F1D Worlds Coming Back to the US

Stadium interior with empty seats and large arched ceiling.

Indoor Free Flight

Stadium ceiling with wood beams and lights, scoreboard, and seating below. — The Kibbie Dome will be the site of the 2026 F1D World Championship for Indoor Model Aircraft again after 30 years.

IT HAS BEEN 30 years since the last FAI F1D World Championship for Indoor Model Aircraft was held inside the Kibbie Dome at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Back then, the F1D models were built to the old standards of having a 65cm wingspan and a 1-gram minimum weight. Models were still covered with microfilm, and flight times hit 50 minutes at the 145-foot site.

A lot has changed in those 30 years. Now, models weigh 1.4 grams, have 55cm wingspans, and are limited to only 0.4 grams of rubber. Even though the rules have changed, the spirit of Indoor Free Flight (FF) competition is still going strong.

The 2026 World Championship will be a six-day event running June 15-20. To start off the event, the Tagliafico Open competition will occur the first two days. The contest is open to any F1D competitor, so come on out and fly F1D alongside other modelers from around the world—it will be a great learning experience.

The official practice day for the F1D World Championship will be after the Tagliafico Open, with the competition being held on the final three days. Two rounds will be flown each day, with six rounds in total and the best two flights overall determining the winner. Immediately after the end of the last day, the awards banquet and closing ceremonies will take place, including the crowning of the next world champions (Junior, Senior, and Team). If you have ever wanted to come to the Kibbie Dome and experience Indoor FF in action, this will be a great opportunity to see what it is all about.

The event organizers are actively looking for anyone who is willing to come and volunteer to be timekeepers at the event. If you are interested, why not consider being an official timekeeper? If you are currently an Indoor modeler, you can bring models along and fly because each evening there will be a contest for the timekeepers and volunteers to participate in. Every day will be a different event. The intent is to allow volunteers an opportunity to fly models at this great site after official flying is done each day. For more information on the event and becoming a timekeeper, please check out the official website, listed in "Sources."

Wooden box with a model glider inside, viewed from above. — This model box was built from 1/8-inch Lauan wood and was designed to fit inside a hardshell suitcase.

Open toolbox with various tools and supplies on a wooden floor. — A makeup bag is great for carrying your tools and supplies. Many bags are sized so that they count as a personal item on major airlines.

For those who want to help but are unable to make it to the flying site, there will be some fundraising opportunities that will be announced on the website. Additionally, a T-shirt fundraiser will be offered as a way to make a donation to the F1D Team USA to help raise travel expenses for all of the members on the Junior and Senior teams.

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Open red suitcase with a large wooden box inside, placed on a wooden floor. — The wooden model box fits inside the suitcase, which is checked in as regular luggage. The box needs to be built quite sturdy when using this method.

Green quilted case with a handle on a windowsill. — The author’s model box fits into the overhead compartment on a commercial flight. This box needs to be built to specific dimensions to be able to qualify as a carry-on piece of luggage.

Flying to Contests

Two years ago, I wrote a column about my first trip back to the Kibbie Dome in 34 years. This past year, I decided to make that trip again for the 2025 AMA Indoor FF Nats. The trip two years ago was the first time I had ever flown with a commercial airline to any Indoor contest, and doing it for a second time was a much less stressful process for me. In fact, now that I have done it twice, I wonder why I was so hesitant to do it for so many years.

For others who might be hesitant to try flying to a model contest, I suggest that you give it a try. It is not that difficult—it just requires a little planning ahead of time.

For this last trip, I again flew with Southwest Airlines and took a box with my delicate models on the airplane as my carry-on luggage. I also checked in two suitcases. The first suitcase had one side filled with my clothes and the other side filled with smaller cases containing my flying equipment and motors. The second suitcase had one custom-built model box that fit inside the suitcase. It was made from 1/8-inch-thick Lauan board with 3/8-inch square hardwood for reinforcement. This model box contained some of my heavier models, such as an F1M, a Limited Pennyplane, a standard Pennyplane, and even a Catapult glider. All of the models arrived at Spokane International Airport safely and undamaged.

Flying to a contest does take some planning since custom model boxes have to be built to carry on or to put into a suitcase, and that can be time consuming. Once they are built, however, they just need to be filled with models, and building new airplanes is always fun!

Because I tend to fly in a lot of the events at a contest, I needed my second checked suitcase to have a model box inside it. However, if you fly to fewer events, you can pack all of your models into the one carry-on box. Some modelers bring their toolkit as their personal item on the airplane, and then have just one checked bag with clothing and miscellaneous supplies in it, so there are many ways for it to be done.

Upcoming Indoor Contests

The 2026 Jim Richmond Open will be held in the atrium of the West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden, Indiana. The contest dates are April 11-13. Registration is online on the Indoor Free Flight Supply website.

The 2026 Midwest Indoor Championships will be held at the Kent State University fieldhouse in Kent, Ohio, on May 16-17. This will be combined with the F1D World Cup event. The contest flyer can be found on the IndoorFreeFlight.com website, with online registration on the Indoor Free Flight Supply website. The links are listed in "Sources."

For other Indoor FF flying opportunities around the US, be sure to visit the official FF calendar on the National Free Flight Society (NFFS) website.