Some of our latest YouTube videos -- Enjoy!
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Can 3 People Steer 1 Plane with the POWER UP 4.0? ABSOLUTE CHAOS!Bruce and Brad team up with Kyle (on the PowerUp Toys channel) to try something that no body has ever done before! We put three POWERUP 4.0 modules on one three ft. airplane and attempted to control it via three pilots! Yeah, this was very much a challenge-- but did we succeed? Just watch and find out!
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Catapult Launched Gliders (Will They Piggyback?)We haven't tried anything like this before. We were curious to know if you can launch two catapult gliders at once with one mounted on the other. Our results were, well, a bit mixed. But, I see some potential in this! Check it out!
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Chasing Gliders (RC & Free Flight)Wow! What a blast! We challenged ourself to chase catapult gliders with a small RC airplane (the Sport Cub S.) It helps to have a very well trimmed glider to set a consistent expectation of flight pattern. It's fun to mix RC with Free Flight! Why not?
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CO2 Free Flight Engine (feat. Ross Clements)This may be one of the coolest little engines we have ever seen. Ross Clements is a young and talented individual who does spectacular things in the free flight world. Here, at the Jim Richmond Open, he demonstrates a RARE CO2 engine built by Bill Brown (one of many Ross' dad has collected.) This thing is sweet!
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Nighthawk Gliders at Indy 500 - 2019 (Sandpiper 12 Gliders)We're back at one of our favorite flying locations-- inside the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sure, there is a "race" going on (so I've been told) but that is only secondary in our mind. We just love to fly our gliders and the golf course inside the track provides ample amount of space to fly.
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Jim Richmond Open 2019 (feat. Joshua Finn's Hourglass III)This may be the largest indoor rubber-powered airplane you have ever seen! Josh Finn's Hourglass III is the real deal having a wingspan of around 60 inches and it only weighs 3.4 grams! Watch it fly here in the West Baden Springs Hotel lobby! You will be amazed at how long it flies! Josh has a dream to someday achieve the world record. Can he do it?
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Glider-Eating Tree (Will I get my CLG back?)Sometimes, it's just funny how gliders want to land in trees. I guess It's just in their nature to find a place to roost.
In this video, Brad realizes that Mother Nature has her way. She will certainly make it difficult sometimes for free-flight builders to simply enjoy their day. |
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Nighthawk Gliders in Chicago (Cloud Gate)I built a Sandpiper 12 in downtown Chicago. Let's just say I had some challenges with this little glider flying in the "windy city!"
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A Tornado at the AMA Headquarters (Big Balsa Glider!)We spent an afternoon with The RC Saylors and some friends at the great AMA Headquarters in Muncie, IN. Of course, we had to launch our F3 Tornado with MORE power! Oh Yeah!
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Our Highest Soaring Balsa Glider (How far will this go?)Brad and Bruce were traveling through the Appalachian Mountains and we just happened to find a perfectly beautiful location to see if we can send off some gliders on a long journey! It was amazing!
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Our Biggest Catapult Glider Ever (Tornado 36 - "F3")
Yes., we catapult launch this and yes, it flies! (Need we say more?)
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Catapult Gliders in RC Combat (Flite Fest Ohio 2018)RC airplanes filled the sky, so we just had to launch some of our catapult gliders and try to shoot them down! We're pretty sure we were the first to ever try this... It was pure chaos and was SOOOO much fun! We will be doing this again at Flite Fest 2019 for sure!
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Amazing Catapult Gliders (Flite Fest Ohio 2018)We found the best location at Flite Fest to fly our catapult gliders and the weather was perfect! Here we introduce Bruce's amazing "Tornado 12" and Brad's experimental glider is now officially named the "American Kestrel 12." Watch them both in flight here!
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Giant Guillow's RC Airplane (Flite Fest Ohio 2018)At Flite Fest, you will often see amazing planes and meet amazing people. Here, we met Karl Dahlman who made a giant replica of a classic Guillow's Sky Streak rubber powered airplane. This think was totally cool and Karl's craftsmanship was excellent!
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Nighthawk Gliders Live Combat (Flite Fest Ohio 2018)This was our first live stream, so we thought we would enter the fan-favorite event at Flite Fest-- "Combat!" Bruce had an FT Racer that could have used some fine tuning before entering this event... so, our results here were not much of a surprise!
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Air Dropping - Whipit DLG (RCS Fest 2018)At the RCS Fest we made a new friend, Ben Halsey, who graciously allowed us to mount our Whipit DLG on the bottom of his Fenix 120. This was a fun experiment to see if we can drop our DLG from a good height!
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Slope Soaring - Whipit DLG (RCS Fest 2018)The RC Saylors hosted their 2nd annual RCS Fest event at the Vinton County Airport in Ohio. We took the opportunity to try some slope soaring with our Whipit DLG gliders.
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Nighthawk Gliders at Indy 500 - 2018 (Flying Catapult Gliders)Somewhere within the famous 2 1/2 mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway we were sure to find a nice spot to launch our catapult gliders... and yes, yes we did! And so, we packed a couple of glider "kits" in our lunch boxes and assembled them there! We had a blast! (There was a race? what race?)
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F1D - Josh and Hope Finn (5/99 Fine Wine of Rubber)In West Baden, Indiana, where they compete with F1D, Brad had an opportunity to sit down and interview Josh and Hope Finn. Josh is a database of information around the sport of free flight. Here, we get an even close look at what makes F1D airplanes go! Delicate variable pitch props, OS Film, and the finest of rubber - "5/99".
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F1D - Jim Richmond Open 2018 (feat. Josh and Hope Finn)Free flight comes in many forms. F1D is something special near and dear to the hearts of Josh and Hope Finn. They build and compete with these amazing rubber powered airplanes that fly for a very, very long time... oh, and they fly so slowly as well! Truly remarkable! A must watch!
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Balsa Glider Launcher (Calculating Glide Ratio)Brad built the "Glider Launcher 1000" to see if he could calculate glide ratio! He was very surprised with the results! The slow motion launches were very cool!
He didn't expect his DIY project to work so well... Sure, it needs some improvements, but those may come someday with the updated Glider Launcher 2000! |
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Airfoil in a Wind Tunnel SimulatorWanting to design and analyze your airfoil before building your airplane wings? Check this app out!
There are some really cool apps out there and we think we found one that is nifty-neeto! It just might be the nifty-neetoest! Are you interested in Airfoil analysis? Let us know in the comments! |
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Building Joshua Finn's Aleda GlidersWe purchased two "Aleda" Balsa Catapult Glider Kits from our friends at J & H Aerospace and decided to give them a run for the money. (Actually, these gliders were pretty inexpensive).
We had a blast building and flying these fun little 8 inch gliders! Our video may not have done this glider proper justice since we ran out of daylight to show them off. But, believe us-- they fly quite well! |
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Building Another GliderCheck out this Time-lapse CLG build set to some Nighthawk Gliders' originally composed music by Brad titled "Nighthawk Jam!"
You've seen this CLG glider before and Brad is thinking of producing a tutorial series on how-to build one if anyone is interested. Just Like, Comment, and Subscribe and we'll get something in the works for you. But, we'll only do it if there is a good demand for it. |
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Catapult Glider Landing ContestBrad and Bruce compete in a landing contest. Who has built the best Balsa Glider?
We flew at the AMA in Muncie, Indiana on the Control Line Field-- Yeah, it looks like a target. In this video, you see us flying 12 inch gliders in a best of a 3 round challenge. We may have to come back to try this again since we had so much fun. |
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Nighthawk Gliders - Eclipse EditionOn August 21, 2017, Brad visits White House, Tennessee to see a Total Solar Eclipse and to fly some more gliders, of course! As it turns out, the weather during the solar eclipse was calm and perfect to fly some of his best gliders!
If you ever have an opportunity to experience totality of a solar eclipse, YOU MUST see it first-hand! It's Amazing! In 2024, there will be another Total Solar Eclipse nearby Indianapolis, Indiana. Brad and Bruce are counting the days and hoping to see you there! |
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Whipit DLG at the AMAThis little glider is so much fun to throw and fly. It's called the "Whipit" and it's a 24 inch DLG (Discus Launch Glider.) Bruce bought this glider and gave it to Brad to learn how to fly RC. Needless to say, Brad crashed it a few times before this video was made-- but, even with some tape, you can clearly see this glider still flies like a champ! (And Brad is a better pilot now.)
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