THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410260132
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04B EDITION: BAYSIDE
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Michael Garmon goes flying at 180 mph several times a month. But he never leaves the ground.
Garman, 49, takes his class B model speed plane to a lot or field, fills the tank with eight minutes worth of nitro-methane fuel, attaches wires to one wing, starts the 29/100 cubic-inch displacement engine that turns 28,000 rpm and let's it fly.
The plane soars and dips, loops and rolls, performs figure-eights, as Garmon works the controls - a 65-foot wire with a wooden handle that he moves to maneuver the plane.
The speedy plane's 1-foot wingspan makes it hard to follow with the eye, but the ear can pick it up. The class B produces about 80 decibels of mechanical energy. It sounds like a swarm of bees on a bombing mission.
Garmon is president of the Norfolk Aeromodelers Club, the second-oldest model airplane club in Virginia. Formed in 1939, the club numbers 25 members, eight or 10 of whom are active in races and other competitions.
A retired Navy master chief, Garmon says of himself: ``the kid in me is still alive.''
Garmon's friend, flying partner and club treasurer, Willis Swindell, 56, echoed the statement.
``My wife recently reminded me of that,'' said the retired Portsmouth fire captain.
The two model airplane enthusiasts go back. Garmon took up model building at the age of 5 or 6; Swindell waited until the ripe old age of 8. They both started flying models a few years after taking up building them.
The garage of Garmon's Virginia Beach home is filled with control-wire model planes of different sizes and classes, about 30 in all. They hang from the wall, sit on work tables, line the floor. Swindell owns a few more than Garmon.
A blueprint of a Garmon-drawn model covers one work table. He has had several of his designs published in model-plane magazines.
``I've been designing for 20 years or so,'' he said, thumbing through magazine articles he also wrote.
The Norfolk Aeromodelers fly weekly. The competitions vary. Some feature precision aerobatics; some, air-to-air combat. Many flyers participate in the speed event. Others simulate landings on a model of an aircraft deck.
``We have guys who build scale models of well-known planes and then compete with that, trying to bring the flight performance as close to the actual plane as possible,''said Garmon.
The fliers have traveled to Tifton, Ga., Charlotte, N.C., and Princeton, N.J., for events.
In the Charlotte race, Garmon and Swindell finished first in a 140-lap speed race. Garmon flew the model and Swindell worked as his pit specialist, refueling the plane and sending it back into the air.
They tried radio-controlled planes, but came back to the wire.
``You can physically feel the control-wire planes,'' said Garmon. ``And they're about a fourth as expensive as the radio models.''
The two said that models are good hobby for all ages.
``There's been a big resurgence lately, a kind of nostalgia for '50s style planes,'' Garmon said.
``Yes, planes that we wanted as kids, but couldn't afford. . . . We can buy them now,'' Swindell added. ``There's a big fad for pre-1952, old-time models.''
Garmon said, ``It's a good hobby for youngsters. They can learn patience, learn to work with their hands and it is very gratifying to see it take off from the ground. I've never seen a youngster building models who got in trouble.''
The Norfolk Aeromodelers Club meets the fourth Tuesday of every month, except in December. For more information, call Michael Garmon at 424-5582 or Willis Swindell at 483-0325. by CNB