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Jim Newman's homebuilt RC Piper Cub balances on one wheel just prior to taking off during Saturday's R/C Fly In. Newman drove down from Iowa to participate in the event.
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Then moments later at the north end of the runway, the homebuilt plane controlled by 17-year-old Marshall High School senior Joshua Weinreich plumetted into the cornfield.
Weinreich ran down the side of the runway to recover his plane, built from odds and ends of plastic cardboard with a yardstick acting as a wing spar. It is called a spad and they are made cheaply from forgiving materials.
"I use this plane for combat," Weinreich said. "I guess I have little less than $100 in it."
Remote control air combat is when planes are affixed with streamers and pilots attempt to cut the other pilot's streamer with their prop.
"There are a lot crashes in RC combat," Weinreich said.
However, crashes were not the focus of attention at the Slater R/C Fly In. More than a dozen pilots brought planes from about the county with entries hailing from Arizona and Iowa, as well as, Kansas City and Marshall.
Steve Speiser and his son Cale came down from Kansas City to fly their purple Pro-Cub.
"We built it last year from a kit," Steve said as Cale guided the plane out onto the runway and up into the air.
As Cale banked the plane and raced by the standings performing aerobatic tricks, another plane whined by noticeable for the lack of motor sounds coming from its large twin-engine frame.
Jim Newman's electric Twin Star was painted in the color scheme of an old Army Beechcraft. The electric engines make far less noise than the Nitro-Methane powered planes and represent a significant change in the future of R/C aviation.
"Electrics are becoming more and more popular," said Tim Reeder, the event's announcer.
The event brought out several hundred people throughout the day. Some stayed most of the day and some stayed to watch for a while and have a burger.
Reeder, who is offering an introductory class in building and flying R/C planes through the Saline County Career Center, said the costs to start flying R/C aircraft can be kept pretty low -- especially if a person joins a club.
"The vast majority of that (start-up) expense is re-useable from airplane to airplane," he said.
A big hit early on was a flying John Deere lawn mower built and flown by Don Ronnebaum, of Marshall.
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Comments
Growing up in Marshall in the 50's and 60's, my favorite magazine was RC Modeler, which showcased RC airplanes and gliders built by hand. The plans for these airplanes, every last one of those plans, are still sold by the original Publisher, Bill Northrup. Later in life, as a retiree, I got to know Bill (now approaching 90) and his lovely wife, Anita. They are neighbors and friends of ours. Bill once held the world record for the highest controlled flight and descent of an RC airplane, and his house is filled with every imaginable model, engine, landing gear and control box known to man. One of his friends from back in the early days of RC was Ace (?) who owned Ace RC electronics of Higginsville MO. One side of his office is devoted to the rolled plans for all the models showcased in his magazine each month from the first publication until after he sold it to another publisher in the 90's.
When Bill and Anita come over for dinner or a drink, I just pour and let Bill start talking. His tales from the early days of RC are fascinating and can easily fill in a whole evening.
Very good