Flite Test - Dynaflite Bird of Time - REVIEW 

The Bird of Time is an awesome airplane. Designed by Dave Thornburg (the old buzzard himself). It is the easiest sailplane to fly I've ever flown. It almost flys itself when properly trimmed. Yes the ARF should have been covered with orange monokote on the bottom of the wings instead of white. I can't recommend this design enough. Spoilers - yep, you need spoilers; I lost my ARF trying to get out of a strong thermal; lost the right wingtip panel and couldn't control it well enough to save it. I built a kit version which is a better plane all things considered, but it takes time and money to build it. Putting a motor in the ARF is a great idea as you need the nose weight and it might as well be power rather than the chunk of lead that comes built into it. Very little overall weight penalty to add the motor. These things fly like homesick angels. You'll love it.

The Bird Of Time was designed by Dave Thornburg in the 70's as an FAI competition ship. At the time, a speed run was required but this was later abandoned because of too many wings folding. The larger outer wing panels are designed to help it turn tightly for spot landings. Not an easy scratch build, but a gorgeous bird in the air!

My favorite FliteTest video to date. LOVE the action shot when David puts on his sunglasses.

never got bored by this episode, though i've been watching this hundred times

wow, I LOOOOVE having david on the show. he just adds so much... awesomeness to the show. by the way, don't let him go home next year. lock him in a cupboard, do whatever you have to do. he's NOT allowed to leave.

Built one from plans with thin foil back in the 80's. I actually enjoyed hand cutting every rib in the wing. Hand carved the body. All white with dark blue wing tips and tail tips. Still my favorite.

David is a natural for this kind of show, really knowledgeable, creative, and good in front of the camera.

I recently discovered this channel and I have to say what a beauty it is. My compliments to the whole crew of FT for such amazing footage, humor and informative video's. And u guy's actually encouraged me to buy my first RC airplane! So big thanks to you, and if all is well in the future I might even drop by your shop to support you guy's. p.s. I usually get annoyed by all the commercials and stuff in some of the vids on YT, but you guy's do it in such a way that I don't mind it at all KUTGW!

Your aerial photography is out of this world! This one has the best yet.

3 meters. Favorite FliteTest moment!

The BOT is a classic, in any size, period!! I've had the 3M flavor with a fullhouse setup(spoilers, flaps, ailerons, rudder, elevator) and my 2M BOT 2ch R-E still was on par in all but the windiest of weather. It would be nice to see more sailplane reviews. But usually only the more advanced pilots are truly into that scene.

This is a great show guys. Flight Test is creative, interesting, and fun. FYI Dave Thornburg designed the Bird Of Time - he also wrote Old Buzzards Soaring Book - A fun read for anyone interested in sailplanes. It was very poetic to see it soar with the buzzards in this episode.

Great test. And as Josh II mentioned, gliders are so relaxing. Nothing will thrill like soaring with the birds. I can fool with all the 3D stuff all day long, but when I need to relax, my big gliders provide peace like nothing else. Amazing.

My step brother started the kit version of this back when we were kids in about 1974, he never finished the wings compleetly, so much forming and rib sanding for prep for monocoat, I asked if i could finish it because i was 2yrs older and had more builing exp, so instead of letting me finish it for him he forced all built and unbuilt wood parts wings, fuse ect in the trash compactor and turnd it on, I cringed with every pop and crunch. Jack was always an ass, and still is today. I was sad for the death of the kit. I got into slope soaring in the 90's and hung out at my fav flying spot of redondo beach for the decade. a friend once brought his bird of time and let me fly it, what a relaxing bird to fly, i loved it, just missed inverted flight and rolls but how it flew more than made up for it. I hope to get an ARF soon. really loved the way it flew. So to back up what you said, the ARF is better than the kit, the kit would cost more and always would have some imperfections from your build. It is a MASSIVE build, to the point of total fustration as proof with my brother Jack. BTW they no longer allow rc planes there, ONLY 10oz or less with no motor.

Nice one guys. Loved the aerial footage. And the CSI sunglasses 'moment' was a HOOT!

That is a beautiful plane with such graceful lines.

That IS a beautiful plane indeed!

I like how someone who's clearly an experienced and skilled pilot can openly say "it really intimidates me". +1 respect.

"I don't know where they're going... they don't know anything..." LMAO :D Great review, beautiful plane! Nice engine add

Youre right RCllama, alot of us feel the same, my last comment got lost in the deluge but I mentioned it would be interesting to have an episode about Dave's "origins" and how he learned and got so innovative with electronics. he's a tech geek but fun to watch and not boring or nerdy. and when he talks everyone listens and winds up learning something even if not understand it all lol.

Dave A. Thornburg designed the original Bird of Time in 1975 as a 3 meter sailplane and kitted it in 1979 before selling to Marks Models in 1980. The plans appeared in the January 1979 RC Modeler Magazine, and I fell in love with the design instantly. Dave also wrote "Old Buzzard's Soaring Book" in 1990.

the 3 meters moment is priceless.

3:50 lol @ David putting his shades on. YEEEEAH!!!!

I set up a similar Bird of Time, with 5 degrees down thrust and 2 degrees right thrust, which quite nicely "power balances" the plane's aerodynamics. I also painted a good portion of the bottom of the wings BLACK! For me, that's necessary, for this plane easily goes very HIGH, and I needed the visibility. Mine is also four years old, and as good as new. It's a delightful flyer, but is quite heavy and you really need to anticipate making a turn, for it doesn't happen right away.

LMAO 3 MEETERS.haha. As european, I appreciate this David. Thanks. lol

Beautiful plane....so old school. Just love it.

That tricopter footage is amazing. We need more of those tricopter movies of flying in beautiful places, between trees, waterfalls and stuff. That kind of footage is the reason I got interested in all this RC thing (and why I subbed to this) although I never had a plane or a copter. Thanks!

Classic model - I've been rocking the now discontinued Dynaflite Daydream for a few years now, but from a high-start

loving the 3meter part at 3:50. great video guys as per usual

Such a beautifully graceful craft. thanks guys.

You guys do some amazing aerial photography! You get some amazingly beautiful shots!

Yes, a great glider ! I’ve been flying mine for over 10 years. It is by far the easiest glider to spec out on a good day. Good job on the video.

Excellent. Got myself a Robbe Vectra classic here with balsa-made wings that this vid reminded me of.

I have watched if not all but most of your guys videos multiple times and I have to say that this is my favorite out of all of them, your footage of the glider is amazing and shows how cool rc flying can be and makes me want to get into FPV more then ever. Good job guys keep it up :D

Josh Scott touched on a very important thing during the chat inside. He mentioned that because its balsa, its a higher maintenance plane. Which is very true in most cases because most balsa planes are still gas/nitro and they require a lot more work and set-up time...

had one of the originals for 15 years now. over here in New Zealand we aerotow up to three at a time behind 3rd scale piper pawnee!

35 years ago I built a Super Trident 2500, best 2 channel glider I have ever flown. Yes it was a balsa build but as I was recovering from surgery I had plenty of time to build, and it was a very rewarding process. I would love to see someone from ft do a sped up build of a balsa plane.

What a great idea to throw a motor on this. You could fly forever on a warm sunny day. Thanks for sharing, maybe someday I will have one of these 3 meeeter birds in my hangar.

I flew my bird of time today, maiden flight! One tip. Make sure you tighten your propeller on good. My propeller fell off and then I had a dead stick landing, and it wanted to glide so much I had to try to make a turn. It lost altitude and crashed. :( But no damage! I searched for the propeller and found it! I will put it on youtube in the next couple days. Then later when it was calmer in the late afternoon I had a really long flight. It looked like a big air bus in the sky!

Nice one guys! David's CSI impression was legend! Also I have to compliment you guys on the awesome and very subtle FliteTest branding on the plane! Keep it up guys. I love my weekly FliteTest fix :)

Totally worth installing spoilers on the wings. I had mine so high that you could only see it when the sun flashed off of the monocoat. I loved my bot. No need for the prop. Had plenty of success with just a high start.👍

Guys you do a Great Job! for the RC community, please remember tell people the incredible amounts of wight needed to be added in front or this beautiful bird will stall!

You guys are great, this is one of my favorite RU-vid channels and I don't currently own any RC aircraft, keep up the good work.

Thanks guys! I've always loved the Bird of Time but never got one. Now after watching this video, maybe it's time to get one. Never thought of putting a motor on the nose. I too shy away from high lifts. Lol Please keep up the great work.

Its 2016 and My first flight with my Bird of Time resulted in the wings breaking in half 3 minutes into the first flight. I was in a loop when it happened. Tower hobby Replaced the plane n/c and I fiberglassed the new birds center wing section!

hello, I live in France and I watch all your video test, you are genials! thank you for everything. thanks to you I was able to buy the "dynaflite bird of time" exceptional glider. thank you pascal

excellent idea. I also plan on learning to thermal this summer. Got my first real thermal lastweek that was awesome!

very nice air to air shots. if david was flying, then who was doing them? what a beautiful plane!

Nice Plane & nice flying !

Such a beautiful glider

Also the instructions said to epoxy two little blocks for the elevator servo and then to remove the servo and use double sided tape to hold it. I found that method was impractical. I used CA to glue the blocks and CA to tack down the servo. Had to cut the clevis screw in part so I could shorten the elevator push rod more than it was meant to be shortened.

Action figures?! We definitely need action figures! Do the whole group, Chad too!

Excellent airplane. Excellent show. Thanks Guys!

Great video guys! It's always good to see a happy David!

My wife saw me watch this video. She said it's very beautiful and I must buy it! :) thanks guys, you got her approval! :)

As soon as David wrecked the motor he offered Josh Scott the radio, lol!

Sailplanes forever. :) Got a chuckle about telling people not to build a balsa glider! My first build was a Goldberg Electra (basically a Gentle Lady).

3:40 , my new favorite ft moment

I'm totally not into this type of craft but if I had money to burn I'd buy this in a heartbeat...for some reason this one has me excited...really neat bird

My BOT weights 82oz with all the RCairmods installed, with the upped and forward decks removed and HS85MG servos

3:47 has got to be the funniest thing on flitetest! I laughed soooo hard!

that's a beautiful glider, good work guys

"arf!" [sideways glance] JS you crack me up.

I love the Old Fogey and the Baby Blender. I would love it if you guys could do a swapable of a Gee Bee Z. Perhaps even a series of old style pylon racers. You guys are great!

A really beautiful glider. And as soon as My Bixler2 finishes teaching me how to glide sensibly, ;¬) I will buy something like this.

So many close calls with the tricopter!

I'm on the same page as rcllamadude. Keep up the awesome work and keep soaring with the birds. Mankind may not be able to grow wings, but he can build one

This is the flite test I miss. Should do a reunion episode with david and josh

I received it and started. The first issue I had was the rimfire has a .25" shaft and the prop hub has a .31" hole. I found that a bic pen tube fits perfectly into the .31 hole and perfectly onto the .25" shaft. Perfect. Next problem was when I cut off the tip of the fuselage there was a big epoxy blob of steel shot. I grinded it on the grinding wheel and then used a drill hammer to get most of it out. Next I made a custom aluminum motor mount to fit inside the nose. That is as far as I got tday

A Josh Bixler action figure would be pretty cool i think, all the guys should get one :) great episode keep up the good work :)

I hope David will come back someday. He is so awesome and Swedish!

Great glider! Best ARF for the money on the market IMO with built in self leveling by design.... great machine for distance flying with incredible orientation visibility. And there's enough wood left on the tips to sand the tips to get the magic L/D like Dave Thornburg's. Not all BOTs fly the same. I've only seen one that was hand built really get "on the step" where the LD "really" flattens out and it was the builders 2nd or 3rd one and he said it was achieved from getting the tips just right. When you see that happen you see another level of performance. Wish Dynaflight offered it with the Monokote rolls but uncovered so you could glass the center section and add some balsa to the thick trailing edge and get it thinner for less drag and a tad more area that got sanded off and do the final sand yourself. A waste of time and materials to pull off the covering to do that. When I shipped mine from humid Hawaii to the mainland the wood shrunk so much I wasn't sure if it would re-shrink tight but it did using a heat gun NOT an iron. So expect a few wrinkles that is normal contraction of the wood from lower humidity level, not a defect. Factory did and amazing job on both of mine but again wish you get it uncovered so you could do the wing as you want it...spoilers, flaps, etc. But there's always the kit... and for the money you really can't complain.

Nice aerial camera work.

Nice! I have a Dynaflite Daydream in the works too. great planes by Great Planes!

great episode! more glider stuff pls and an episode about thermal hunting would be lovely :) keep up the awesome work

Couple close calls with the chase rig there lol

Thank you for more glider content

Perfect timing! Just came home.

I’m a huge Who fan and that yeah part was awesome!

A beautiful bird!

man with a wealth of knowledge

'Actual authentic MonoKote' - I'm dying lol. I guess it makes me old (only 28) that I used to cover ALL my planes with MonoKote. Must be considered antique now.

Awsome plane , awsome flight!

I have an FPV system on my Bird of Time and it flies great.

love the idea, preferably one with the motor mounted backwards :D like the bixler, it will be the bixler-swappable :D

Oh man! I want Josh, Josh, and Swede bobble heads!

That is a BEAUTIFUL bird!

Finally! One classy sailplane!

Nice trace-cam work.

LOL... David is so funny... (6:24) "I'm gonna follow them, they know what they're doing" (6:36) "I don't know where they're going, but... They don't know anything"

YAY, just proves to me that you do actually read comments :) Keep up the great work, still waiting eagerly for the FT 3D speed build to be released

I really like how this video was set up... You guys shouldn't more of these old plane reviews... As in like planes that are lying around that you don't really fly anymore just like that one:)

The David action figure should come with a tiny tri-copter and the infamous "3-meter" sunglasses!

I ordered a rimfire .10 outrunner and and 35A esc for mine. I have no idea if it will be to little, or to much power. Also ordered a folding prop and hub. Have no idea if the hug is large enough, it is 45mm. Josh's hub looks larger. It will be a fun project.

Yours is 41 ounces? I weight all the pieces of mine plus the battery, mine is 67.8 ounces! Even after adding the motor and battery I still had to add a ton of lead in the nose.

Awesome! I still fly my Bird Of Time that I built in the early 90s. Great fun. Dave Thornburg designed this Aircraft. You can find that plus some really cool reading about RC flying, aircraft design, philosophy, and funny ass crap in his book call: Old Buzzards Soaring Book, copyright 1990. After stumbling upon this book in Evetts Model Shop in Santa Monica: God rest good ol Cory's soul... I ordered the kit and got it in the air. Find that book, it's almost like reading the -idiots book for how do you keep your Volkswagen alive.. Evetts Model Shop is still open for business, Cory's wife is still there, but there's some young bucks now working in the back doing stuff.. She is close to being gone to. Wow, going to Evans Model Shop for a little over 50 years. I fly my full-size sailplane, a LS3, regularly as well. All you RC soaring chumps need to get in a full-size ship with a soaring pilot and be amazed at how you will immediately lock in, take full control of the ship and freaking soar! Be careful, doing so can ruin your life, as you know it. Don't forget... Get high and stay high. Capt.Nemo

whoever is on the multi rotor camera almost gave me a heart attack like 10 times lol. also when is the David Spitfire going to be done?

I am almost done. Had a couple more issues. After I glued up the wing connectors I found that the plywood pieces were not uniform and one connector was to thick. I started grinding down the alluminium but then I unglued the aluminum and cut down the wood, then re-glued it. Also my kit did not have the 36" pushrod so I can't finish it. Battery placement is a pain, I am making cross pieces so the battery will sit in the front above the rudder servo.

I crack up every time I watch the part where david says 3 meters, and put on his glasses. Dang funny

I just got Bird of Time from Tower Hobbies. Unlike the review my mono-kote was dismal. It had tones of wrinkles anywhere the mono-kote was attached to planking. I have not checked for how true the wings are. I will see what happens as try to rework the mono-kote.