Hello again FT Community!
We had so much fun with the “Dawn Patrol” event this year at Flite Fest ’22 that many of us were already brainstorming what to do in ’23 while still sitting around the campfire at Furey field. All that brainstorming lead us to
BARNSTORMING!
So here we are, launching another community challenge, and we’re announcing earlier this year so hopefully even more people can participate. Welcome to the Flite Fest ’23 Barnstorming Challenge!
Your challenge is to build a model appropriate to the glory days of barnstorming, bring your model to Flite Fest ’23, and participate in a series of events. The events will include:
- A hangout/static display
- A group flight
- A “Storm the Barn” challenge (fly through a makeshift “barn” without colliding with the barn or “Livestock”)
- Ribbon Cutting challenge (cut 3 ribbons stretched between poles) (see video of Sean D Tucker's tripple ribbon cut below)
Sean D. Tucker "Tripple Ribbon Cut"
As always we’ll be generous with airframe specifications and will do what we can to include as many sizes as possible. That being said we’re encouraging you to use common FT materials and methods and shoot for approximately 1/8 – 1/5 scale (or 36” – 50” wingspan). If you want to go bigger (and don’t we all) we’ll welcome those models as well!
For Dawn Patrol last year the community was taken by storm by the FT Scout XL, the brainchild of Dan Sponholz. This model became so popular that the Scouts outnumbered the “scale” builds and we’re still seeing community members build these awesome birds. For those that want to participate in the barnstorming challenge but don’t want to start from scratch this year we have the
BEAUTIFUL Ben Harber designed PT-17 Stearman, soon to be released as free plans by Ben and Dan. I guess you could call me a beta tester for this model. I’ve been flying a scaled up version for several years and it has been my go-to plane, with 100’s of flights on her. She does everything and she does it all beautifully. Mine was shot down at FF ’22 by the infamous radio interference issues that the FT crew plans to address next year, so I’ll be rebuilding one (or more) Stearmans.
So here is the info.
In summary: Build a barnstorming airplane, bring it to FF ’23, and have a blast! And of course while you’re building start a build thread on the forum and share your progress so we can all follow along! To toss your hat in the ring post in this thread with the model of your choice and a link to your build thread.
This is going to be a fun one, and you’ve got about 10 months so NO EXCUSES! Let’s get building!
), I haven't been as active as I'd like to be. Thankfully, a majority of that stuff is behind me and I can finally share the progress I've made on my Dh.4. I've completed all the major components and I just have to install the electronics and install said components on the aircraft. Can't wait to see everyone at flite fest! 
