Heart of America Free Flight Association
An Annotated Bibliography of Free Flight
Ed Wiley, HFFA
What follows is my own idiosyncratic list of books I have found useful along with some comments. Since I am neither an aeronautical engineer nor an expert free flighter with many years of experience, take my comments for what they are worth. Comments and possible additions to the list to the list will be greatly appreciated. Sad to say, many of the very best references on free flight sell out quickly on their first press run and never appear again. If you see one you like, you should buy it immediately, it may never reappear. Some of the books that appear below are still in print. Others are out of print and I have provided as complete a bibliographic reference as possible so that you can borrow then through interlibrary loan, if you can find a library that has them. I have had only fair luck in this department. Many of these books are available through Hanna's Runway and through various free flight supply dealers.
Bass, B., and M. Dilly. 1993. The Book That Flies. Building and flying model airplanes. Ebury Press, Ltd., London. 96 pp. A large-format book full of great pictures detailing modern free flight airplanes and the history of free flight aviation.. Originally included two Delta Darts and still has some of the best instructions on how to fly them. Unfortunately out of print, I bought mine on Ebay. Highly recommended.
Gitlow, L. 1993. Indoor Flying Models. Published by the Author. Best in-print guide to all aspects of indoor flying. Highly recommended.
Hall, F. 1990. Indoor Scale Model Flying. Published by the Author. Good introduction to indoor scale. Highly recommended.
Hannan, B. 1980. Peanut Power. Aviation Heritage Library Series. Best single reference on peanut models. Highly recommended.
Kaufmann, J. 1974. Flying Hand-Launched Gliders. William Morrow and Co., NY. 96pp. Without a doubt the best book on the subject I has read. I was lucky enough to pick up a used copy. Just reprinted by NFFS!
Maxwell, J. H. 1999. Balsa for Indoor Models. Published by the Author. 11 Windsor Place, Sterling, FK8 2HY, Scotland, UK. 48 pp. The very best information about balsa, its properties, the grains, testing, and etc. NOT JUST FOR INDOOR. Highly recommended and available as of June 2002 in new reprint.
Maxwell, J. H. 2001. The Secretes of Aids for Advanced Aeromodelling. Published by the Author (see above). For years, Joe Maxwell was the source of many items, quality balsa, props, ribs, wing jigs, and other itmes for both indoor and outdoor flyers. In this book he reveals his techniques for producing these wonders from what turns out to be relatively simple woodworking machine tools (no mills, CNC or otherwise). Amazing! Highly recommended!
McCombs, W. F. 1992. Making Scale Model Airplanes Fly. Aircraft Data, Dallas, TX. 84pp. Available from the author. An extremely useful book covering trimming of just about every type of model, from rubber to power. Especially useful for scale models, but also covers duration models as well. Highly recommended.
Ross, D. 1988. Rubber Powered Model Airplanes. Motorbooks International. 168 pages. Covers just about every aspects of building and flying simple rubber models. Valuable information on propellers. Highly recommended.
Ross, D. 1998. Flying Models. Rubber. CO2. Electric and Micro Radio Control. Aviation Publishers. A follow-up on the 1988 book. Valuable update on techniques and materials. Best introduction to electric and CO2 models available under one cover. The building project, "Evolution." Can be flown as a rubber-powered, electric free flight, or even a micro r/c mode. Highly recommended.
Simons, M. 1987. Model Aircraft Aerodynamics. Argus Books, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, GB. Not for the beginner, this book is serious aerodynamics. Covers all aspects of the model world. 318pp.
Smeed, Vic. 1995. The basics of Aeromodelling. Nexus Special Interests, Ltd., Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, GB. 67pp. A short but valuable little book by one of the better known British flyers. Valuable tips on building and trimming as well as a very useful glossary. The building project, Thumbelina, can be flown as a towline glider or rubber-powered free flight. Highly recommended.
Warner, B. 1991. Hey Kid! Ya Wanna Build A Model Airplane? TAB Books/McGraw-Hill. 88pp. OK, the title is too much. Based on articles appearing in the now-defunct Model Builder Magazine. Excellent for the absolute beginner, adult as well of child. Highly recommended.
Zac, F. The Model Aeronautic Yearbooks. 1934, 1935-36, 1937, 1938, 1951-52, 1953, 1955-56, 1957-58, 1959-60, 1964-65. Model Aeronautic Publications, Northridge, CA. Spanning most model history. Absolute gems and still in print. Buy them all while you can.
Zac, F. 1942. Model Glider Design. Model Aeronautic Publications, Northridge, CA. Just as timely today as in 1942, this is one of my favorite free flight books. There is a lot more than information about gliders per se in this volume. A must have.
Zac, F. Circular Airflow. . 1964. Model Aeronautic Publications, Northridge, CA. 152pp+addendum. I bought this book too early in my flying career and had a hard time understanding it. Now I find it indispensable when I run into a problem I cannot figure out. The culmination of an ongoing series of essays found in the Yearbooks. Buy it while it is still in print, but don't expect to understand all of it, I don't.
The AMA Cub or Delta Dart.
If you buy a cheap plane from the discount store you can get it to fly by modifying the wing tips to give dihedral.
The Boddenbohm "Scout" is a great catapult glider. So is the Campbell "Straight-Up"
Launching a gas-powered F1C at Lost Hills, CA
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