Welcome to Small Flying Arts, a website dedicated
to modelers who build small flying airplanes of any type. Whether
they are R/C, Free Flight, Control Line, or something else, we recognize
that small models require special considerations over their larger
cousins. For example, we tend to fly at lower airspeeds and abide
by different aerodynamic principles. Strength-to-weight ratios are
also more critical for our low-lift models, so we often use different
materials and adhesives. Propulsion systems can be vastly different,
as in the case of rubber power, Co2 power, compressed air, and capacitor
energy storage. But perhaps the greatest distinctions are the unique
methods we employ in building and flying these small models. In recent
years an enormous amount of new and specialized information on this
subject has appeared, circulated by all sorts of magazines, newsletters,
websites, etc. As these resources continue to grow the need to organize
and centralize information grows with them. One of our goals at SFA
is to sort out some of the more essential details, and to present
them in a manner that’s instructive, entertaining, and relevant
to a broad cross-section of builders and flyers.
What Do We Mean By Small?
Finding myself out on the proverbial limb I’ll just
forge ahead with a bold assertion: I define a small flying model as
having a wingspan under 30 inches (approximately), and constructed
with the intent to fly. Obviously there may be some exceptions, but
I’d say it’s a fair starting point for our purposes. More
important than wingspan limits, however, are the specific issues that
distinguish a “small” model - some of which I’ve
already mentioned. These are likely to include:
- Extremely light-weight materials
- Building precisely on a small scale
- Low speed aerodynamics
- Specialized tools & support gear
- Home-made and low-cost solutions
- Storage & transport of fragile structures
- Suppliers of special materials
- Communities of like-minded modelers
- ... and so on
You can see that a very broad range of models will fit the bill
here. Some may have wingspans larger than 30 inches, while some
may not have wings at all. There’s no restriction on type
of model here, as long as it’s small and flies!
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