Traditional balsa wood free flight aeroplanes.

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Mark Grant

Acting Captain of The St Annes Jombulance.
Location
Hanworth, Middx.
The 'naked' one looks like a Gypsy. We had one back in the 60s, which sadly destroyed itself on the only patch of tarmac on the moors. With many hundred of turns on the elastic the only recognisable pieces left were the tail and right wing.
The 'naked' one is a KK Ace, intended to be rubber powered R/C.
The last one is 24" rubber converted to electric R/C
 

Jody

Stubborn git
Your childhood(?) experiences mirror mine: enthusiasm 10/10 ; skills 5/10 ;)

This for me whenever I tried making basic models. Coupled with winding the prop up too far and it snapping in two :rolleyes:
 

Mark Grant

Acting Captain of The St Annes Jombulance.
Location
Hanworth, Middx.
You’re only a true stick and tissue enthusiast when you carve your own props. Did you carve those in your pic @Mark Grant ?
Can you still get the ‘pear drops’ dope? I suspect not, shame, wouldn’t be quite the same without that evocative smell.
Yes the prop on the Ace is hand carved, I've also other vintage models that I have carved props for, fixed and single folders. It is quite satisfying!
 

a.twiddler

Veteran
Like many kids in the 60s I was into Airfix kits and it was a time of excitement and learning new skills. The heady aroma of polystyrene glue and enamel paints in tiny tins, the varied streamlined shapes of the aircraft, even being motivated to find out more about the prototypes in the local library were unexpected pleasures that a detached observer wouldn't deduce from looking at my collection of what were probably badly assembled and painted models. Although I got better at it as I got older and some that I built and painted actually looked pretty good, I couldn't claim to be a great modeller.

Are such kits so popular today in this age of electronic entertainment? I suspect it's more an adult thing nowadays. Imagine letting your kids loose with a selection of such potentially poisonous substances today.

I did enjoy ready to fly stuff, simple balsa gliders and rubber band fliers. I bought a complicated balsa biplane kit which in the end my dad had to finish. There was the scenario of the house reeking of balsa cement, parts pinned to a board with colourful headed pins while the assemblies set. Then the house reeking of dope which magically tightened up the tissue paper covering of the wings. With both my parents being smokers I'm surprised that they didn't blow the house up. Despite all this effort, I never got it to successfully fly.

My younger brother was never into the kits as much as I was but he did get our dad to build an impressively wide wingspanned glider with the same meticulous procedure as above. The big day came when we all went to the nearby sports pitch and it had its first proper flight. It had had some hand launches previously to sort out the trim but this was the first trial using a line. The idea was that the glider had a rearward facing hook, the line had a ring on the end, you ran letting the line out as the glider climbed then at the maximum height you jerked the line back, or it came free on its own, and soared. The rudder was trimmed so that it would fly in a circle so it didn't just disappear over the horizon.
Unfortunately, none of these things happened. The ring didn't release and we watched in horror as, despite our dad frantically jerking the line, it flew at high speed into the ground, hitting with an impressive crack and sending bits of balsa everywhere. Our dad's face was a picture, and we couldn't say anything. We gathered up the bits and went home. That was the end of the balsa kit era in our house. My dad had a lot of patience but at least for the time being, he'd had enough.

I've still maintained my interest in aircraft over the years and built the odd kit but no fliers.
 
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chriswoody

chriswoody

Legendary Member
Location
Northern Germany
Thanks everybody I'll have to see how I get on!

@Reynard those plans are indeed a thing of beauty I must have spent a fair while reading the Tiger Moth ones. Because you build the model directly onto them you can also see how big they'll be when finished. The laser cut parts are also really impressive, really fine and precise cuts that should make things easier.

@Mark Grant that's a lovely collection of planes, I would love mine to come out half as good, I fear though it may indeed be a case of enthusiasm being much greater than skill!

@Cycleops you had to go and mention carved props. I was actually idly thinking about one for the Moth, I think it would look great. It's one of those things though that can be attempted later after I've discovered wether @BoldonLad prediction is true about enthusiasm versus actual skill!
 

T4tomo

Guru
Not my area of expertise at all, nearest I got was airfix spitfire kits and I once made a balsa wood aircraft carrier at school!

My neighbour builds model aircraft to a good old size, a bit bigger than those shown so far up thread, and they are power by proper engines - they make a right old noise when he powers them up to test in the garden. He builds them to order for clients / fellow enthusiasts.
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
Our local RC aircraft club is a 5 minute cycle ride from my house. Its a lovely place with a small club house.

This post could get me interested.

Please let us know how you get on with your model making.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
This is something im considering for retirement (not so many years away).
I used to do them as a kid, i seem go remember the parts were printed onto balsa sheet and you cut them out, the plans were as big as dinner tables.
I spent a couple weeks building one i brought with some birthday money, a high wing Cessna or similar, maybe 2 or 3ft wingspan...forgot to put some trim on the rudder, launched it....and watched it fly merrily off, straight as a die, into the distance. :sad: .
Also had a 6ft glider, that thing would stay up for ages if you set the timer long enough. I still remember the terrific pull on the lline as you launched them. The joys of living on mothballed airfields.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
Our local RC aircraft club is a 5 minute cycle ride from my house. Its a lovely place with a small club house.

This post could get me interested.

Please let us know how you get on with your model making.
Give it a go Steve. It's great fun and if you don't want to build there are plenty of almost-ready-to -fly options. Multiplex should be readily available in Denmark being a German brand.
https://www.multiplex-rc.de/produkte/flugmodelle/
I've had some of their kits and can recommend them. Their radio sets are excellent too.
 

pawl

Legendary Member
My dad used to build a few when he was younger.


The ones I remember had a propeller attached to what I can’t remember You wound it and launched.
I also remember are the planes powered by a small engine , can’t remember what the fuel was Ido remember they were controlled by attached lines.Just used to go round in circles.
The name jet x seems to spring to mind as power source for models.No doubt some one will rember them🛩🛩
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
The planes attached to wires that went round in circles were control line. They were powered by a glow or diesel engine. The glow had a plug that used a battery to make it heat up. The diesel relied on compression.

Yes, the water was used to shrink the tissue initially and then was further tightened and strengthened with dope which smalt of pear drops.
Usually power was provided by an elastic band.
 
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