Best ever small rubber powered model airplanes

These are the simplest rubber powered flying model aircraft I have.
The Sleek Streek is not original. The original Sleek Streek was a simple slot together model with beautiful red moulded plastic parts. I bought several of these in the late 60's and early 70's. They were very simple to fly as you just slid the wing back or forth on the fuselage stick until it flew properly. This version is not very authentic, but it looks something like the original.
The SPRSM#1 is from plans in Ron Williams book "Building and Flying indoor model airplanes" It is based on the AMA Dart and is very light and flys very well.

[@jimsmalleimb7709]

Damned shame that you can't buy the Sleek Streeks anymore. The Guillows ones you CAN get are insanely expensive, as I remember buying the Slkeek Streeks for about a quarter when I was a kid. (Jeez! That was *gasp!* fifty years ago!!!!)

[@barakbalestrery4138]

Funny enough Guillows bought out Comet which had already bought out North Pacific. They sold the sleek Streek, Star Flyer, Stunt Flyer with flimsy foam.wings for a minute. They completely sucked. They also sold a Skeeter with a extra small Guillows prop that says made in Argentina on the package.

[@doveboyz857]

That was fun, thanks!

[@johnonorgan]

man that is some annoying music jeez

[@MouseSquadron]

Sorry John. I love it, but I'm an idiot! Thanks for taking the time to look at the video in any case.

[@MouseSquadron]

John, I see you are quite a musician. Love the accordion. Any chance of you uploading your version of Lili Marlene? I would love to use it as music a German model airplane video

[@paulthurston2883]

I must have had dozens of Sleek Streeks as a kid in the 60's. I lost way too many to flyaways. Brings back fantastic childhood memories.

[@marka5478]

Had a lot of fun with these North Pacific brand wind-up planes. I modified a few Sleek Streeks into biplanes with sheet balsa upper wings and bamboo strips from an old roller blind. I match the dihedral in the upper wing to the lower wing by cutting about halfway through the thickness of the wood and securing the angle of the dihedral with a thick bead of cement. The joint was reinforced with pieces cut from a cloth handkerchief. Rubber was 1/8 SIG, treated with glycerine. I even made a few twin engine models as well.

[@5695q]

Skeeters and Sleek Streaks, probably went through a hundred of them plus the glider and the Guillows planes also.

[@larzhillbot1443]

Awesome Love it May i ask what is the total wing span of your sleek Streek ? i bought a couple off febay but they seem a bit smaller than yours looks in the video The second one looks like the AMA racer i have not built one yet had trouble geting my AMA cub ( delta dart ) to fly right THanks for posting what you do It really makes my day brighter to see some good ol time free flight models fly

[@MouseSquadron]

Many thanks. The sleek streak is 15" wingspan but I made it using a photocopy of a drawing on the internet. It may not be accurate. My original streaks were definitely lighter and possibly smaller, as I remember. The SPRSM#1 is very like the ama racer, but it might have less wing area. Usually, my attempts at lightweight built up wings, end with wraps everywhere, but this model escaped that far, for some unknown reason!

[@iskandartaib]

There was a time when I was building Delta Darts by the dozen. Or at least I eventually built more than a couple dozen of them in about 2-3 months. Mine were built for indoor flying - art store tissue rather than the bond paper they supply, thinner and longer motor sticks, and all the stripwood was reduced to 1/16x1/8 (it's a lot cheaper to strip wood off sheets yourself). I was getting consistent times of about 70-80 seconds, and I think I could probably improve that to over two minutes knowing what I know now (use 1/16" rubber). I was eventually printing tissue using an inkjet printer - this is why I built so many. I had two or three "Ugly Stiks", a "Cox PT-19", and a bunch of them with candy stripes and polka dots in various colors, and one with the Pink Panther's face on a black background. I still have the PDF files to print the tissue, someday I'll post them somewhere. Delta Darts were both easy and difficult to trim - most would fly right off the board, would climb to the ceiling in a 25-30 foot circle either left or right, but it was hard to get them to do exactly what you wanted them to do. I'd use a variety of trim tabs (mainly post-it notes on one wingtip or the other) and right thrust (if you're using the Cox-type nylon prop hangers you can just give them a twist before launching the model - Chinese prop hangers are ABS and will break if you bend them much). I flew a couple of these Darts outdoors once - on 3/32" rubber they would do a snap roll before climbing to some ungodly height (maybe 60 or 70 feet) before being blown off downwind. Lost both of them. If you want to mass-produce Darts - cut cardboard forms for the wing. Makes cutting and gluing the wood soooo easy. Also don't reduce the dihedral - a lot of people will look at the Dart and think there's way too much dihedral - in truth you can reduce it a little but a "flat" Dart will result in a model that refuses to climb in a turn. (There is a video online of someone trying to fly a Dart with insufficient dihedral.) The reason a Dart needs the dihedral is the huge vertical tail.

[@aeromodeller1]

13 9/16" span over dihedral. Each wing panel is 6 61/64" semispn.

[@larzhillbot1443]

i am building a SRPSM today with out the plans using that looks about right method and the AMA racer plans i do have Do you remember the balance point/CG on the mail wing ?? i am guessing about an inch forward from TE i found a used Ron Williams book so have it on order That Looks like its a Super flyer i see Volare products has a Laser cut Sleek Streek kit out now ill order one as well

[@MouseSquadron]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. My Ron Williams book is hiding somewhere, but on my SRPSM the balance point is just slightly over 1 1/2 inched ahead of the trailing edge or 3 1/2 inches back from the apex of the leading edge. The Ron Williams book is just inspirational, beautiful sketches and lots if great ideas. I treasure my copy! Thanks for the heads up on the Volare Sleek Streak kit, its looks great. I will ask my contact in the US to get one for me and bring it back next time he come s back here.

[@johnjriggsarchery2457]

Sleek Streek fan here. Beautiful plane.

[@lowercentenary]

Amazing....As a complete and utter newbie (or idiot) can someone please tell me how do I get one of these things to fly properly? At least do one left circle or something around me? They usually just fly up stall and dive and crash or just dive and crash. Never stays in the air for any length of time...I followed the directions on the can but it won't fly...its a $5 sleak streek I got from ebay.

[@MouseSquadron]

Well, if wings and tail are not twisted or warped, you should get the model to fly by adjusting the position of the wing on the stick fuselage. If it stalls, slide the wing back, and if it dives slide the wing forward. That's the basic theory. I would check for warps or twists as these can cause all sorts of problems. Good luck and don't give up!!

[@MouseSquadron]

Oh and the adjustments to the wing position should be made in very small increments. Small adjustments can have big impacts!

[@KindCreature1]

Lots of fond memories flying the 'Sleek Streek'.

[@curtismarean6963]

It's sometimes the simple planes that you have the most fun with, and they can sometimes fly really well. I've had r/c planes and heli's, and I love my gliders and rubber power planes.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Bought a few _Skeeter_ when Mom wouldn't pay for a _Sleek Streek._ What was the glider named?

[@gt1man931]

It(sleek streak/skeeter) should launch straight up and spiral all the way up to 100 feet or so, following with a fairly quick roll out to around a 20 - 25 ft diameter circle. I grew up on them and lost so many to flyaways never to be seen again. Once I figured out how to fly them I could not get enough and went through many, mainly because I could not drive and flew from places I should not have. Watching them catch an updraft and disappear over the trees from my backyard was a thrill, and at 15 cents at the time, well, I could always get another by turning in a few pop bottles.

[@landsnailproject2875]

I had one of those made it into a polydihedral wing, no wheels, balanced peck prop got over 3 mins indoors!!! :)

[@widyasutomo]

Beautifull...good job

[@DoyleBlevins]

Thank you for your comment on my video. I enjoy your work as well.

[@GrandadIsAnOldMan]

Brilliant, both stayed in the park and still made a good time 😁👍

[@MouseSquadron]

Thete was no wind at all on that day. Just very cold and very wet grass. I have lost a couple of models in the trees if I fly when its windy. The park is actually an old disused GAA football pitch which are slightly bigger than a soccer pitch. But when it's all that's available, it's to do. Ihave some bigger rubber powered models but I will need to fit RC like the domoremath guy in America, if I an going to fly them there!

[@GrandadIsAnOldMan]

@@MouseSquadron domoremath builds beautiful models and that Devils Kitchen park he flies in is such an unlikely spot. I can't imagine even thinking of building a model plane when you live in a big city like that 😁👍

[@Louis-lu5wh]

@@GrandadIsAnOldMan well hello I love your channel! Keep up the good work 👍

[@GrandadIsAnOldMan]

@@Louis-lu5wh thank you 😊

[@Louis-lu5wh]

@@GrandadIsAnOldMan no problem 😃

[@timokuusela5794]

Here in Finland every flying model kid in the Sixties and Seventies must have had the Sleek Streek and Quillows models , they were sold everywhere. Carefully pressing the parts together trying not tho split them, and the pressing of the wings to the plastic center piece was frightening... I have sort of memory of pre-bent whole wing through the fuselage, and also the plastic terrifying center piece, but as there were several different kits resembling each other... Finland is often called "The 51:st State of The USA", as we are possibly the most "American" country of the Europe. Or , when I was kid in the Seventies, I had skateboard, I still have it, (my son is now second generation skateboarder...) , we had rich hot rod culture even back then, I had several COX models, and I have had cars like Plymouth Valiant (my first) , Ford LTD -67 with 428, Blazer -79 I still own, Chrysler Newport -78 , Jeep GC, now Hummer H3, etc... Practically everybody can speak English. You got a NATO ally that is like you. Possibly more American than your Democrats, as it seems looking from here...

[@UguysRnuts]

After being a devoted fan of Formula 1 car racing for decades, I completely lost interest when Kimi Räikkönen retired and Hamilton went woke. Haven't watched a single race since. You're behind the times. My first skateboard had steel wheels. The second's were of clay and only the last couple used urethane. I sold my baby blue, 2 dr, Landau roofed, Newport and yellow Jeep YJ last century and haven't seen any point in NATO for quite some time.

[@UguysRnuts]

I still have a Sky Streek hanging in my den.

[@wdtaut5650]

I could never get a Sleek Streek to fly even half decently. AMA Cubs all flew somewhat, they would thermal. I built one with light wood, tissue covered, and a much longer motor. Lightened the prop, too. Flew very well.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Try to find the _MAN_ article "Far-out Farman" from 1981. I think it uses a Streek or Skeeter prop.

[@sammoore9120]

We flew many Sleek Streaks and never had one perform as poorly as that one! We routinely got 1 minute 45 second flights. I think our record was a touch over 3 minutes but it flew out of sight so…. Who knows for sure. They cost us 50 cents in 1968 or thereabouts.

[@MouseSquadron]

I believe you!. My model is not an original, it's a balsa reproduction using heavy wood and a guillows propellor. The original kits had a superb plastic propellor and really good quality wood. How I wish I still had an original one!

[@MORCOPOLO0817]

North pacific made the best light weight wheels for rubber powered models. I don't think they can be found anywhere now.

[@MouseSquadron]

Agreed, their props were pretty good as well

[@ianashton886]

Am 67 and seeing the Sleek Streek bought back many happy memories of when I was a kid. The biggest issue I had with them was where you slide the sheet balsa wing into the plastic holder on the fuselage. The balsa would get crushed so I’d keep cutting a sliver off until the wings got too short. In the end I just purchased sheet balsa and made my own wings. Happy days !

[@MouseSquadron]

Yup, I remember that problem as well. Unfortunately the nearest shop selling balsa was about 120 miles away. Too far for my bike!

[@ianashton886]

@@MouseSquadron That’s a hell of a bike ride for a sheet of balsa :-) Was lucky in that respect, I had one a few minutes walk from home. It was a good one too, full of Kiel Kraft kits and other aero modelling stuff. We had a big model flying club locally with a lot of members too so I was pretty lucky.

[@MouseSquadron]

@@ianashton886 I remember buying a couple of comet rubber powered models from a toy shop. I managed to Water shrink the tissue butI had no dope to finish them. Two test flights resulted in 2 broken propellors. Took me about 10 years and lots of Aeromodeller mags before I got a 'proper' rubber powered model to fly at all. But those sleet streaks always flew real well!

[@ianashton886]

@@MouseSquadron Don’t think we had the comet here in U.K. I mostly had cheap rubber powered Keil Kraft kits that came with a plastic prop and wheels. Had limited tools and even more limited skills but I slowly improved and some of them flew quite well. Life was a lot simpler back in those days !

[@MouseSquadron]

@@ianashton886 I think I still have Kiel Kraft Bonanza kit in the attic. Red plastic wheels and a small black plastic prop. Rubber is long gone. Maybe it's a Veron kit, I tried a few of them over the years. The only one I got to fly was a piper family cruiser with a co2 motor. Never got any of the rest to fly with rubber power. I think the balance point was probably wrong in most cases.

[@tomcoryell]

There was a gentleman who came up with simple modifications for the Sleek Streek in the mid Seventies that hugely increased the flight duration. I modified one and have to say it is one of my fondest memories of air modeling. It flew well and long. It took about an hour or so and about double the length of rubber to modify the plane. A larger prop and a glass bead for a thrust bearing were involved as well.

[@MouseSquadron]

Yes, I think i saw the article at some stage recently on line. I wish I had seen it years ago when I could still buy the kits. The only original item I still have is a red wing clip and some red wheels.!

[@nitika_pawar]

Wow well done so beautiful ❤️

[@jeulkroipa6845]

Pretty good!!! I'm curious to know where you are located, it looks like somewhere in France but... Congrats for the way you reproduced the sleek Streek!

[@MouseSquadron]

Many thanks, I only wish I lived in France! I live in wet, rainy and cold Ireland!

[@jeulkroipa6845]

@@MouseSquadron Regarding to the situation in France at the moment, I'm not sure it's the place to be. France just became the shadow of itself.

[@MouseSquadron]

@@jeulkroipa6845 True, there is that to consider. We have been in severe lockdown since January and the weather is so bad , I can't even get to the local park to fly. Still, could be worse. Hope you are safe and well.

[@sonex413]

Good fun! That last flight was a beaut! The North Pacific repro is a real nostalgia trip too! Those NP planes were always the best flyers, they blew away the Guillow's stuff! I remember the "Skeeter" from NP, it was the smallest of the rubber jobs they made...came without landing gear, flew amazingly well, and I think I recall buying them for about 15 cents! Did you use original plastic extruded wing mounts on your Sleek Streak or are those reproductions too? Stay safe and we'll see you at the field!

[@MouseSquadron]

Thanks, I wish I still had an original NP model. The Sleek Streek was the only one I ever saw over here in the early 70's. Even a small toy shop in the west of Ireland (AKA the middle of nowhere!) had them then. You are right they were superb flyers. My repo has no original parts. I glued the wing in place as I didn't have the extruded wing mounts, pity as they were great trimming aid. The prop is a butchered gullows one. The wheels may be original, I couldn't be sure about that.

[@sonex413]

@@MouseSquadron Thanks for the reply! I have a friend with a 3D printer and I was thinking about having him make me a few. Watching your video has rekindled the idea in my mind.

[@iskandartaib]

@@MouseSquadron If you want to build models with sliding adjustable wing mounts, check out the way I did it on my Chinese foam-winged stick models. In essence, there's a balsa stick that can slide over the motor stick, and you hold it in place using "chipmunk" rubber bands - these are tiny rubber bands that are meant for dental braces and you can buy them online from China (or from a local othodontist, perhaps..). They come in four sizes, the "chipmunk" is the smallest size.

[@cedriclynch]

The smallest North Pacific rubber powered aircraft was called the Astro-Gnat. The Skeeter was of similar appearance but slightly larger. Neither of these had wheels. The Sleek Streek was larger again, and the Star Flyer even larger. These both had wheels. As well as the rubber powered models there were two gliders, the Strato and the Stunt-Flyer. The Stunt-Flyer had a tailplane with slight longitudinal curvature, to be fitted concave side up for stunts and convex side up for long flights. All of the models had longitudinal curvature of the wings, convex on top. This was crucial to their good performance. In the UK in the late 1960s there was a disastrous period of about a year in which the North Pacific models sold in the UK were made by the UK importer A. A. Hales instead of by North Pacific. Quality took a huge dive as left and right wings were made of different density balsa wood, propeller shafts were made of mild steel instead of spring steel, and propellers and wheels would break at weld lines formed due to the plastic dividing into two streams in the mould and not recombining properly. Soon the models were again being supplied by North Pacific themselves. There were many important details, like the density of balsa wood for particular parts, that North Pacific had a good understanding of but A. A. Hales did not. The rubber powered models had the expression "unbreakable plastic propeller" and also "Flys (sic) 1/10 mile" (Sleek Streek) and "Flys 1/8 mile" (Star Flyer) printed on the packet. After the passage of the Trade Descriptions Act in the UK, these claims were covered up with stickers. The propellers would break if trodden on but they would not break as a result of the model flying into any obstacle.

[@sambaker1212]

The music is beautiful xxxwho is it please xxxxx

[@tonywright8294]

No it isn’t it’s just a boring arpeggio.

[@sambaker1212]

@@tonywright8294 ..errrr ok

[@MouseSquadron]

Well its hard to please everyone! Its by a composer called borrtex ( www.borrtex.com) who provides a lot of copyright free music on line.

[@KSindhu--nc6gy]

Please reply

[@ruthmoreton6975]

I had a Sleek Streak in the late 70s. I was young and I broke it. I'd love to have one now. You know what? I'm perfectly capable of making my own approximation. Also when you say the Sleek Streak is heavy is that your model compared to the original or that the design in general is heavy?

[@MouseSquadron]

I think I used balsa Wood that was too hard and heavy. I seem to remember the original kits hahd very thin light wood for the wings and tail. I always broke mine and being young and not very bright, I couldn't fix them.

[@ruthmoreton6975]

@@MouseSquadron I've got a selection from a "bargain bundle" that I bought a few years ago. The flat pieces in that are soft and the timber like pieces are a mix of hard and soft. I think I have some that will work. I have large rubber bands of flat rubber that are used by the mailman to hold bundles of mail. My only issue is a prop and how to decide what size to use.

[@MouseSquadron]

@@ruthmoreton6975 I used a 6" Guillows prop and trimmed it down to 5.5". I got the measurements for the plane from a Google search. It's about 15" wingspan.

[@MouseSquadron]

@@ruthmoreton6975 I would use the harder wood for the fuselage. It needs to be about 3/16 deep so you may have to laminate it. The softer wood would be good for the wings and tail

[@michaelwhinnery164]

Looks wonderful. I think the 2nd model might preform better with about half of the current propeller size. Well done man. Seeing that first model take flight was nostalgic.

[@musicairplanes4884]

When I was a boy these were 15 cents without the wheels and 25 cents with the wheels. Can't even tell you how many I went through.

[@KSindhu--nc6gy]

Please say how to do second plane which u made in triangle shape wings and tell with measurements

[@MouseSquadron]

Do you want a copy of the plan?

[@KSindhu--nc6gy]

@@MouseSquadron s

[@KSindhu--nc6gy]

How to do second plane totally information I need please

[@KSindhu--nc6gy]

@@MouseSquadron please post in cm only and what materials required

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

Had MANY North Pacific gliders and planes when I was child. My suggestion is trim out for wider circles and you'll get much longer flight times. Did you strengthen the balsa propeller? It seems to handle being pulled on in the stooge without breaking.

[@MouseSquadron]

Agreed, I need to trim out the Sleek Streak much better. It feels very heavy. The wood I used was regular model shop quality and much heavier than in the sleek streaks kits I got as a kid. The Balsa prop is actually a hard 6mm balsa hub with thin balsa blades. Not sure how long it will last in the rudimentary stooge that I use!

[@iskandartaib]

The original North Pacific models had wood that was thinner than you'd find at the hobby store - it was maybe 0.6 or 0.7mm - the thinnest balsa I've seen in a store was 0.8mm (1/32 inch). I don't recall it being soft/light balsa, it was medium density (maybe 8-12 lb/cu.ft.). It also had camber steamed into it. If you're serious about getting good duration you could try sanding down the wood.

[@aeromodeller1]

@@iskandartaib Sheet balsa is 0.042" = 1 mm. It was cut on a roll. like plywood, so it had a natural camber in the sheet.

[@iskandartaib]

@@aeromodeller1 I don't know if they spiral-cut the wood - balsa from Ecuador is usually exported as rectangular billets rather than logs. A web site that I can't find anymore confirms that they were sliced, and it was done after soaking the wood. They then dried the sliced sheets in some sort of heated drier plate that locked in the curve. And then the balsa was printed and die-cut. I remember you had to separate the wing panels from the rest of the sheet. I don't recall if the tail parts were on the same sheet (might have varied between the different models). I wish I could get the props - they were really thin plastic and lighter than the SIG item. I remember getting ten of the 7 inchers from someone - probably American Hobby Supplies - some years ago, and still have a few. By the way, SIG will sell you rubber props at wholesale prices, with prop hangers attached - the last time I got some I ordered 200 of the 5 inch and maybe 60 of the 7 inch. They'll also sell you the prop hangers separately (and maybe also the prop hooks) - I bought maybe 200 in the 1980s and still have most of them. I used to mount Peck props on the hangers using Peck's diamond-shaped prop hooks, but buying the props with the hangers attached is the no-mess option.

[@aeromodeller1]

@@iskandartaib You might be thinking of Jim Walker's American Junior planes, which had steam formed wings. There used to be a factory tour video which showed the process, but it doesn't play any more. Still, there is a lot of interesting stuff on the web site. www.americanjuniorclassics.com/index.html There was also a site about North Pacific which told how the logs were spiral cut, but I didn't find it.

[@iskandartaib]

The Sleek Streek had a flaw - just about every one I bought had a major wing warp that would cause it to roll. I think the problem was the wing was die-cut at an angle to the grain. There's a North Pacific web page out there somewhere, what made North Pacific models unique - and far better fliers than the other major brand - Guillows - was the very thin balsa (I'd estimate about 0.5-0.6mm) they used for the wings and tails. These were sliced off a wet balsa block - essentially flitch-cut veneer - and then the camber was steamed into the sliced sheets by drying them on a form. Then they'd silk-screen and die-cut the panels. The props they used were also a lot lighter than the Guillows ones. My favorite North Pacific model was the slightly bigger (7 inch prop) Star Flyer - these didn't have the warp problem. Around 1982 or 83 I came across a pegful of them on clearance for 50 cents each in a Target store and bought every one of them. I'd mail-order rubber from SIG, got a winder, and flew them over a summer. I could get them to climb over roof height on hand winds. When I ran out of them I'd scratch build similar designs out of 1/32" balsa sheet. I eventually got to the point where I was getting a minute out of them. I've been building stick rubber models on and off since then. The modern equivalent I've found are made in China - they come in plastic bags and have foam wings and tails - built stock, they weigh about 12-13 grams but you can reduce the weight to under 7 grams by chucking most of the plastic parts except for the prop and prop hanger. I've been able to get these to fly for 2 minutes consistently indoors (I have a couple of videos on my channel). I've got instructions on the hippocketaeronautics dot com forum - search for "Kitbashing Chinese". Buy the ones with the 5 inch props, the ones with the 7 inch props have a flaw with the props and don't fly unless you repitch the props. You can get them on AliExpress for under $2 apiece and often a lot less. My philosophy (I'm a control line combat pilot) is, if you're going to fly these things, you're going to lose a lot of them to trees and roofs, so something cheap and quick to build is exactly what you need!

[@iskandartaib]

Let's see if it'll allow me to post a link to the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/faeyqIZ8rp5omNE

[@jrsforest187]

I get around that by soaking the wings and rubber banding them to a board I shaped like an airfoil. It is not a flaw whatsoever. The grain is correct and it's reasonable to expect a bit of trimming to make a small plane fly.

[@iskandartaib]

@@jrsforest187 It most certainly was a flaw. The Star Flyer and Skeeter didn't have this flaw and on those it wasn't necessary to correct it. The grain was at an angle to the span, this and the built-in camber was the cause.

[@aeromodeller1]

These planes roll left from motor torque. To fix that, use a bit of right rudder and right thrust, fly right-right. Also, the motor is too strong for the plane. Use the same weight, but longer and thinner. For example, the 9" loop of 1/8" on the AMA Cub / Delta Dart is replaced by a 12" loop of 3/32". You get many more turns and still enough torque to climb and cruise, without the losses caused by left sideslip.

[@aeromodeller1]

@@iskandartaib Wonderful! (video)

[@magnusericsson8684]

Sleek streak, flew it until it fell to bits 😊

[@MouseSquadron]

That's a sign of a god model!

[@robedmunds7163]

Brings back some good memories playing with those myself and then with my kids. Bit more side thrust might help.