Model Aircraft Flying Started with Indoor Planes
Today’s micro RC gear make indoor plane flight an everyday reality
Typical early 20th century rubber powered free flight model
The first practical rubber band powered indoor plane designs were test flow at the beginning of the 20th century. These early flying models relied on the construction technology of the day, to include Ambroid cement, relatively heavy doped paper and silk coverings, and bamboo wood components. To obtain the best flight times for these early pioneers of model flight, the planes were normally flown indoors to minimize the effects of wind.
Gas powered outdoor free flight model from 1930s
As model construction technology and design development concepts advanced, so did the scope and variety of a typical indoor plane evolve. Free flight models made of balsa with powerful rubber band motors, followed by gas engine powered aircraft dominated contests in the 1930s. After World War II, indoor plane development remained static as opposed to the new and popular U-control model airplane flight. In the early 1960s, the first practical radio control equipment became available, signaling the explosion of activity with these gas powered outdoor RC flyers.
Modelers retained a keen interest in transferring radio control flight to a convenient indoor plane. The size and weight of the radio control equipment available at the time, compared with the low power of the brushed electric motors, made the development of an indoor plane a distant dream for most modelers.
Rubber powered indoor free flight model with lightweight airplane wheels
Indoor plane enthusiasts continued to try and figure out some way of making an indoor RC model airplane fly and sort out various design challenges. Guillow kits are good conversion candidates. The UFO is a great example of a truly unique model aircraft design. In the mid-1990s, single channel radio control equipment became miniaturized enough that rudder only indoor planes became a reality. While you really need two channels to properly control an indoor plane, the ability to turn left or right allowed at least the beginnings of normal RC flight for this new breed of micro indoor plane.
The next technical barrier that needed to be breached concerned the batteries for an indoor plane. Until the late 1990s, the only rechargeable batteries for the electric motors used by all indoor planes were NiCad or NiMH varieties. These batteries are still in use today, but are too heavy for the very small indoor aircraft envisioned by RC modelers. The advent of light weight lithium polymer (or lipo) batteries, with truly micro proportional control radio control equipment, opened the doors to just about any type of small to micro indoor plane envisioned by model airplane designers.
ParkZone micro electric motor and RC equipment
The electric motors used by these small models advanced as well. The motors were not as critical as the need for micro RC gear and light weight batteries, as the typical indoor RC plane does not fly that fast. Brushed electric motors were common, and using geared thrust allowed for most indoor plane designs to have adequate power. Engineers continued to refine engine design with the introduction of brushless electric motors. Brushless motors provide incredible thrust for any indoor plane and require essentially zero maintenance. Brushed motors still have a place and perform well with the smallest micro flyers. But brushless motors are the first choice of power for the majority of indoor plane pilots.
Any type of small radio control airplane requires precision with the build and alignment of the model. Small errors in construction, especially the addition of unnecessary weight, will have a much greater effect on flight performance than with larger models. Thus everyday indoor planes faced the barrier of specialized construction techniques not easily met by the average modeler.
The ParkZone Cessna 210 three channel micro RC model airplane
This final challenge was overcome by the introduction of truly top quality and very affordable ready to fly micro indoor planes made from foam. This new breed of RTF indoor plane was pioneered with the ParkZone line of micro flyers, beginning with the Cessna 210. ParkZone models rapidly branched out into a wide variety of RTF indoor plane designs that included more powerful micro motors and four channel fully acrobatic aircraft. The E-flite Extra 300 is a very good example of a fully aerobatic, four channel ready to fly foam RC airplane.
You cannot go wrong with today’s collection of micro indoor RC planes. These models are inexpensive and fly extremely well. For areas of the country with harsh winters, a RTF micro indoor plane allows for RC flight year round. And if you are in doubt as to how well these models fly, just visit any indoor RC flight venue. You will quickly see by the numbers of aircraft airborne that the day of convenient micro RC indoor flight is here to stay.