BMFA Free Flight Scale Nats 2024

The annual BMFA Free Flight Scale Nationals at Buckminster.

The competition has a static element in which the models are judged for scale accuracy against documentary evidence. The flying part consisted of 6 rounds where the models are judged for flying realism by two judges the best scoring flight counts and the two scores added together

Models featured

I/C powered
Andrew Hewitt's 1913 Dyott monoplane
Mike Smith's DH4 Mail Plane (Class Winner)

Rubber Powered
Pete Fardell's Morane Saulnier TP
Mike Smith's RANS S7 Courier
Martin Pike's ABC Robin (Class Winner)

Unfortunately I couldn't make it this year so huge thanks to Phil Smith for filming the event

[sarahwinfield]

There is something about free-flight that other branches of model flying don't have and I have tried them all from slope-soaring to R/C gliders. Thanks for posting

[ivandenisovich]

Wonderful, but such a shame that the number of entries was so low. Is it a venue issue? Or simply that we're sadly losing many of the cohort.

[lrg]

The US Mail model flies well and predictably. Well done!

[tedsmith]

We are losing to many young people to the armchair computer players, the days of balsa bashing and getting balsa cement on your figures is long gone plus the smell of clear dope and castor oil those were the days who remember them?

[linusek]

2:07 - classic coment of free flight modellars :-) regards (still flying ff) Marcin

[peterbrown]

Does that red biplane have a timer that brings the motor back to idle rather than full cut? Neat idea if so to stop that power off plummet 😀

[TRHARTAmericanArtist]

I painted the plane in the thumbnail for an illustration. Nice to see I got the colors right. 😊

[nigbiker]

Lovely aircraft. What were the wind speeds that day?

[kevincraig]

never seen this before my grandfather had planes that were tethered seen RC but never free flight interesting

[simonfunwithtrains]

Free flight! that's why radio control was invented.

[BAGHEAD]

Must pull tight on that gurney wind that rubber 😔😔. Throw high and never forget life is the pull of rubber can’t get that warm feeling anymore. Balsa .

[halohodge]

Free flight at its finest, trimming the aircraft is all important were you learn the basic skills

[eliasblum]

I love these traditional models, but true FF is not for me. I like 'radio assisted free flight' (flying FF style models in a FF style way, but with R/C on throttle and rudder. I wouldn't have the courage to just let a model go and do its own thing without some way to bring it back and keep it out of trees. Neither would I have the skill or patience to trim a model so perfectly.

[michaelwhinnery]

Why ?
Rc equipment is very affordable and while they still crash they don't always crash.

[jimwatson]

Last two words on a cockpit voice recorder…

[ucanusta]

Birçok uçuşun başarısız olmasının sebebi seçtiğiniz gündür. Hava daha açık olsaydı, çok daha keyifli bir gün geçirebilirdiniz. Bu tür bulutlar sizi engellerken, CB türü bulutlar tam da ihtiyacınız olan şeydir.