Stargate fans show their love for the show in different ways. Some write fandom. Others make flying aircraft models. When David saw the video of a flying F-302 he thought he was seeing things. Now, Robert from Poland joins us to share footage and discuss the creation of his model.

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Timecodes
0:00 – Opening Credits
0:25 – Welcome and Episode Outline
0:49 – F-302 Flight Demo Part 1
2:12 – A Delay in Airing
3:38 – Anything With a Wing Will Fly
5:50 – What made you want to create this model?
7:40 – Three F-302 Prototypes
9:19 – Robert’s Klingon Bird-of-Prey
13:54 – David’s Collection
15:39 – What else have you flown?
0:16:30 – Thanking Our Guest
0:17:30 – F-302 Flight Demo Part 2
0:18:50 – Post-Interview Housekeeping
0:19:21 – End Credits

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read:
Welcome to Dial the Gate: The Stargate Oral History Project. My name is David Read. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode. Robert from Poland is a Stargate fan going back several years, and he has managed to create a flying F-302 model. I did not think this was possible. Check this out. So, someone sent me a video for this online and said, “Check this out.” And I was like, “I’ve gotta get this guy on Dial the Gate.” And this is an episode that was actually recorded near the end of Season One, when I was still figuring out what format the show was gonna be. I thought I was gonna have smaller segments more frequently, and I was like, “I’d rather include these in numbered episodes.” So this one has been sitting around for a while, and I apologize to Robert for taking so long to get this up. But this was one that I couldn’t let go, because his design work is so magnificent. There are so many Stargate fans out there with so much talent, and this one was such a niche area of fandom that we had to include it. But before we get started, if you like Stargate and you wanna see more content like this on YouTube, please click that like button. It makes a difference with YouTube and will help the show continue to grow its audience. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend. And if you wanna get notified about future episodes, click the subscribe icon. Giving the bell icon a click will notify you the moment a new video drops, and you’ll get my notifications of any last-minute guest changes. And clips from this episode will be released over the course of the next few weeks on the Dial the Gate YouTube channel. As this is a prerecorded show from a couple of years ago, we’re gonna get into it — no questions for this guest — and I hope you enjoy. Bob, I was blown away. One of the things about running this show is that people reach out to you and say, “Check this out, check this out.” And someone sent me a clip of this F-302 that you built. And I always thought gliders were completely preposterous, there’s no way that they could ever really fly unless you gave them– I don’t know, but I didn’t expect ever to see something like that banking and yawing and pitching. And then I click your video, and all of a sudden I’m seeing a glider in flight, actually banking and pitching and yawing just like a plane would. How did you do that?

Robert:
It’s simple. Everything with some kind of wing will fly. It’s no problem for this. The most important thing is to set proper center of gravity, and that’s it. It will fly. I also built Bird of Prey from Star Trek. It’s not, let’s say, rocket science.

David Read:
It’s not rocket science. It was completely mind-blowing to me, because I’ve been watching the F-302s and the gliders since I started watching Stargate. In atmosphere, I just don’t see how… These wings are fixed, and there’s nothing on the back of them to give them air support in order for them to move. And watching this thing that you did, I was floored. I was like, “I cannot believe what I’m seeing. This glider is actually controllable in flight.” What made you wanna create one?

Robert:
Because of this?

David Read:
Yes, ’cause of the show.

Robert:
Exactly. I’m a huge fan of the Stargate series, especially SG-1 and Atlantis. And from other hand, I like challenges.

David Read:
There you go. How long did it take?

Robert:
It was seven years ago, and I don’t remember. Half a year or a few months for sure, I think.

David Read:
So you built the model from scratch?

Robert:
Yes. Based on some drawings I found on the internet, I started developing a prototype. I had some problems with them but figured it out, and I think the third version flies properly. Everything is on my YouTube channel. Because I treat the YouTube channel like a store for my videos, and I attached them to some threads on the forums when I share with colleagues how and what I built. So, let’s say history of F-302 is on YouTube. What can I say else?

David Read:
No, that’s exceptionally cool, man. I’m truly blown away. And you said, “I can’t…” You said you couldn’t show it off. What happened to the model? Did you crash it?

Robert:
Prototypes, I crashed twice.

David Read:
So how many were there?

Robert:
Three.

David Read:
There were three of them? OK.

Robert:
I built three prototypes, and the last one flies. And I had also one crash because of EDF. Do you know what EDF is?

David Read:
What is EDF?

Robert:
See, it’s something like this. It’s a fan. It’s the power for this model. And it’s electrical, powered by some kind of batteries.

David Read:
So it failed?

Robert:
Yes, it blew out.

David Read:
It blew out?

Robert:
The shaft somehow, I don’t know, cut out and the fan blew up and– Then that was the second crash, I think.

David Read:
At least we don’t have any military guys inside of it. That’s the important thing, you’re on the ground. It was radio controlled? You connected a remote control to the thing and made it fly?

Robert:
Yes, it’s remote controlled. If you have five minutes more, I can show you how Bird of Prey works.

David Read:
Sure.

Robert:
OK, give me a second. See, this is transmitter.

David Read:
Oh my God. Wow.

Robert:
The 302 was also big, the plane. Around one meter of wingspan.

David Read:
OK. I expected it to be smaller, but I guess it wasn’t.

Robert:
No, the size is quite similar to this one.

David Read:
Absolutely crazy. I see you’ve taken liberties with the design. You’ve made the wings straight and everything else. That actually– You have to compromise, you have to make it work, and that’s really cool.

Robert:
Exactly. My first prototype was, let’s say, exactly as I found on the drawings. But I had to add some modifications and the third prototype was quite different. The wings were a little different. I can send you photos …

David Read:
Perfect.

Robert:
… to show the difference. I had to make the fuselage longer. For better balance, for example.

David Read:
But you’re taking the time to find the right balance and make it work before you move on. And that’s exceptionally cool. The nice thing about the Bird of Prey is that the wings, that’s the cruise configuration, according to William Shatner in Star Trek IV. You can make it look different ways, and that one is actually one that’s been seen on screen, where the wings are in the center, rather than up or below. I love that you’ve taken a design and made it your own. And the fact that you’ve found an aesthetic… Oh my God. You did not just do that. They actually… they move?

Robert:
Yes, exactly, they move.

David Read:
Now they’re in attack mode. That’s ridiculous. Oh, man.

Robert:
And it flies.

David Read:
Dude, you’ve won the day.

Robert:
And it works and it flies.

David Read:
That is just too crazy.

Robert:
OK. Sorry. Here are control surfaces. And it flies.

David Read:
So, the glider flew on the same principles?

Robert:
Exactly.

David Read:
Dude, that is so cool.

Robert:
See? You have a wing. No problem, it should fly.

David Read:
It should fly. Very, very cool. Flying it is one thing. It’s landing it without breaking it, that’s probably something else. Unless you’ve got a little George Takei flying it in there. That’s probably– That’s really cool.

Robert:
And then I’m landing with this bird with upper wing configuration.

David Read:
That’s exceptional. You give a fan enough time and resources and they’ll generate pretty much anything. So, that’s really cool. From Pop! figures back here to flying spacecraft in the atmosphere. So, that’s really cool.

Robert:
I see many interesting things in the background. Yes, I see Atlantis City, and what else?

David Read:
Destiny.

Robert:
Yes, the small– OK. There’s the Destiny.

David Read:
I need to get it on a platform or something, ’cause you can’t see it. The profile is so thin.

Robert:
Star Trek is– You have Gates.

David Read:
I do have Gates. I got a couple of Gates. So, this one was fan-made up here. This one was made by Legends Memorabilia. Let’s see here. So, this is a 3D. This is an early 3D model. A few toys. I don’t know how I’m going to move without breaking some of them. Something is gonna get broken. I’m trying not to think about it.

Robert:
Don’t think about it too much.

David Read:
I know, exactly. This is really cool, man. You truly, truly blew my mind. I was watching and I was like, “I can’t believe I’m seeing this. This is… that he actually made it work.” I assumed that you could fly something like that in a straight line relatively for a little bit, but he’s actually maneuvering it. And that was just… That’s so cool. My dad is a helicopter pilot. He’s flown since the Vietnam War, so I’ve been exposed to aerial craft all my life, and this thing was just like, “This is crazy. This guy made a glider fly.” So, you’ve done a Klingon Bird of Prey as well. What other kind of interesting sci-fi things have you flown?

Robert:
Recognize?

David Read:
That’s not from Aliens, is it? No.

Robert:
No. It’s Hammerhead from Space: Above and Beyond.

David Read:
OK. I’ve not seen it. That’s very cool.

Robert:
Movie from the ’90s about militaries in space. I recommend it to you.

David Read:
And you have flown that?

Robert:
Yes, of course.

David Read:
That is so cool.

Robert:
At the moment, it’s retired …

David Read:
Yes, very much so.

Robert:
… on the wall.

David Read:
That’s very cool. Bob, I wanna thank you for taking the time to come on and to absolutely blow me away about my preconceptions. I always knew– I saw a lawnmower fly when I was a little kid, and I always knew if you give something enough thrust, you can give it flight. But, for whatever reason, with the gliders, I was always like, “Nah, that’s not… No. I can’t see that flying.” And you changed my mind by creating an actual flying craft. That’s really cool, and I thank you for coming on.

Robert:
Thank you very much. You can build it yourself. The plans are on the RC Groups thread and you can build one. Even without RC stuff, just for hanging on the ceiling.

David Read:
Perfect. All right. We will look into that. I will add all the links. My thanks once again to Robert for his patience for us getting this video up. This has been one that I’ve really been wanting to share for a while now, trying to figure out the format of it. But I’m glad it’s part of the collection now. We’re featuring a number of different actors from in front of the camera, behind-the-scenes personnel, and Stargate fans this month as we close out season three. More’s heading your way, so I hope you enjoy. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate, and I’ll see you on the other side.