Free Flight Search Engine and Free Flight Directory your ticket to Free Flight on the WWW!

The purpose of this page is to share my journey through the World of Free Flight Model Airplanes.

Hello, I'm Greg Lane. This page (formerly Free Flight Modeling Workshop) has been up for about three years and it needs some updating and a new name. Here is a fresh perspective on the directions Free Flight has taken us in Panama City.

Workshops at Coastal Systems Station

In 1988, I showed the 1997 Indoor Championships Video purchased from Hannan's Runway to a group of co-workers at Coastal Systems Station. Believe me, this video gets oohs and ahhs from any group. Several of these co-workers were game to build Free Flight Models and we have had lunch-time workshops and have flown the base gymnasium.

Three years later the workshops are not as intense, but still continue. In summary, we had the most participation building Lew Gitlow's Yardbird. Dick Baxter's Starved Pussy Cat was a follow-on project. We had plans for doing Al Lidberg's No-Cals and Penni helicopters from Peck polymers, but they "stalled". The most intense effort was on the Frontroom Flyable's Flutterby. This workshop one completed Flutterby at this point and a successful flying session. The current workshop is Al Lidberg's NJAPF P-30.

Emily's Science Projects at St. John Catholic School in Panama City

Another type of workshop has been my daughter Emily's three years of science projects, six, seventh and eighth grade. The first year was a comparison of flat verses cambered airfoil using the Peck ROG. Dick Baxter was a big help on that one. Emily did the project with her friend Christin. The second project was a study on the effect of thermals on model airplane flight. The model was a Stringless Wonder from Peck polymers. The thermals were detected using a mylar streamer and a thermal sniffer indoor/outdoor thermometer. The third years project was another comparison of airfoils. One flat and two cambered. A computer program, NACAGEN was used to plot out a 7200 and 7500 NACA airfoils. The three airfoils were tested on three models based on the Double Whammy plan from Model Aviation magazine. The last two projects won "Best of Show" at her school and all three projects went on to the Three Rivers Regional Science Fair.

Delta Dart Class at St. John Catholic School in Panama City

A very rewarding experience for all involved was a Delta Dart Class with Emily's Eighth Grade Class. The Midwest Class Pack of Delta Darts were used for about 28 students. An introduction was given on how models influence aviation going back to Penaud's rubber power models right up to the Rubber Bandit and the Micro-UAV's. We had the Flutterby Ornithopter to gander at and an in-classroom flight of the Butterfly RTF. See more photos on webshots.com!

Free Flight Destinations on the World Wide Web

I have gained a lot of knowledge and pleasure viewing Free Flight web pages from around the world. In fact I have this passion to bookmark all the Free Flight content on the WWW. Well I'll never make it, but I have collected over 300 links at this point. Those links are are organized in two ways:

First, is the Free Flight Search Engine using backflip.com. If you wish to use the search engine just send an email with Search Engine in the subject to FFMYHOBBY@aol.com.

Second, you will find subset of the links in the Search Engine in the Free Flight Directory organized by various categories and topics.

View from the Cockpit

Some photos from Panama City and a sampling of others from around the world are available on a Free Flight Model Airplane Photo Album on webshots.com. I'll post your photos if you like. Send them to FMYHOBBY@aol.com

Free Flight at Pensacola Florida

Another Free Flight direction is the Pensacola Free Flight Team's activities, just a few hours west of Panama City. I have observed several contests at Spenser Field near Milton, Florida, one site used by the PFFT. I have been extended a warm welcome from Jack Bolton and Paul Grabski and the other members of the PFFT. Just might get my P30 over there.

While not a contest flyer yet, the Free Flight journey has been great and has enhanced my life and quite a few others here in Panama City.

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This page has been referenced times since 7/1/00.

This Free Flight Web Ring site is owned by Greg Lane. Want to join the Free Flight Web Ring?
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