Rubber Powered Fleet Biplane Water Takeoff

Labor Day weekend 2022, at the lake in Western MA, USA
I've been flying this rubber powered Fleet Model 2 biplane for about a year now, but it's never managed a clean takeoff and landing on the water.
Until this past weekend.
This short video presents the key specifications of the model as well as the changes made for this flying session. Four successive ROLO flights (Rise Off Land On Water) were made and one is included in this video.
Plan for the model is available at www.thegeebee.com/fleet

[@vonJaerschky]

Asa 40 year veteran of flying R/C, the ability of you free flighters to trim your models like this never ceases to amaze me! What a beautiful flight.

[@tomnallen2]

thanks

[@alejandromascitti541]

Best fly ever!!!

[@GlideLA]

Fantastic flight and I especially enjoyed the seamlessly smooth landing.

[@CarterEide]

how in the heck is this one of the best balsa plane videos i've ever seen? amazing model, amazing flight

[@dutchloveRC]

that was a SWEET flight friend!!

[@Watchingthevideos99]

Woo Hoo. Wow, that looks great Tom! Fleet Float Flying on Rails.

[@toddfleury7324]

Something very special about this.

[@Darkmouse20001]

Very beautiful, both the models and the flight.

[@leonardwilliams8109]

Gorgeous landing! Just a beautiful flyer!

[@bertreb1]

Pretty dang cool,dude 🤩

[@terryboehler5752]

Oh gosh! Lovely. My dad recovered/restored a Fleet model 1 w a model two vertical or rudder, I've forgotten which in 1947. Warner powered. In February, the lakes were frozen solid. It was a severe winter. My dad and his friend, Roger Burch, went to the wonder bread factory and loaded up with bread. They stuck Roger in the front cockpit and surrounded him with bread. Then they flew over the lake and bombed it with bread. He said you could see the ducks converging on the bread. February open cockpit can only be imagined. Side note: my dad said he made the hardest landing ever when he flared and the stick did not make it fully aft. Squashed bread loaf was the culprit. I was born in the '50's. I know what freedom feels like. We're not there!!!

[@ludwigsamereier8204]

This flight is wonderful.

[@dodgebob1]

What a great flight and landing....

[@markod1977]

Simply beautiful!

[@andrewfarrow4699]

Proper aeromodelling. Fliers of fancy RC models and the like will always take their hats off to good free flight scale modelers.

[@SteveBull-tg8mi]

Perfect flight trim!

[@snamhadoir72]

Absolutely magical.

[@knowyourjoe8826]

I really enjoyed that flight. NOT complaining with what I am about to comment. It would have been cool to see the complete/full release. I get it hard use 2 hands to manage the airplane and hold the camera with a third... lol.. Like I said. NOT complaining. I appreciate you capturing and posting this for other to see. Well done and thank you.

[@eugenelayton5231]

Well done. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[@fndiaircraft29]

Wow its perfect sir!.. This plane take-off and landing in the water.. WOW👍😃😃

[@engleharddinglefester4285]

Amazing flyer!

[@pachanauta7083]

gorgeous

[@tomnallen2]

happy that you see this julio. be well sir

[@p38arover22]

Absolutely lovely. I couldn't have flown that well back in the days when I flew R/C planes! I had to look where you were from when I saw both Canadian and Australian registrations on the planes (I'm Australian).

[@jetporter]

BLOODY BRILIANT

[@TheophilusPWildbeest]

Very impressive, well done.

[@peterasp1968]

Your aircraft had good endurance and very good landing "skills' .

[@jeanmarc5303]

just discovering free flight . did not know it still existed . congrats on your work !

[@MrYeshwanthln]

Masterpiece ! Smooth flyer

[@stiletto10826]

Beautifully built and perfectly trimmed--------you sir are a master!

[@maxfliart]

Terrific, T!

[@truenaturestormers2525]

Wow never saw that before, so amazing.

[@mjd4174]

Brilliant! That's how you do that.

[@stukadave]

Amazing and wonderful!!!

[@joebravo5459]

Delicious wow that's so awesome 👍👍 thank you for sharing 💪💪💪💪

[@williamrobinson7435]

Wonderful! This one didn't seem encumbered at all by the floats. Smooth and elegant flight and landing. Lovely! 🌟🌟👍

[@mattnsim]

Super cool

[@RC-Flight]

Fabulous aircraft and flight! thanks for taking the time to make this video

[@Holliethedog]

Beautiful! Thanks for posting this!

[@ur_pilot_4_2day82]

beautiful model!

[@downwindchecklist6567]

Really impressive, I struggle to get anything to stay in the air more than a couple of seconds and you get a water take-off and perfect water landing!

[@MouseSquadron]

Beautifully flight.

[@Humble_Electronic_Musician]

Awesome. It flies so well!

[@mikelowe9906]

Amazing!!

[@tonywright8294]

Superb

[@trondaustad8617]

That mr. Was a realy nice plane and flight😊

[@mikemarkowski7609]

Beautiful!

[@vancegilbert1958]

Awesome. Gee it’s quiet there!!

[@tomnallen2]

ha. yes, it sure is

[@mikestubbs8733]

Just Fantastic.! You sir, are one of the best.!Beautiful flight, could not be bettered.

[@pietroseven8228]

Prekrásne!

[@loyaltarbet3379]

Absolutely magnificent! What utter sensitivity you must be applying to your CG, and fixed control surfaces! I fly RC, and as well off-the-water, in the same approximate scale, with floats, and I have posted one of my only successful water T/O, and landings, here on KZbin.. it’s tricky, takes a whole lot of finesse, but then for the unmanned craft to do elegantly do so autonomously? Wow-man! Brilliant!! Cheers, Cpt. Loyal Tarbet

[@tomnallen2]

Thanks LT! I too have flown small RC off the water and as you say, it's tricky. In some ways, the lighter wing loading, lower power and resulting slower flying speed of free flight makes it easier. Close attention to CG is critical with FF on the water. The CG must be forward if anything. Chuckled at your unmanned and autonomous words - except for the mylar covering and sheet foam floats, the technology here is as old as aviation/model aviation itself. Thermals, Tom2

[@rostislavpolednik2027]

Excellent!!!

[@scottmorse1798]

row two full circles and smooth decent pontoon landing. WELL DONE!

[@Yosemite-George-61]

Epic! I didn't know it was possible!!

[@planejanemodeling]

that is lovely....awesome landing.

[@donaldvincent]

Wow! Just wow...

[@martygoldman9217]

quite gratifying !... impressed it launched & landed in free flight fashion !!!... great job !!!

[@fowrunnah]

Jawdropping this one😮

[@normanfawley7379]

Bloody good !

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

Exquisite almost surreal silent flight to a perfect landing. Well done.

[@615thAeroSquadron]

just fantastic!

[@christopherpoucher483]

That was amazing!

[@michaelhemmingsen4430]

Perfection!

[@profProsky]

Nothing is too wonderful to be true -M. Faraday. This is on my bucket list to see in person if not try myself... maybe a second attempt at a "phantom splash", my 1st atempt was more like a "phantom flush"! Thanks sooo much for this vid.

[@lw4268]

BRAVO!

[@pcj3405]

Holy cow that was cool!

[@sblack48]

Quite amazing that no additional vertical fin area was required.

[@tomnallen2]

good point. the real one apparently didn't need a sub-rudder, but this model does use a larger-than-scale prop. The sub fin on the free flight Puss Moth and Ford 8ATS floatplanes is mostly there to hold the tail float. Not sure how much it adds to stability.

[@michelemarchese259]

Very beautiful model! Many compliments!

[@pdel303]

Masterful

[@barefoofDr]

Too Cool, Thanks.

[@robertreynolds9607]

Incredible! What a great job you did building it to fly that way! Way cool!

[@chrismofer]

that was pretty amazing!

[@motoflyte]

wow

[@douglaswilson1005]

Beautiful! Well done!

[@monostripezebras]

lovely!

[@CliffHarveyRCPlanes]

Very nice Tom, it's great to watch a master at play 🙂👍

[@bobmillerick300]

Outstanding Sir. Very nice job. Looks like good fishing as well. 😎

[@lewistaylor1965]

Wow...That's like an RC aircraft...Amazed how long it flew

[@fettlerjohn3419]

Wow 👌🏼 👏🏼

[@Wingwarper]

This is surreal! I can only wish a flight that great on terra firma! (still wishing) Well done TN2!!👍🏻

[@1chesli]

Он прекрасен!)

[@frankmmiii]

That was @#$%

[@raymondo162]

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo yeeeaaahh

[@gokhaleprakash7537]

Looks as if you fitted r/c in the rubber powered model!

[@radekj]

freeflight is ballsy defined. Freeflight from/above water is just..

[@stevemutch1595]

How do you get it back ? 😄

[@navelriver]

You sure that wasn't rc plane?

[@spitfire4231]

Poétique...😊

[@tomewing4645]

Always interested in free flight rubber powered planes. When I changed over to RC in days of reeds I was one up on trimming and it helped incredibly.AMA8855

[@2LV2]

Absolutely stunning!