What Happened to Balsa Wood Airplanes? | The Toy That Couldn't Survive Modern Childhood

Help us reach our goal of 100,000 Subscribers! 🙏🏼 Subscribe:    / @yestertainment   Balsa wood airplanes defined childhood in the 1960s and 1970s. Walk into any local five-and-dime, and you would find yellow kit boxes from companies like Guillows or Comet Model Airplane and Supply. These kits required deep patience, asking you to pin balsa ribs over paper plans and shrink tissue paper tight with airplane dope. The golden age of balsa model airplane kits ended due to two major industrial shifts. First, durable foam RC planes emerged in the 2000s, offering an instant flight experience that required zero building. Second, the global push for renewable energy created an unexpected shortage. Modern wind turbine blades utilize balsa wood cores for strength and lightness. By 2020, turbine manufacturing consumed the majority of Ecuador's balsa exports, tripling the price of the wood and forcing many hobby shops out of business. Despite the foam revolution and supply shortages, the original balsa kits are still being manufactured today. Share the name of the hobby shop where you bought your first kit in the comments below. #nostalgia #modelairplanes #balsawood #documentary #vintageamerica #hobby 0:00 The Plane That Was Always About to Break 1:52 A Box of Raw Sky 4:10 Pins, Plans, and Three Weeks of Sundays 6:51 Three Weeks into Three Seconds 9:03 The Flying Ice Chests Won 11:41 Green Energy Ate the Last of It 13:26 What We Decided Kids Could Handle Video Footage Obtained From:    / @flitetest      / @vintagemodelco      / @joyplanes      / @wizardofhaas      / @naughtyboyrc      / @businessinsider      / @watchingthevideos99