Starting My Free‑Flight Journey

[MockwingF]

My name is Markus Fischer, I am 52 years old, and I live in Kleve in the Lower Rhine area of Germany. I am new to the free‑flight hobby and only started building free‑flight models last September, after becoming fascinated with the subject through the book Saalflug mit Leichtmodellen by Dr. Heinrich Eder.

I began with the model Lillflygarn, and my interest grew even stronger after visiting the IIFI 2025 in Nijmegen, where I was deeply impressed by the techniques on display, especially in the scale competition. Besides my already existing contact with Heinrich Eder, I also made further connections within the free‑flight community there.

Since then, I have continued my free‑flight journey with rubber‑powered models, including the TH 30 NT Quirl (also from Dr. Eder). During the winter months, our model flying club in Kleve has access to a sports hall, and in summer we fly at our club's airfield. Unfortunately, I am currently the only active free‑flight enthusiast in the club, although I also fly RC models, which I started two years ago.

At the moment, I am building my first Sainte Formule model for the IIFI 2026 — a Moskyt modified by Heinrich Eder. Progress is slow, and I am currently wrestling with the propeller and the corresponding nose block.

I have been reading the forum for several weeks and felt it was time to participate actively. I am very open to ideas, tips, and constructive criticism.

Best regards,
Markus

[MockwingF]

The photos ended up appearing twice, and this one is still missing

[TheLurker]

Welcome Markus,

Always good to have another free flight modeller and one so young too!

Cheers,
Lurk

[g_kandylakis]

Hallo Markus, willkommen!

you do not need to insert the images in the text. They appear as attachments automatically at the end of the message.

If yo insert them they appear where you inserted them and at the end as well.

And have fun looking around...

George

[OZPAF]

That's nice work Marcus. Brass tube may be a better choice for your ramp style free wheel on the prop hub.

Tom Hallman Utube site has a great series on basic FF techniques

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPP-6e_gTkI&list=PLP6c2w2UvGmeX5W-FBP4SbPbPydcHUBzG

Happy flying

John

[pb_guy]

Welcome Markus. Your building indicates a maturity in your construction.
Well done!
ian

[lincoln]

Welcome!

I think you may be a bit past just "starting".  ;-)

[MockwingF]

Hi everyone,
many thanks to all of you for the warm welcome here at HPA. I've been able to make good progress so far because I already received excellent advice from members of the community I had met before — some of whom are active here as well.

John, thanks for the tip with the brass tube. I'll give that a try. For me, designing a small ramp in CAD and 3D‑printing it seemed like the easier solution. My propeller hub has a diameter of only 3.3 mm, so space is tight.

I've already used Tom Hallman's YouTube tutorial for several parts of the build — I had been pointed to it earlier, and it has been very helpful.

Thanks again to everyone — really happy to be here.

Markus

[Spiros]

Welcome Marcus!

Really beautiful first model!

I'm sure you will enjoy many hours of building, these wondeful FF planes

[lincoln]

That's an interesting hub. What did you print it out of?  Maybe you already know this, but a 270°, rather than 90° bend at the front of the shaft may work better with the freewheel ramp. Last fall, I was messing around with one of those cheap Guillow sheet balsa models that come in a bag. Using different rubber, not quite fully wound, I got 45 seconds. I wound it some more the next time and the ramp broke a fraction of a second after release. That shaft, as I recall, had a 90° bend.

I am probably opening a can of worms here, but I like the following style of rubber hook:   http://www.flyingacesclub.com/PFFT/SPropHookJig.pdf
I haven't found it necessary to use a jig, though.

[MockwingF]

Hi Lincoln,

thanks a lot for the tip — I actually hadn't heard about the 270° front bend before. I'm very interested in how exactly it should be shaped and how it interacts with the freewheel ramp, so any clarification or photos would be great.

About the hub: I print it in ESUN PLA with a 0.2 mm nozzle. I know PETG or PLA+ would be stronger, but with the tiny details on this part I only get clean results with PLA. Maybe I also misunderstood some of the original part descriptions. Only the upper ramp is 3D‑printed — I file it smooth and glue it onto a paper tube.

The paper tube is wound on a 2.9 mm drill shank using UHU Hart thinned with acetone. Inside, in the shaft area, I add a round balsa core, and I harden the bore with thin CA.

For this model I bent a Z‑hook, like in Tom Hallman's tutorial. I can't say much about hook performance yet — I simply don't have enough experience.

Thanks again for the advice — I really appreciate it.

Best regards,
Markus

[lincoln]

There are a number of hook designs, including some I haven't tried yet, here: https://flyingacesclub.com/wp/the-fac-library/the-pfft-archives/
Your hooks will probably work fine as is.

Sounds like you took the right approach by using a papertube.

Imagine you are in a car traveling north in a big parking lot, with a spray applying paint to the road. Turn right, and hold the wheel over until you are pointing west. Or maybe just before that. Straighten the wheel and stop. You've just drawn the shape of the 270 degree bend. They call it 90° in the image I'm trying to link to.
https://www.workaci.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_half_large/public/media/image/2024/02/syphone-series.png?itok=umkJD_wI. Or https://trafficsignsandsafety.com/w1-15-270-degree-curve/?srsltid=AfmBOoqlcJK53OQacIwX2JxtwVr8IzK-dDjUFgeKsNONAXfbNErD6EYU#/ except don't leave the ends this short. A simple 90° bend puts a radius where you'd like to have a sharp angle, which may mean that the shaft doesn't slide as far back into the prop as you'd like, and it's closer to jumping over the steo in the ramp. That makes a memorable, agonized noise and ruins the step. I seem to recall hearing it when people are flying P-30s, and I heard it last year when I really wound up a Guillow Strato Streak.

[MockwingF]

Thanks a lot for your information, Lincoln. The 270° idea is great — I'll definitely implement it.

[MockwingF]

Moskyt Build Update
My Moskyt is finally finished. The all‑up weight came out to 2.903 g, which leaves me about 97 mg for trimming adjustments. The CG seems to be reasonably close, at least for the first checks on the bench.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the 270° front bend on the freewheel shaft to work properly. I wasn't able to bend it cleanly enough for the wire and the ramp to run freely together, so for now I've gone back to a simpler approach. That's definitely something I need more practice with.

Next on my list is designing a winding stooge and, even more important, building a simple transport box. Since our sports hall is only available from early October to the end of April, I'll have to figure out how to trim the model outdoors — maybe on our club's flying field during absolutely calm conditions.

My next project will be my first Peanut model: the BD‑4 by Bill Hannan. The plans are already drawn, so construction should start soon.

[MockwingF]

I've just completed my winding stooge! With a bit of luck, it should work with many different FF models and their various rear‑peg setups. Held securely to the table with a clamp.
I'm about to run the first test soon, and my transport box is still under construction but should be finished shortly.

Markus