Massive Thermal Flights with Fiction Flyer Model Airplanes!

[@davidmiller4594]

*AMAZING FLIGHT!!* 😲 Condolences for Statonef. She was a beauty and loved worldwide. Had a great life that many models can only dream of. RIP

[@PecosNM]

So nice to see a younger person enjoying and having success in this sport. We need more people like him.

[@hxl6162]

I miss very much my freefligts this video is incredibly inspiring, and the music simply beautiful, best regards from Brazil

[@ducksandbears6900]

Again a milestone on youtube....thank you for all that wonderful viodeos. Great work !!!

[@michaelwhinnery164]

Ohhh man that was AMAZING. It sucks to loose a model you put so much into, but she went out on a high note and it's flights like this that keep you coming back the field.

[@veegeew.1141]

I loved those two comics, what triumph & a tribute to herge , hope the second will be as successful .

[@jimvliet4481]

I was there that day!! At 5:57 that's me on the right, watching 'em soar.... A great flying day, very calm

[@flymachine]

What a hobby!

[@No1BRC]

so beautiful and peaceful

[@roelantverhoeven371]

nice you guys make them look like real historic aircraft!

[@bluethundergiant7869]

Totally awesome flights you guys that's the reason we fly free flight man, I could watch these all day

[@e-rj8984]

Wow! Beautiful models and fantastic Thermal conditions 👍😊

[@johnparr5879]

Pure simple enjoyment... In a mad mad world. Thank you.

[@philparker7851]

This is just a beautiful video, and I love the music!

[@K3Flyguy]

Way cool there was a group of friends to experience that with you! One of those , " oh man, you remember when John caught that boomer an we all were sure that plane was cloud fodder" moments!

[@rtrider48]

A joy to watch. Fantastic. Thanks for sharing :)

[@martinlagrange8821]

That's a massive thermal, the sort of thing I'd use with my 3 meter r/c sailplane - especially if its floating bugs like that ! An epic set of flights, very much appreciated.

[@johnmartin4650]

Beautiful……..thank you

[@downwindchecklist6567]

A real testament to great building and flying! In a way risking loosing a model is the dream. I am still at just a few seconds of rubber powered flight, but some day maybe I'll get there.... Thx for sharing!

[@robintanner3247]

Three Thumbs Up!!! and ...Good Music. 😊

[@xzqzq]

I am envious, of you having enough open space to do free-flight, and perhaps even target shoot.

[@c150gpilot]

Wow and thank you.

[@ccm_priv]

holy crap how is that even possible!!! bravo!

[@glennreach6930]

Terrific flights. Man, I love your videos. Don't ever stop making them.

[@jeffpiatt3879]

Wonderful video! Years ago I bought a little foam electric free fligh plane from Harbor (Horror) Freight. It was yellos and white and had a little electric motor that apeared to run off of a large capacitor. Near sunset, one very warm evening in July, after a few test glides, I charged and launched it into the sky and after a 1 minute motor run it went on to fly for over 7 minutes. Was beautiful to watch, and well worth the $8 I paid for the all foam model. It got caught up in a boomer thermal like the models in your video.

[@jeffmullinix7916]

I used to do this when I was a kid . I bet I made a thousand of these planes manly from my own drawings . I would buy a box full of balsa and have it mailed to me . I had a few to fly really well and most did fly but not for long . I had some just went out of sight and lost for ever . I older I got the longer the my planes flew . I was learning the art of building and flying . The art of making good planes using different airfoils shapes . Not to specs. types but my own . Toning the airfoil in to max glide ratios to weight of the planes . Each time I went out I wrote down the flight of the plane , The weather , and times , I used this for the next set of planes I built . I did this for 6 years until I was about 14 years old . Then my life had to stop . I left home ( A run away ). It was not until I turned 36 before I got back hooked on airplanes again . All my notes was gone . All my drawings was also gone . I memory was gone on how I did all of this . Had to start over . But it did not seem the same . Something is just not right in my head . But still I wanted to get back into flying . But now I wanted what I could never afford when I was a kid . A plane that I can control . This time I got into RC airplanes .

[@NANNIRC]

I did not knew this! These models are fantastic thanks for sharing

[@damianvisser977]

Enchanting.

[@zbigniewbasiarz8108]

Just beautiful ❤

[@hanfordcreek5309]

Incredible, you guys are the best of the best!

[@bernardogrobeisenweingersz9768]

So great , beautiful planes !!!

[@wendellhughes2184]

Brilliant !!

[@rubberfly]

Amazing video. I'm amazed that there were so many turns left in the sad picture at 10:36.

[@maxfliart]

It would appear so, but that's the relaxed, braided motor.

[@W020-j9o]

Exceptional. Your videos always make my day, but this one is worth watching over and over for the camaraderie, the music, the setting and especially the flying. I've found a sod farm with a friendly owner out here in the west, and hope to get something like this started. I've built a bunch of sailplanes, powered and unpowered, but this makes me want to return to my young years flying rubber powered free flights. I once lost an .020 powered Sinbad glider when it got sucked up and landed in a corn field a mile away. Never found it, but it was still a heck of a flight. Thanks for sharing this beautiful day.

[@maxfliart]

Glad u enjoyed it, and thx for sharing a bit of ur history. Sounds similar to mine, although my first flyaway with an .020 was by the Midwest Sniffer at my uncle's farm...flying high over the nearby woods...only to spiral steeply a few hundred yards in over the trees, never to be found. Ironically, the Sinbad was one of the first models I remember seeing my dad fly. I need to build one of those again.

[@kenkingsflyingmachines2382]

Wow. Your videos keep getting better. Nice interview, just the right amount of commentary, spectacular content. I live in corn country, too, and finding the lost model after the harvest is just next-level stuff! Thank you for posting.

[@oldschool7812]

You have to rebuild it such a good story

[@harrykeel8557]

Amazing, what else can one say!

[@George.Andrews.]

All so very very lovely as usual . Thanks again for slowing my heart

[@kenmercer8040]

Geez, Tom-your storytelling gets better and better. How will you top this one? Great stuff, thanks!

[@maxfliart]

Thx, Ken. It doesn't happen if the guys aren't flying, so sometimes, we get lucky...and the story tells itself. truly incredible day.

[@franklinventurini8151]

Fantastic! And a great ethereal soundtrack.

[@NANNIRC]

Wonderful to se you all laying on the gras wit the nose up to the sky like pacific wild Earth inhabitants. Top flay

[@jeffkrete9015]

Excellent!

[@markod1977]

Incredibly relaxing

[@billsomrak]

Amazing flights!

[@Colin399]

Wow

[@budibasthian7389]

Awesome

[@slimz2258]

Absolutely, positively too much fun!!! I don't know, though, I think with just a bit of CA Dave can still fix the Stratonef! ;-)

[@TheMendipman]

What a wonderful story. What a way to spend a day. Noel

[@maxfliart]

Indeed, Noel. It was about 1/2 hour after the towline action. But what a surprise to find the model in the cut corn two months later. It was 10' high during the flight, so I was praying that somehow the model made its way to the floor after the harvester came thru. Pretty much found what I expected to see...but just spotting it in a field that was 1/3 mile square was a piece of luck for sure.

[@mikedunn7795]

Magical! That is all I can say!

[@doveboyz857]

Man! So much fun ❤️

[@rafaeltorres2886]

Amazing wonderful and heart warming.

[@stevem3akm]

What a fantastic video !!!

[@abbush2921]

Really Amazing !

[@MrAaa9271]

very nice

[@maxfaxdcmaxecuter1690]

Awesome video! What a story!

[@johnthemainguy9059]

Lovely video as usual, and some thrilling content! Sorry to see that quirky cool models demise though.

[@xpelekis]

Epic.... Losing a model after so much work must be painful though...

[@guamflyer1]

The Fiction fighters are ssoooo Cool...there was a couple I wanted turn into rc slopers..but FF is so much more easier to build..I only build with balsa ..

[@RichardTapp1]

Should have received an Acadamy Award. ❤

[@andrewnielsen3178]

I used to use a thread and weight tied to a wigtip as a dt.

[@melcrose]

AHH! So great. Lost so many whitewings to thermals. About 18 years ago AirHogs remote control planes that used differential thrust came out.. You wouldn't think those would be big floaters, but I lost 3 in one month to thermals as well.

[@johnhubbard3399]

A friend of mine about 20 years ago went to harbor fright and bought 1 of those twin fin electric free flights lost it on the first flight.

[@christophertallman2243]

I still lose most of my white wings to thermals. They are awesome flyers.

[@wendellhughes2184]

I used Airhog parts on a foamboard B36, lost it thermal

[@garydickens7567]

....that'll buff out.....

[@maxfliart]

Yeah...couple of nights and she'll be good.

[@UFO_Driver13]

Amazing!! Where i can find MiG-DIS plans? Can anybody help?

[@imbok]

I wish I could have launched one of my 2m RC sailplanes into that kind of lift. That's terrific stuff.

[@FFND16N]

That looks wonderful...I wish for as much fun near me as you guys are having.Gotta find some FAC-flyers over here in Charleston, SC.

[@stephanbre]

Good you found Stratonefs remains. I have one plane out there unfound, which makes me think about for 15 years now.. Maybe still in the skies? :-))

[@direktorpresident]

There are some tantalising designs in the Microsoft game "Crimson Skies" :-)

[@miguelsuarez8010]

No dethermalizers?

[@kardRatzinger]

It was a kestrel :)

[@artherr2843]

Where can I get plan of Smiling Jack X-13?

[@maxfliart]

I have the download link posted in the description under the film. FYI, I often post bonus links there, so always check. Have fun building her, she's a great flyer.

[@sammoore9120]

This reminds me of 8th grade about 1000000000 years ago a friend of mine had a little plastic parachute weighted with some king of plastic ball.he threw that thing up in the air and it caught a thermal and went OOS! We both flew rubber and gliders for years and neither one of us ever matched that “flight” (I’m still trying)

[@rossoporco3176]

I always enjoy your videos and the aircrafts you have built. I like to see your aircrafts way up in the sky. And it is very disappointing for me to see them lost or crashed in the deep corn field. I really would like to visit Wawayanda and watch the rubber powered planes fly high up beyonder in the sky !

[@jimbo2629]

How about fitting a tracker? BMK does one that’s very cheap. He does cheap rdt as well. Those models were well trimmed.

[@maxfliart]

Thx. Many have talked about them at the field, but few have made them routine.

[@RichardTapp1]

I guess you have answered this many times before, but what video camera are you using?

[@maxfliart]

Canon PowerShot SX20-IS. It's an older camera, but it marries well with free-flight, since the zoom and image stabilization isn't excessive. U can buy them inexpensively ob various sites. I also use iPhone 11Pro & 6s. FYI, I always post this info and other bonus info below the film. Cheers!

[@RichardTapp1]

@@maxfliart Thank you.

[@CheshireTomcat68]

There must be a micro electronic device to find these things these days?

[@YouTubeCatEngineer]

What do you do for music on your videos? Is this all royalty-free? I usually look for music credits in the video description but I don't see any. I've been hit with dozens of KZbin ContentID claims even though I purchase music 100% legal for my own videos.

[@maxfliart]

I always list the source for the music in my vids, just not the specific pieces. These are always RF music, usually from motionarray.com. The artist for the first piece is called "Flying in the Dream" by Ashot Danielyan, who is amazing. The second is "You Saved Me" by From the Moment Music. Some get flagged, but when I prove that I have a paid subscription to the music source, they clear it.

[@burtisaac1000]

Amazing 😎! How about using a tracker like an “Apple” or “Tile” device on the model airplanes? How much weight do you think will add to the flight? Just a question 🙋‍♂️. My stomach felt Ill 🤒 when I saw the after effects in the corn 🌽 field. Oh well, make another one and fly it again! Cheers 🥂!

[@richarddarlington1139]

Out here in the desert southwest, we call that a Texas hat sucker.

[@williamrobinson7435]

I suppose its a compliment if your plane gets attacked by a bird.. This meet must've been fun indeed! Sorry you lost a plane. 👍

[@MORCOPOLO0817]

The Mig is a fiction flyer?

[@maxfliart]

No. It's a scale model that was flying in another event, and was launched a minute earlier, but got caught in the same thermal...so I filmed both.

[@iancox7874]

Hawks attack our gliders all the time. They may see the plane as a competitor hunting in their territory.

[@Yosemite-George-61]

When God comes down to fly with you...

[@danemartin5288]

Amazing

[@tobiashume6040]

Not so fictionnal ....french caudron are very close....faudrait pas oublier

[@maxfliart]

Oui, beaucoup ont été inspirés par des designs classiques.

[@modelleg]

Pondering this. The loss of a model prepared so painstakingly would be a heartbreak, but somehow it works out to be a high mark in the life of a builder. There's something biblical about that, I'm not sure. Like setting something free.

[@maxfliart]

I like that.

[@Tadrjbs]

Unbelievable. Days like that you can count on one hand? Praise Jesus...Moses

[@raymondo162]

smilin jack looks very much like dan dare's brother............ honest........google it

[@HD-su9sq]

At least it was a competition flight, so you keep bragging rights. It hurts, though.

[@clintonsmith9931]

It’s all fake! I can’t even get one off the ground or air. No less have a perfect flying field. An’t such a place. Never happened, all Ai.

[@P61guy61]

Awesome

[@bunky6765]

Awesome