The Baby Commercial: A Classic Free Flight Endurance Design and A Great First Model Airplane

This video details how I got into the hobby of rubber-powered free flight, as well as my experience building and flying my very first model airplane, the Baby Commercial.
The laser-cut Baby Commercial model airplane kit can be purchased here: easybuiltmodels.com/ff30.htm#...
For more information on building and flying traditional rubber-powered free flight model airplanes, please visit:
Flying Aces Club (FAC) - flyingacesclub.com/
Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) - www.antiquemodeler.org/
National Free Flight Society (NFFS) - www.freeflight.org/
EasyBuilt Models - easybuiltmodels.com
Volare Model Products - volareproducts.com/blog/
Peck Polymers/Wind-It-Up Enterprises - www.wind-it-up.com/

[@Danpstew1]

Great story. Build/Fly Today. We're not promised tomorrow. Keep up the good work !

[@2degreesright-thrust830]

You’re absolutely right! Thank you, sir.

[@darrellsellers1853]

Oh man! ❤ Have ALMOST pulled the trigger on getting this one twice. Have a feeling that the next time I dare go to that site, it ends up in my cart. Thank you for sharing this.

[@2degreesright-thrust830]

Thanks for stopping by! You can’t go wrong with this one. It’s so good natured. It’s probably the most reliable and consistent flyer I’ve built to date.

[@CrookedCreekWanderer]

A great video with a familiar story! I built FF and rockets as a young fella, then again when my youngest took an interest, now I am working on another round with the grands.

[@skipstalforce]

Same thing just happened to me. A ghost from 50 years ago appeared, a Comet Sparky kit. Never did I ever think I would ever have Sparky back but she's back better then ever! Thanks for the great vid.

[@2degreesright-thrust830]

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

[@hdvades]

Great story. I found out I live near Wawa back in '19. My friend Ian said, here use this 10gr 10 strand, 1/16" motor. We all watched my Cloud Tramp fly up and downwind, and away. That was about two years back. We all laughed.

[@2degreesright-thrust830]

Thanks! Would be great to have a flying field like that nearby. My Cloud Tramp broke in several places before I could get it trimmed. I chose wood that was too soft for the fuse stick. Have to try another one.

[@aeromodeller1]

@@2degreesright-thrust830 I started with 6# wood for the stick and it bent from motor tension, deflecting the tailplane down, plane would not climb. 8# wood is working well.

[@2degreesright-thrust830]

Thanks for the tip! Going to replace the motor stick and try again at some point.

[@aveguy451]

I’m glad I came across your video. I am just putting the finishing touches on my Baby Commercial. My last free flight model was over 20 years ago. I flew RC for many years but free flight is the most rewarding. I am all in. Question for you. I haven’t explored the motor power yet. The plans have some info but if I remember correctly it was a bit vague. What did you use for a motor after learning it was underpowered? Thanks for the video!

[@aveguy451]

If it’s not too much trouble, I would be grateful to learn what you ended up using for the motor?

[@2degreesright-thrust830]

Welcome! I’m glad you found the video as well. Yes, the motor suggested by the kit would only be adequate if your model is super lightweight. This was my first model ever, so it was probably a bit on the heavy side, but still in the average range, I think. What I ended up with was a loop of 1/8” and a loop of 3/32”, braided. This really brought the model to life.

[@stevehughes2133]

Flys great! Could you give me some information on the size of motor to start with on this model, thanks.

[@2degreesright-thrust830]

Thanks! I started with a single loop of 3/16" FAI Tan SuperSport II rubber at about 2x hook-to-peg length (about 20" long). I later stepped the rubber cross-section up to 7/32" (1 loop of 1/8" rubber combined with 1 loop of 3/32" rubber). I had also recently learned to braid motors, so I was able to increase the motor length to 3x hook-to-peg (30"). That proved to be the right recipe for my model. Hope this helps.

[@stevehughes2133]

@@2degreesright-thrust830 thanks so much !