FT Build Plans Statement
It has always been the desire of Flite Test to give away as much knowledge and resources as possible to the community in order to engage more people in the hobby. This desire has not changed…quite the contrary. We continue to work hard to provide a unique place (please see our Resources section on the Flite Test Forums) designed for hobbyists to share their work and ideas, and we also continue to provide free access to an incredible variety of Free FT Plans, that cover many designs and are meant for pilots and builders of various skills as well.
We wish we could provide even more free build plans to the general public, but due to past copyright abuse we had to take steps in protecting our intellectual property. Additionally, the technical support that was being consumed by fraudulent kits was burdensome.
Our desire is to encourage more people to be passionate about flight and to join our cause in making the hobby more approachable for everyone, not merely providing easy access to high quality resources. With the situation being what it is, we are no longer providing NEW plans free to the community. Going forward, Flite Test will be providing NEW build plans through an initiative to help generate revenue for the FTCA (the non-profit advocacy organization supported by the Flite Test community).
The revenue generated by the FTCA supports the actions and efforts exercised in advocating for the hobby, and also the contributions in which the FTCA are able to give to the community. This initiative, along with the membership of the FTCA, provides more strength that is needed in the organization to promote and protect the hobby that we love.
Thank you for your dedication in the evolution of Flite Test and our community! We hope that you can continue to support our effort in impacting the lives of people through the means of model aviation.
FT/FTCA Build Plans Initiative
The initiative that we are pursuing with the FTCA and FT in regards to the NEW FT Build Plans is multi-faceted. Below are a few important objectives that we are pursuing with this initiative.
- We want to be able to provide the build plans designed by Josh Bixler to the community in a way that is mutually beneficial. Josh has never wanted to receive compensation from the build plans, and he will continue not to, but the benefit of utilizing his plans for a good cause inspires him to design more.
- We want to protect the ownership and authenticity of the build plans. In the past the intellectual property of the build plans was abused with no recourse of action. We want to be able to protect Josh’s designs in order to provide a continuation of the platform that he has developed in order to prolong the creative space needed to engineer the masterpieces for flight. By providing them for sale we can pursue copyright legal recourse if the plans are abused as in the past.
- We want to generate revenue for the FTCA in order to adequately advocate for the protection of our hobby.The revenue generated by the FTCA supports the actions and efforts exercised in advocating for the hobby, and also the contributions in which the FTCA is able to give back to the community. This initiative, along with the membership of the FTCA, provides more strength that is needed in the organization to promote and protect the hobby that we love.
- We want to promote FTCA membership with access to obtain the build plans. Build plans will be offered to FTCA members to purchase as a reward to their membership. The build plans will be offered digitally for a single download at a cost of $12 for FTCA Spectator members and $6 for FTCA Aircrew members.
- We want to provide periodic perks for FTCA members. At the discretion of the FTCA leadership, FTCA members will receive a $6 credit periodically as a perk for the use in obtaining a digital build plan at a discount. This credit will be a one-time use for the member and can be used on any single build plan available.