An image of a large, white, fabric-covered saiplane which is the subject of this post. It is mostly translucent yellow/white with a red accent stripes. The word « Bergflake » is painted in ornate black letters on the side of the fuselage. The sky is a pale, hazy blue with fluffy white cumulus clouds. Superimposed over the image toward the bottom are the words « SILENT FLIGHT » in large, white block letters and then, above that, the word « Friday » in script similar to the colour of the accent stripe of the plane.
"Gliders, sailplanes, they’re wonderful flying machines … the closest you can come to being a bird." — Neil Armstrong (📸 Composite RC Gliders1)
May, 2024

The fourth Friday of the month which is when we feature aircraft which derive their primary sustenance from nothing but rising air. Spotted something along these lines that's worthy of sharing? Let us know2. Here's what we've found this month. You can find even more using our Bluesky Custom Feed3 of the same name. We hope that for those whose posts you really like you'll click on their post below and acknowledge their work with a like and maybe follow them to see their future posts:

That's it for this month's Friday Silent Flight 🪽 and thanks to all for your contributions and support. Until the next 'fourth Friday' — 22nd of June — we'll leave you with this outstanding article by Michael Shellim from the archives of @rcsoaringdigest.bsky.social. Be silent and be safe. | 🛩️ 🪽 📡

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 17:04

« This small experimental glider played a vital role in the development of the first jet-propelled delta wing aircraft to fly, the Convair XF-92A … and … led the company to develop a series of successful delta wing aircraft … » More details and images with link. | 🛩️ 🪽

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 16:49

Outstanding shot. We have added it to the feed and thank you so much for sharing it. | 🛩️ 🪽

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 15:52

Not pictured, the article on how to improvise a walking splint for a sprained ankle we imagine was in the same issue. | 🛩️ 🪽

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 13:14

The Monty Python-esque Klinger always made us laugh. | 🛩️ 🪽 🎬

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 13:10

🛩️ 🪽 📡

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 13:07

It's remarkable it flew at all, isn't it? | 🛩️ 🪽

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 13:05

« EoNType 463 glider and ground handling dolly, made by Elliot's of Newbury Ltd, 1962. » More details with link. (📸 © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) | 🛩️ 🪽 📍 | 🔗 collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co84...

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 13:03

Wow. Just … wow. | 🛩️ 🪽

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 10:55

Pretty sure we remember this. Makes us feel really, really old. | 🛩️ 🪽 🖥️

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— BluFly 🛩 (@blufly.media) May 24, 2024 at 10:53

1Composite RC Gliders as described on their website: « Our modern company specializes in the development, design, and manufacture of high-quality model airplanes made predominantly from composite materials featuring fiberglass and carbon fiber cloth. » The site is loaded with lots of great photos and other information and is well worth checking out.

2Here's where you can add a comment to this story.

3Friday Silent Flight 🪽 is the Bluesky Custom Feed on which this page is based. For more on this concept, check out First Things First: What's a Bluesky Custom Feed? in our Guide for Followers and Trusted Contributors.