Do paper planes count?

For many of us, 'Free Flight' undoubtedly was our first flying model experience. It was certainly mine.

'Design', 'construction', 'test-piloting', 'trimming' and 'modification' provided many a halcyon summer afternoon's entertainment in our street. A fierce rivalry erupted among us for duration, distance and height gain 'events'. And it certainly was 'free' flight. All one needed to participate was your own piece of paper.

Though a quantitative understanding of aerodynamics unquestionably evaded the shrewd minds of us 'nine year olds', we had an qualitative eye for what worked and what didn't. Transferred into an empirically derived and effective flair for 'model aircraft design', this became another self-acquired 'skill'.

More importantly, in a few of us it evoked a spiritual soaring, sparking in our imaginations a dream accompanied by a quenchless desire and enthusiasm which persists to this day. What had we started?!!!

Now on 'the quest', we naturally enough graduated to kitted chuckies. Along the way we experimented with several incarnations of home-made kites made from brown wrapping paper stuck together with flour 'n water glue courtesy of mum's kitchen budget, and which became.....our first 'control-line' experience. [sm=sunsmiley.gif]

As best I recall a rubber powered semi-scale Sopwith Camel and real free flighter featured somewhere as the next challenge shortly thereafter, before the lure of control-line echoing from the nearby park beckoned. One might have thought that sound a bicycle magnet. For whenever that unmistakable din was heard, boys peddling furiously on their coasters converged en masse on the scene to spectate, 'participating' by way of dream proxy in what seemed an affordable and achievable reality. In an age before JR and Futaba, this became our new goal and next stepping stone on the aeromodelling, and for some of us, aviation road.

And to think it was all fired by imagination and a piece of carefully folded paper launched in silent 'free' flight. [sm=idea.gif]