like that those that bring it all together. AND... hearing my wife say "flaps one... flaps two"... your transmitter is using the Amber sound pack, which I made... and that's awesome too :)
I wondered if the Amber pack maker would ever leave a comment 😊
Here I was just thinking she sounded like Amber. But I've never used custom audio tracks 🫣
@@ChrisHarmon1 , the sound pack should give all the regular read-outs as Amber's voice... but I am more than a couple of years behind of the latest updates to have it match the latest.
It would be so weird to hear your wife randomly in a bunch of hobby vids. Tell her nice job
My favourite part of this is the cargo plane. Guess I am the kid who plays with the box
lol 😅
Congratulations, scale free-flight is a real challenge, but when you hit the sweet spot, it’s MAGICAL!
My best is a consistent 1’30” with a Fokker EV (D8). One day it will catch a thermal, and this 62-year old man will transform into a little kid…
1:30 is incredible.....
They're not telling you a few things!
Firstly the rubber you need is called tan super sport (or something along those lines).
Secondly those 3 minute flights are typically indoors in gymnasiums which are devoid of any major air currents for perfect flying conditions.
Lastly, typically these indoor models have larger propellers made of balsa that spin slower to produce a bit less thrust but extend the "motor" run time drastically. Slow climb and slow descent!
Bonus note: In my experience flying wings don't have the stability to handle the large amounts of torque produced by big propellers. Typically peanut and small scale people pick more traditional airframe configurations as the long tail makes for great stability and ease of trimming.
Happy flying dude :)
Maybe you could build a mechanism that actuates when the rubber band tension drops and adds rudder. This way you could trim the aircraft for a straight climb, then the rudder actuates and goes into a gentle turn to glide down.
I was thinking the same thing using the tension of the rubber band to maybe give you lift and as it starts to lose tension. It would make the rudder turn it
The only issue is the added complexity will add weight, and weight is everything, so the best way to go about this would probably be to make it ever so slightly flex the entire airframe somehow when under full tension, this could be done with minor structural changes, and likely won't add any weight, but ultimately little adaptive mechanisms like these are incredibly hard to get right.
@@Maximum_777 maybe a 1 gram mechanism?
@@Maximum_777there's variable pitch props in rubber powered indoor flight. So actuating the rudder depending on band tension should be possible
@@cocobos
*"maybe a 1 gram mechanism?"*
Still, that would be a significant hit. One gram is well over 12% of the model's mass.
I'll credit you for the ground launched flights, but as for dropping it from a drone - no doughnut!
The challenge was to make a peanut scale rubber band model fly for 3min, no restrictions beyond that. It technically flew for 3min and satisfied all of the requirements.
@@Skinflaps_MeatslapperYou did a really good job and even exceeding 1 minute from the ground is a great accomplishment. But anyone could achieve 3 minutes from a height, even a simple glider without a rubber band. Just say'en.
@@reedreamer9518Who are you talking to
Drone-nut.
It was gravity powered with altitude assist. You can make a toaster fly for three minutes if you drop it from a drone at the correct alt.
What very nice you picked a Verheesch Delta. It ‘s from Belgium and there are many flying here, in The Netherlands, too! PS very promising maiden flight!
looks like cheating 🤣 you could just put a rubber band on a brick and as long as you take it high enough it will be 3 minutes until it hits the ground.
Sounds like the challenge should've been more specific then.
I was thinking similar. Same with the bouyant conditions that got the 2:50. The design really seemed like a solid 60 sec craft. Probably not the best style for the challenge. Over all a cool project though.
For as often as you flew it, I'm surprised you didn't build something to wind the rubber band automatically.
No need to build it, freely available on the market XD
The little yellow winder he used has gears in it, so every hand wind makes the rubber band wind many times. It's very efficient and doesn't run out of battery, while the battery powered winders are slow af.
I have my doubts about this doughnut win, we should pass the decision to the adjudicators.
I would call it a fail. As unfortunately the cabin and entire top section is nothing more than a thin straight stabiliser. It only is similar in one plane (side on) the plane obviously had a cockpit that means wider at bottom than top and transitioning into wing.
This is a wafer thin right angle
cheater cheater donut eater
Back in the 1988 free flight nationals, down under, we had a pole, about 30ft tall, with a Mylar ribbon of same length secured at the top of the pole. Like the Mylar you used as covering. The ribbon would rise and fall, according to the rising air passing. It was so effective, that when a boomer went passed (big thermal), the Mylar ribbon would float almost vertically from the top of the pole. I don't know if thermal detectors have been outlawed, but this was for all competitors use. Congrats on another great vid'. I paid it at 2.50.
Mmm donuts..
Stu. Melbourne
i wonder if a quadcopter with an ir camera could tell you where to look for thermals. or maybe even some kind of ultrasonic tof thing
The real FF pilots had mylar streamer out there signaling. It helped on my 2:50 flight for sure.
You're a better aero engineer than I'll ever be, but...
1. If your model survived a motor snapping, it's over built, that's why the guys at the nats were using blast tubes for winding.
2. I'm surprised you didn't braid the motor (like the guys at the nats...)
3. I would have thought (from a position of ignorance) that a smoother, less wrinkly covering could have helped.
For weight, also don't use gorilla spray adhesive, or whatever the gunk was that he attached the vert. stab. with.
Delta may also not be the best planform for peanut endurance. I think he chose poorly.
@@UnitSe7eni will happily await your take on this challenge
@@geuzegidk why people are like this. He said he he was far inferior but offered some tips
Careful, freeflight can become a deep dark rabbit hole...some never return lol Nice work!
The stakes were high, the lack of a donut can create unimaginable tension in the soft fabric of time and space and personal relationships😂
Cool challenge, there’s a lot one can learn from these small models as well as improving your lightweight building skills, great job your donuts are well earned 😂
have you tried a multi-rubber band setup? Like, when one ends it mechanically starts a second prop spinning, or applies force to the first
Guess you could do something like that with a single prop, some 1 to 1 gears and some sort of clutch to switch between rubber bands
Great job at getting the free flight word out there. Most of us started there
I could really use your help !
Anytime man hit me up!
Can't wait to see this collab! Love both your vids
I think the winding thing is amazing, but I have an idea to make something even better.
You could get a microcontroller (arduino would be fine) and use a stepper motor to wind it up to a set number. You could attach a button and a couple leds to cycle through a couple pre-set number of winds. If you want something really fancy you could add a display to show the number of winds it's set to. You could also add a number pad to enter any number of winds.
The little thing you're currently using is perfectly fine though. I just like electronics :)
Why make it so incredibly complicated? The geared winder he used was simple and effective, could never run out of battery and could be used anywhere.
A high aspect ratio wing design would likely be better than the Verhees delta wing for longer flights.
I don't think Reynolds numbers are high enough at that scale for it to be much more efficient, also he had a wingspan constraint
Freaking Awesome man ! Thanks for taking us on your journey but I think you cheated ! Love it !
I love how he's so good at planes that he can casually put together a cargo plane on a whim without it even being the focus of the video
So you have any information about your insulation foam carrier plane? Dimensions/pattern, size, construction, and setup?
Free flight is very skillful to do in aeromodeling, you have to trim it perfectly, you have to set the rudder at the right angle and have to balance the CG perfectly. You have to launch at the right angle to get the best result. I had flown electric powered my scratch built scale model Santos-Dumont Demoiselle on a very large field and did my longest flight time is 6 min 39 sec, a lot of people were watching my best attempt ever, it flew so far that I had to use a binocular to track it and they clapped to me after I tell to them that it landed (it went 960m away from the launch site and its estimated max altitude is >150m)
No, bloke. Tyre is not spelt ‘weird’. It’s spelt correctly as God and King intended! 😂
Some grades of polyester film are thinner and have a higher tensile strength of up to ~125MPa, while other materials in the build can also be upgraded for better strength to weight alternatives
If strong and sealed, the frame and skin can also support a slight vacuum, reducing its atmosoheric displacence and increasing its passive buoyancy.
Its rly cool, but is using thermal lift permitted in the peanut plane rules?
It got within 10 seconds of doing it the expected way, so the challenge wasn't too far out. But since a loophole was left open, it certainly was utilized.
Awesome video, just saw this! Glad my peanut videos could be of some help. That kind of duration on a peanut flying wing is really impressive, congrats. Did you work from someone's plans, or design your own? Maybe could get a little more duration with downthrust to smooth out the power stall with high torque and a higher-pitch prop? But consistent 1+ minutes is already excellent.
Hope you can do more rubber/balsa/FF projects in the future, tons to explore in this medium.
Built it off the full scale plans to company provides.
Hi, I have a suggestion if you want to take another try at doing this. If you can find another similar aircraft design with two propellers, one on each side, you could have them spin in opposite directions to help the aircraft fly straight and not waste energy with turning.
It also might be worth adding slightly more weight to the fuselage if you can throw the aircraft with as much force as possible straight up, to add to the flight time. And if youre worried about the covering ripping, plastic might work better as a covering.
You probably could build a small scale glider replica, and set up an artificial thermal in a gym. Small gas camping stove, or another heat source left in place long enough to form a stable thermal air column. And build the model with enough trim to remain in that collumn.column. I remember watching such a video where the model encountered an accidental thermal and stayed aloft for nearly 10 minutes. Often bumping the rafters.
have you thought about playing with the prop angle and gearing the motor so it can run for 3+ minutes? a reduction gearbox can be small and light for this application, with the propeller adjusted accordingly. try trimming it to fly in circles indoors
Old Fashioned doughnuts (and Maple Bars) are the best doughnuts.
I've had a few hand thrown paper airplanes stay up past the 3 minute mark when throwing outside. It's rare, but sometimes the breeze is perfect and they just keep going.
Big slow turning propellers will slowly unwind the rubber while supplying a more constant thrust for a longer duration of time.
Think of a spinning Ice skater arms out vs arms in. Your small propeller is wasting a lot of rubber winds at the launch resulting in faster speed and a faster climb and a faster depletion of the stored energy in the rubber.
There are guys in our Model club obsessed with free flight, they can have them flying for what seems like 10 minutes plus in the school hall during the winter, but is probably just a minute or two as our drone eyes glaze over after a few seconds of seeing them fly….
Awesome, im glade you all was able to get that needed 3 minute flight time. Never give up and the goal will come to past.
despite all the knew technology, i still think that free flight is the most complicated and technical subgenre of the hobby… ones you delve into it there is so much to consider.
love your videos. Your ground effect videos inspired me to start building a full scale version. Thanks
That 2:50 is incredible and makes me think that if it can go down to 30 to 40 seconds, weather plays too much of a part in it. But since you opened the box lets see what else is inside. You made a cargo plane and dropped a rubber band powered plane out of it to go for 3 minutes. I want to see you make a plane that also gets dropped out of the cargo hold of a larger plane but is completely unpowered and have that fly for 3 minutes. I guess if you can add remote steering if you want but no propulsion.
I myself am also an RC guy but there is something magical about freeflight! Cool video :) greetings from germany :)
Free flight rubber band models take me back to the mid-60s when I'd play all day long with Guillow's airplanes. Man, even the mere smell of balsa still takes me there.
A thermal is a pillow of air, not a column like many "artists' depictions" represent.
The sun warms a small section of ground, like a parking lot, which radiates heat into the air just above it. Eventually, a pillow of warm air forms and when it gets warm enough, establishes enough buoyancy to break free of the ground and start ascending. Cooler air above the pillow slides over the top of it and down the sides, creating downdrafts, or "sink." Also, when the pillow breaks free of the ground, air beside the thermal rushes in beneath it, creating what we recognize as "summer breezes," which last only a minute or so.
Another indicator of thermals are puffy white clouds with well defined, flat bottoms. At a certain altitude, based on conditions, the moisture in the thermal becomes visible, like steam, producing the flat bottom as the thermal passes through the "cloud base" altitude.
Getting to see the critical airframe failure was a huge benefit! And really cool...
Very cool video! Excellent job on building and flying that tiny plane. The precision on free flight is amazing. After watching your videos and working with Josh, I am considering getting into free flight too. Looking forward to your next videos.
Haha the mothership extraction method kinda reminds me of the airdrop we do in the c17. Throw the flaps down to raise the deck angle and it slides out
Love your video's, everyone of them makes me come away felling I've learnt something and enjoyed it.
Wow, I really don't know what is more amazing, winning the challenge or not having a donut in 2 years. Congrats.
And normally i thought you'd go for a larger propeller to get longer flighttimes. That is how we used to do it when we tried making ultra-light airplanes. We made them as kids out of some balsa and with the thinnest paper and they did fly for (what felt like) a long time.
1:52 "They spell tyre weird"
Shots fired! You'll be in line for bootin' from the prime minister!
2 minutes and 50 seconds is impressive!
Enjoy those donuts, you crazy kids. Free flight is the purest - and finest - corner of the toy airplane hobby. The best free flight modelers build dethermalizer timers into their planes that pop either the wing or horizontal stab into AOA=Yes mode to let the model “parachute” down.
I’ve never personally had one thermal out of sight, but I subscribe to the notion that having a free flight plane going OOS is winning the game. You built a tailless peanut that I think was very capable of winning. Keep it up.
I still build my stuff from balsa with free flight sensibilities, but I like having a radio to let me get it back and a battery the size of my thumb with the equivalent of many thousands of winds in it. With a short-nosed model, if you use the battery as ballast I doubt it weighs much more than the rubber.
With every free flight model I built as a kid I dreamed of doing touch-and-gos. Now I can.
i have called my old lady before to tell her i have kept it up for 4 mins as well, i can relate to her and your excitement
I'm guessing your boyfriend lent you his phone?
@@dav1dsm1th how did you know?
Love the high stakes challenge 😅
Great video. Love your content and while you did manage to get a longer than 3 minute flight technically, I would argue that you cheated lol. Keep the awesome videos coming.
I would accept your argument 😄
your cargo airplane "cheating" was my favorite part of the video though!@@thinkflight
Could a tiny spring throw the propellor off once the rubber band has unwound to the point it no longer pulls the prop backward? Once the prop stops turning under power, it’s just weight and drag.
I built an easy built piper cub over 10 years ago when recovering from heart surgery. I’ve never flown it, I’m afraid of breaking it. I think another is in order, one I won’t care about so much.
teflon oil
for cleaning grinder disk
keeps clean /dust, and really more fluid mechanics movements
Abra+ 70-30 Metaflux - in Europe
not ecologic
and dont last long - evaporate
but for fun anyway value the cost
Bigger rubber band but bigger prop turning slower? And holy cow awesome job sir.
Launching a free flight from an RC! That’s awesome!
You should come to the indoor flying in Moscow Idaho Kibbie Dome, everything from peanuts to F1-D and EZB class freeflight. I managed an unofficial 14 minutes with my EZB. Tge F1-D guys are true artists of flight and building!
I would think a larger balsa/carbon prop with covering and maybe a gear ratio or a drag that can be set to limit the rpm so it doesn't use everything climbing. I have absolutely no experience with rubber power beyond seeing photos online, so its likely this is wrong.
I don't know the exact rules for this, but using another powered plane to drop from a height negates the purpose of the challenge. I could take a piece of wood to 10,000 feet and release it for a +3min flight.
Love your videos! One of the very few I immediately click and watch the whole thing when you post
I entered a paper airplane competition when I was in the 4th grade and beat everyone's flight time by 9 minutes. I used to make paper airplanes several times a day and the one I used made large circles and kept getting thermals that were generated from the concrete surfaces around the compound. I got first place and beat out people much older than me
Oh yes, it is so much fun to watch your videos
perhaps a small bundle of microfiber spandex could store the turns you need to sustain a longer flight?
"They spelled tyre wrong" made me have a little chuckle.
What happens if you make a rubber band powered plan that changes the airfoil shape based on the tension of the rubber band?
Genius idea really
I was going to agree with those who stated that if you for instance, dropped a brick from a high enough altitude it would travel more than three minutes till it hit the ground. Something in my head wouldn’t allow me to join this herd of sheep. So I listened to that voice in my head and I started at the beginning. He was clearly challenged by someone to do something. But if you read the actual text shown at the beginning of the video, the challenged to make a peanut size model that will fly for three minutes. If I had just come upon that challenge alone, I wouldn’t be aware of the implication that a rubber band must be used. Just a peanut size plane should fly for three minutes.
And neither did I notice a mention that this peanut plane be ground launched.
So, in my uniquely human and depressingly cyclical way I turned to Webster dictionary hoping it would provide me the key into the clubhouse off naysayers.
There are MANY definitions of the word “fly” and “flying”.
None of which make any mention rubber bands or any mechanical attachment whatsoever.
Just that something travels from point A to point B upon the air.
Well, I guess it’s possible that the dictionary could have been written by insects and squirrels, but I couldn’t find any proof.
So I watched video one more time making sure I didn’t miss anything.
I didn’t.
I for one, am convinced that the peanut plane flew from point A to point B upon the air for over 3 minutes.
The comments saying he didn’t don’t fly with me.
Living close to where the verhees deltas home airport in Belgium I have seen the real one on local airshows and just en-route to somewhere. Real one flies really smooth
Must be nice to live somewhere that has calm winds like that every now and then lol
"Challenge Accepted"
Hell yeah, that's the spirit!
I don't know if this is a real victory or not. I would have specified a hand launch and maybe powered flight for the three minutes. Still, the cargo drop was creative.
Thank You - The best 19 minutes and 42 seconds I have watched (since your last great video) "Dare Mighty Things" 😊
It's a very light-weight plane to successfully deliver a doughnut!
No you spell tyre weird! I’m tired of correcting my spelling it’s tiresome! also fitting tyres by hand is tiring! Lol
Love that cargo plane... Show some more of this
You seem to have an excess of power when you start so I’m thinking that if you could slow down the prop rotation you might extend the duration of available rubber. In my non-educated advice maybe increase the pitch of the prop or the width of the prop blade - maybe add more blades to the prop - anything to slow the prop -- a centrifical governor maybe? Can use smoke to locate significant updrafts.
Great flight!!! And a superb sense of humour! ))) ✌✌✌✌✌
Fantastic bro 🎉❤😊
You could build a plane from your factor meal box! Lots of silvery stuff inside.😂😂😊❤❤❤
Great idea!!
somehow that feels like the music speakers from the 90ties with watt PMPO.
essentially, how fast can my car go if I throw it out of an airplane.
you were on a really good trajectory with that 2:50 flight. reminds me of one of my paper airplanes, that managed to stay airborne for over 2 minutes. it was in a castle in tuskany, dancing at the walls (and colliding several times with the wall).
a: I can't prove it
b: and even if, it was a very special situation with winds lifting it up and walls restricting its flight.
for those, who want to look at the location: fortezza di montalcino / fortress of montalcino italy
Great content, really enjoy your videos. Keep them coming. Although you are the ones that spell tyre funny, and while we are at it, what’s with your steering wheel being on the wrong side of the car?
Kitty Hawk flew for 12 seconds, and is definitely counted as the first flight, so i'd say the three minutes are more then adequate
Awesome.
And.
Hello from Australia.
Great channel! Thanks.
If you found a small cliff, or even a large sand dune by the beach, you could prob pull off the 3 mins
Lots of cheating in this video. I thought the 3 minutes need to happen in a warehouse, not with airdrops and thermals :D
I don’t challenge people… No matter how good you think you are, there is always somebody better 😁😉
As a guy that got his start in electric rc, I never expected free flight aviation to seem like such a thrill.
FF is magical
Its incredible. Every flight is an adventure....
Great drama, high stakes.😂 Loved it.
Excellent job!
That's a nice looking airframe.... But ya know.... Using a thermal and a drop ship is sort of cheating to get your donut fix...... :D
Things I noticed from my free flight background. First off, skip the carbon and glue used to hold the carbon to the wood. The weight savings would be dramatic even if you had to use slightly heavier balsa in place of your carbon strips. That stuff in this scale is heavy and you simply don't need that sort of strength. Focus instead on picking wood that when strips are test snapped they have a high degree of fibers across the break. That's the key to small strip model building that comes out light, resilient and survivable.
I also see that you're using a typical small commercial plastic prop. Most of those don't have a great pitch to diameter ratio. Try heating the blades near the hub until you can twist and set the blades to a higher pitch value. Go for around 50 degrees half way out from the hub.
I've got no idea who challenged you but 3 minutes from MOST PNut models is something many can only dream about. I thought you did great for your first PNut when you got a couple of 1minute flights. Especially with a stock prop!.
That jump after the 2.50 flight looks familiar. 😂
Do you by chance have plans for the plane you used to drop the other out of? That plane looked so cool
maybe you could build an airplane powered by one of those pneumatic rams like that hold your hood up or are used in break barrel pellet guns
great video and we don't spell tyre weird , regardless of it's colour :)
When you are through messing around, can you add a motor and servos to and control?
Great video! Loved it!
You could drop almost anything from high enough and it would take at least three minutes to reach the ground lol.