2018 FAI F1D World Indoor Free Flight Championship at West Baden

[@themichaelw]

Well, now I know that the best rubber is from May of 1999.

[@Personalinfo404]

The real question of mastery to uncover is WHY, and WHAT made may of 1999 so special. I'll never research this. The mystery is better.

[@septembersurprise5178]

@@Personalinfo404 "Some things you can't find out; but you will never know you can't by guessing and supposing; no, you have to be patient and go on experimenting until you find out that you can't find out. And it is delightful to have it that way, it makes the world so interesting. If there wasn't anything to find out, it would be dull. Even trying to find out and not finding out is just as interesting as trying to find out and finding out, and I don't know but more so." Mark Twain.

[@imtrxshy6977]

@@Personalinfo404 industries in the 90s didn’t have to mass produce items like they do today. If you speed the production of something and allow for hundreds of it to be made at the same time the quality will be sub par

[@BlurbFish]

@@imtrxshy6977 Your words are founded in ideology and coloured by nostalgia. Industries in the 90s had to mass produce just like always, because more production means more sales means more profit, which is good for business. Speeding or scaling up production does not inherently mean a reduction in quality either.

[@albertbatfinder5240]

Because in June 1999 a fire broke out in the Number 4 Rubber Band Factory in the jungles of Malaysia. This particular factory specialised in harvesting rubber bands found in the droppings of civets. The entire stockpile of predigested civet poo rubber was lost.

[@malekodesouza7255]

Damn it. My rubber band was made in June of 1999. So close…

[@matoko123]

I had memories of seeing a plane like this flying in my school gym in the early 70's, always doubted my memory and thought it may have been a dream, but having found this I realise it was reality after all :)

[@Loccyster]

Or, and bear with me here, perhaps everything between that event and this comment has all beeb a dream, all occurring in the mere seconds that it takes your school aged self to wake up. Or, maybe it wasn't... What do I know... 😂

[@TreySpivey3]

Funny. I remember seeing these airplanes on TV as kid in the 80's on I think it was NOVA. After watching the program I tried building one out of saran wrap and parts from a balsa wood plane. Needles to say it didn't work. 30+ years searching for these planes when they came to mind and I finally found them today. The internet is truly a blessing. I didn't have it when I was a kid so finding these planes was nearly impossible when you never knew what they were called. I'm just as amazed today as I was when I was kid watching these planes fly.

[@GundamRX-1]

Same,because it so slow and it's flying

[@hmjeon8609]

This is a most interesting story.

[@psychedashell]

Even though we know they’re real they’re still a dream. Been into flying model aircraft for a long time and always wanted to build one but they’re so delicate and I’m so…nervous building that kind of stuff I’d probably drive myself insane constantly breaking bits of frame.

[@Kj16V]

At first I thought this was filmed in slow mo, then I realised nope that really is full speed!

[@honorinoochoa6028]

No te

[@alexeiutgoff7955]

We are going to need another hour of this.

[@deansawich6250]

It takes me back to my youth. I use to build balsawood rubber band powered models, but these are so graceful!

[@matoko123]

me too :)

[@user-uc4vg4rg9e]

Same

[@insertoyouroemail]

Same

[@modelermark172]

I'm 62, and I use to build the Comet and Guillows Balsa Airplane Models in grade school. I heard of these before - I think they were called "microfilms" back in the day because of the covering material used. But I never actually saw any fly. Now I can check this item off my bucket-list! These are simply beautiful! Thanks for posting this!

[@MichaelKingsfordGray]

Yet you still can't recall your real name!

[@modelermark172]

@@MichaelKingsfordGray I do remember that whenever there was a local microfilm contest, these were held at the local high school gym with the bleachers retracted; the same setup used when grade school kids flew their "AMA Cub Delta Dart" planes in competition. (I even remember coming in 4th place once, and winning a Guillows Hawker Hurricane kit that was a bit too advanced for me at the time.) But when I built and flew my Cub in 1968, anyone younger than 15 wasn't allowed on the gym floor when the adults flew their microfilms. We were told that a sneeze could blow them apart, and after seeing this, I can believe it!

[@joe18425]

I build a ship in woodwork. It was basically a rectangle of wood with bits cut out it. Mind you, it floated like a council brick. So technically, it looked like a ship 👁👄👁

[@modelermark172]

@Jolly Green The only Comet model I ever built was the Mitsubishi Zero. If memory serves, it used a cardboard tube kind of like those used for a model rocket body as the "spine" that held the rubber band with the balsa formers glued onto it to form the fuselage. I was in Eighth Grade at the time, and thought that was a pretty neat idea. My older cousin who was in high school snarked that it was a 'good idea' if you like model plains that weighed twice as much as they should; but he DID give me some credit for taking on a kit that was not die cut. (Needless to say he built the Comet P-38 and motorized it . . . .)

[@jackmclane1826]

I want an hour of uncommented flight footage for when I might not be able to sleep. So beautiful and calming! ;)

[@estebangallet8025]

it IS kinda gracefull and calming :)

[@PodMonkeyCWC]

This reminds me of curling where it moves so slowly but is so incredibly exact that it creates a natural tension.

[@tim7052]

In-bloody-credible!! My father was a control-line and RC modeller who told me about this field of modelling. I didn't think it still existed today - but out of a defiance for today's technology - I am glad it has!! Wonderful stuff!! 👏👏👏👏👏😊👍

[@goreacraft]

your enthusiasm is admirable but a bit out of synch with the speed of the propellers :P

[@tim7052]

@@goreacraft 🤣👍

[@mylittledaddy9137]

I beg to differ, the best rubber was made in 1992, I could have easily have been a dad in 1993.

[@TheChris1299100]

Hey algorithm, thanks for the surprisingly engaging entertainment!

[@mountainvalleymedia5836]

Thank you KZbin algorithm and absolute wizards who make these things, amazing stuff.

[@anthonykempton1414]

An episode of the great British egg race was dedicated to this and the building of your own plane which we did from balsa and cling film. The clutch mech on the elastic band was always the problem- we didn’t have any fancy winder though I’m talking back in the 1970,s Heinz Wolf was the presenter

[@GrustnyyDrug]

Imagine having such intense skill over ur craft, and you have a child who has a science experiment that ur probably gonna have to help him with. This could steal the show if it manages to just fly around non stop in a elementary school gym. Absolute unit moment right here.

[@williamjhunter5714]

I grew up with the rubber band balsa plane models and went through many of them. My father made Sopwith Camel paper covered rubber band models, inspired by stories of his uncle from WW1. This is the space age version, amazing.

[@bobearnshaw1158]

how do you make the engine

[@Theweouthereforrealclub-]

I had a substitute teacher a couple times back when I was in grade school that would fly one of these around the classroom at the end of the day. It was so cool to see!

[@edwardv7991]

The suspense must be killing in those event. Just watching those plane models floating in the air.

[@eenavid]

were gonna need a stronger bigger rubber band ,,!!!

[@9eunho]

고무동력기 검색하니까 6년전에도 외국에서 저렇게 만들어서 대회 입상한게 나오네요

[@CheapSquierBassPlayer]

"Our estimated flight time is approximately fourteen years, five months, three weeks, two days and forty five minutes so just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride."

[@1st_ProCactus]

Wow, first I've seen these and I just showed 3 other people.

[@boowonder888]

You can use the turning mechanism from a fan to wind the rubberband

[@OldJoe212]

Many years ago, I read that the covering is actually polyurethane finish sprayed on distilled water. I don't know how they pick it up, but that's the lightest material they can find.

[@AdamantineAxe]

Spray adhesive on a balsa frame. Had to lift it just right to break surface tension. Then cures on the frame in a rack in a box away from dust for a while. That was for thinned nitrate dope on water though.

[@OldJoe212]

@@AdamantineAxe interesting. Thanks for the info.

[@adamozmin8970]

Even if the best rubber was made in may 1999 would it not deteriorate over time?

[@rubiks6]

Wow! Random KZbin suggestions can be really cool.

[@bart_e_national]

I had a Ikara Bulldog that was amazing to watch, that was the lightest plane I had, My other more scale models were not as amazing to watch. love to watch these things. they float

[@finneylane4235]

Many years ago my dad went to a "penny plane" competition, where the maximum weight was 3 grams, the weight of a penny. The film you see wrapping the wings was so fragile in those days, if the plane approached you, you had to stand still and let it hit you, because the air turbulence you'd create by moving away would be more damaging.

[@SilntObsvr]

For Penny Plane, that 3 gram weight (when I flew these, it was 3.1, the weight of a US penny before they switched to zinc) was a *minimum* -- that is, the model had to weigh at least that much. Like pretty much all competition classes, what started as a "beginner's" class (with the minimum weight and maximum wingspan) quickly got "competition inflated" to the point where there had to be a "Novice Penny Plane" with even more restrictions. Then there was P-24, with a plastic propeller and maximum span, and last I heard, P-24 airplanes were flying close to five minutes under a high ceiling...

[@christianlesniak]

This is my favorite Christopher Guest movie

[@c-hak7697]

FANTASTIC, I had no idea this existed!

[@TheGrenadier97]

Very cool when people dedicate themselves to an unique and interesting hobby.

[@beakittelscherz5419]

I will always remember the movie "Birdy" bc That was the first time I had seen this flight Machines...

[@izarshochibul1409]

Very beautiful when flying 😁

[@bryantprak7129]

I didn't know i needed this

[@lazarpetrakiev9380]

How do these counterreact engine torque? How doesn't the fuselage spin around the opposite direction of the propeller

[@gabrielmorales9752]

I truly admire F1D being a radio control hobbyist myself.....with that said, this looks incredibly tense, and stressful, lol

[@alanhelton]

It’s amazing to watch the wing counteract the P factor.

[@whiskeymonk4085]

But that *N* factor though. There's like... no buhlack people there!

[@ats-3693]

@marko don't worry that happens when we get a bit older

[@whiskeymonk4085]

@bacorable Praise the Lord!

[@Youtubeuser1aa]

Pp

[@BladeShowMan]

Let me tell you about the rubbers in may 99… it was like there was NOTHIN AT ALL!

[@weeverob]

how do they make their props spin so slowly

[@TucsonDude]

I wondered that, too. Probably the rubber band is low tension and the propeller has a lot of drag.

[@brettbuck7362]

The propellors are very large, with lots of pitch, and the cross-section of the rubber is pretty small. The real trick it to make the airplane light enough to fly with a propellor that slow.

[@Theoryofcatsndogs]

this is a bloody sport. Also, who win?

[@salavatshaymardanov]

torn jeans, broken noses, a good black eye are an inseparable attribute of this sport. in the end, only the one who owns the Colt Peacemaker to perfection will remain

[@gentryhansen9020]

I know that I've become old when this looks like my kind of sport

[@talospd]

They’re amazing

[@youknoweverything7643]

Half an hour flight is insane. I have a lot of that 1999 rubber my dad saved it from when he did free flight competitions while he was in the airforce and competed and was part of the RC and free flight clubs on the airforce base he was stationed at before moving to cannada. I'm 32 and just started building these working on my first one and working at getting one to fly for more then 2 minutes right now long ways to go to achieve a half hour damn pleas tutorial on how to build a 30 minute free flight planes like these

[@PoutinePete]

Okay, now suddenly I'm into this hobby.

[@goatsinker347]

Dang! Finally an interesting subject, and it's less than a minute and a half long😞

[@ThisIsSolution]

I'm rubbing my hands over here knowing I bought a bag of rubber bands in May 1999

[@hfl_]

idk why this is so fking funny to me 😭😭😭

[@onewhostudies6856]

Can someone tell me what this is about? I fell asleep in the first 3 seconds..

[@jim5148]

Rubber from 1999 is still good?

[@simunator]

if my parents knew about the best rubber of 1999 i def wouldn't be here

[@nikoappsmuggred7220]

1:05 Where'd the cow come from.

[@nikoappsmuggred7220]

@dan phillpotts what did you just type

[@MONSTERMAXX5]

😂😂

[@bradleyvantassal8328]

Why was this recommended and how did I just watch all of it with the attention span I have?

[@BurtBartlow]

I approve of this video and hobby.

[@navdeepr8096]

Y dose the plane shake at landing the gravity n air n the earth 🌎 sperical n the land mabe be flat on top but the moisture passes through land so it has some turbulence

[@trustenbaker8766]

How do they keep the rubber band from spinning to quickly? Like in the cheap ones you get at the hobby store.

[@trustenbaker8766]

Aww, thanks for the knowledge.

[@TanmayChhatbar]

Anelasticity in part as well. It's a property of the rubber itself.

[@kingkahoonah]

You gotta get that good 1999 stuff

[@MNGLD-do2kc]

The blades are very long, which means they have a lot of angular momentum, so they spin slowly but have a lot of torque.

[@stellviahohenheim]

They smothered the planes with their pre-come

[@SanderAnderon]

wow, those flight times are incredible. Wondering if there's ever been a rubber-band driven experimental plane?

[@jbx9007]

Séria inviável, pois o avião teria baixíssima altonomia provavelmente nunca ultrapassando os 10 minutos de vôo, fora que dificilmente o avião levaria uma pessoa, ou seja isso só e realidade em brinquedos.

[@SanderAnderon]

​@@jbx9007 thanks and yes, not a likely workable concept....perhaps doable if some miracle new manmade materials are invented. Fun to dream, that's always free

[@macthesmac]

@@SanderAnderon be too heavy for the required materials. Maybe when graphene is in mass production

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

I don't know but that idea is intriguing! Bungee cords for bungee jumping are made of numerous strands of rubber and I'll bet they could be wound up quite a bit and would pack a BIG punch as far as stored energy goes. If I had the money that's something I'd look into. Maybe I can suggest this to Colin Furze here on KZbin...

[@MichaelKingsfordGray]

@@JustWasted3HoursHere Coward.

[@shadow.banned]

Why can't the same rubber be reproduced?

[@hobbystime8306]

can you show me how you make🥺🥺🥺

[@uncleartax]

If i had a time machine I’d be a rubber band mogul today

[@danida6890]

Che materiale usano per le ali ?

[@philippeoger4133]

Je me demande ce que ces appareils hyper léger valent dans l'environnement extérieur?

[@christopherknee5756]

Imaginez les légères graines de chardon flottant dans une brise.

[@Texb007]

How they make the propeller spins so slow?

[@Bsbi8283]

프로펠러 축에 각도를 줘서 고무가 풀릴수록 각도가 완만해지고, 그 각도로 토크 제어

[@professorquack]

Love to see people passionate about something

[@maxamps45]

my dad's rubber broke in may of 1999. the year I was conceived.

[@sabushabeeb-i6i]

I need a tutorial on how to make those

[@andrewmagro7703]

i would like to know why the best rubber was from way back in the 1990's (99) as its not like its alcohol or something just perhaps made with the best sourced ingredients i suppose , still intriguing though ? !!

[@MrSunrise-]

AFAIK, the manufacturer discontinued the product due to the environmental impact of the manufacturing process.

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@MrSunrise- I'm honestly quite surprised that these guys aren't making their own rubber.

[@Im-simin1122]

마치 예술 작품 하나 인 것 같아요 😃😃😃

[@muhammadathifkt1576]

Name of that rubber band plsssss

[@muhammadathifkt1576]

I search every where i cant get it

[@jakepF1D]

@@muhammadathifkt1576 The only currently available rubber is called Tan Super Sport. It's made by FAI Model Supply. The rubber being used by most people in the video was made more than 20 years ago, and it's not possible to acquire any more.

[@andysmith1996]

@@jakepF1D What sets the May 1999 rubber apart and why can't it be replicated today?

[@jakepF1D]

@@andysmith1996 May 99 has a better torque curve for indoor models than modern rubber. Almost all rubber sold today goes to outdoor flyers that want a high peak torque for a fast climb. For indoor we want a lower peak, and more sustained torque in the middle of the curve. My understanding is at least one of the chemicals used in 1999 is no longer available, and even if it was I'm not sure FAI Model Supply would make a batch because it would be less desirable to the majority of their customers.

[@mandarmalabandkar6064]

What is the measure of wings

[@jakepF1D]

55cm maximum wingspan.

[@queenannesrevenge3770]

This looks cooler than most RC planes and would last just about the same before it broke lol.

[@Gusst210]

Quelle belle catégorie de l'aéromodélisme. Des gens qui sont de vrais constructeurs des modèles En France dans les années 80 90... 'ous avions des très bons spécialistes. Père et fils Frugoli de Marseille les belles et grandes années de l'aéromodélisme....le VRAI Bravo a tous ces Virtuose du gramme

[@raywelcome4197]

Where can I find full flights

[@SpaceMissile]

A guy at my work completed in a national championship for this

[@janpetruscak7914]

How thick is the wing cover in microns?

[@olsmokey]

Not many.

[@paolorathelpusterla5520]

How much do they weigh

[@Bsbi8283]

1.5g

[@hilyardholler7326]

Love that West Baden dome hotel !!

[@williamwiese9963]

Is there a website I can see these on? These are great

[@shmuck66]

i hear there is a website called youtube. the have videos of everything including f1d indoor model airplanes flying!

[@williamwiese9963]

@@shmuck66 see these as in for sale as kits.

[@AClownsWorld]

i was ready for a 30 minute vid

[@phrixos2826]

arent they beautiful in thier simplicity?

[@allanegleston4931]

in my book the skin is made out of microfilm, what is used instead of microfilm as it isnt available anymore> thanks

[@PhilipSiddall]

Very thin mylar film.

[@athriaxo]

Where is the rest of the video? :/

[@chrisbustos1431]

Rubberbands made in 1999 was the best kind for this? It's like finding vintage wine? But rubber isn't like wine? Rubber degrades over time. Can anyone explain this to me, please?

[@cchavezjr7]

I'm wondering the same thing.

[@Umbra_Nocturnus]

Yeah, that's what I was wondering, too. Figured twenty-something year old rubber-bands would be dry and brittle by now.

[@adsonumbelino7160]

I would like to learn to make this model airplane

[@texasrox2010]

Air resistance, I think

[@mikenichols619]

This is amazing.

[@rsuriyop]

Why is it that all of their designs look almost exactly the same as each other?

[@rariehlani1344]

Each round is 30 minute. Damn

[@Octopusbeak]

coming from slingshot background, nothing comes close to the efficiency of pure latex rubber for slingshot bands, or we'd use it. Pure latex rubber deteriorates fast, noticeable in months. Theraband is treated to store longer than a few months, but it's not as efficient. I'm calling BS on the aged rubber superiority. Tell me why I'm wrong though.

[@markgallagher5908]

The claim sounds a little dubious at best unless the latex produced from the trees that year was due to a combination of an ideal growing season and maybe the solvents used being banned the following year leading to less durability in rubber produced from other solvents but as you said degradation over time would lessen the elasticity of the material, whether a silicone spray can protect the rubber from ageing is another question. It would be like a wine snob/connoisseur claiming to be able to tell the shoe size of the person who crushed the grapes from the taste of the wine. or an audiophile being able to tell from the sound of a cable whether it was cryogenically frozen during production.

[@hb4lwade1]

Super cool

[@damomo13]

Lol we did this in Middle School and High School. I could have made the top 10 🤣

[@nicki8731]

I never knew Chris Griffin had this hobby!

[@SilntObsvr]

The good ones in this class weigh just over a gram. They'll be destroyed by a sneeze, can be steered by the updraft from a warm human body, and the world record is more like an HOUR than a half hour (that was in a salt mine, much higher ceiling than West Baden).

[@НиколайГрибов-щ2ш]

В 72 году модель НИКУ БЕЗМАНА. ..ВЕСИЛА. 1.О40.ГРАММА.....ЖУРНАЛ МК .73 Г...

[@jacobshaw808]

Best rubber made in 1999? Bro, I doubt those condoms are still any good.

[@JoshWitte]

"So, how do you feel about your chances?" Me: 1:06

[@j100j]

Air seems so viscous.

[@isabelsark5619]

awesome stuff dude 💪

[@kevinleite6309]

So smooth!

[@sixbeesix]

I want in.

[@YourselfAndEye]

How often does West Baden host these events?

[@paulhammons7077]

Awesome

[@neelrathod9471]

How you make this f1d plane

[@farklefuster6876]

Neel Rathod In the old days the lightest balsa was chosen, stripped into structural members and glued together with the minimal amount of Ambroid cement. The covering was clear dope poured over water and the micro film was stuck to the airplane structure with saliva. It was not modeling for the impatient

[@bernardw4842]

A friend of mine tried this sport because he thought it would be relaxing. He said it wasn't! It took a lot of effort and learning, and was frustrating because the models are so fragile. Notice they bring them to the competition in strong cases and handle them very carefully. They break all the time, sometimes you see them collapse when they install the rubber motor. There is a class where the maximum weight is 1 gram and having them collapse is just part of it.

[@wdtaut5650]

@@farklefuster6876 Just to clarify for newcomers: Clear dope is a kind of colorless lacquer. A very small amount is poured on to a tub of still water. When dry(?), it is _very_ carefully lifted from the water and placed on the wing structure. It is also put on the other parts, including the propellor. The covering for these aircraft is, literally, a coat of paint. It is called microfilm, but it has nothing to do with old-time spy photography. These days, F1D builders use very thin plastic instead of microfilm.

[@farklefuster6876]

@@wdtaut5650 Yep, the film is lifted from the surface of the water with a frame and stuck to the airframe with saliva as the adhesive.

[@Alticroo]

I used to build these, I wish I could get 30 min flight time xD

[@ianniculescu1625]

when they said half an hour my jaw dropped