THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 22, 1995 TAG: 9509200245
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY WILLIAM D. SROUFE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
FATHERS OF FLIGHT Orville and Wilbur Wright might be surprised to learn that there's a new breed of pilot these days - one who never takes his feet off the ground.
The firm-footed fliers are radio-controlled aircraft enthusiasts, guiding model planes through the sky via radio signals.
More than 300 of them gathered at the Fentress Airfield last weekend for the Bay Area Giant Scalers Club's annual fly-in, a three-day event to showcase the joys of radio-controlled flying. The club is the local chapter of the International Miniature Aircraft Association.
Despite some rain, the event drew fliers and fans from up and down the East Coast, talking technical, swapping stories and bragging a little.
``Most of the guys here have already worked through flying the small planes,'' said John Baldwin, Bay Area Scalers president, who has been involved with radio-controlled flying for about 10 years. ``After that they get tired of them and, like a boat, you've always got to have a bigger one.''
With wingspans of as long as six feet, many of the planes on hand last weekend were modeled after World War II fighting machines such as the F-4U Corsair or P-51 Mustang.
They're not the kind a hobbyist could put together with a tube of glue and a few free weekend hours.
``You'll find a lot of folks involved in our organization are engineers, architects, nuclear people,'' Baldwin said. ``We have folks from all walks of life. The organization has more than 10,000 members worldwide.''
The local club has a roster of about 40, some from as far away as Williamsburg.
Baldwin said most people get started in radio-controlled flying with a simple model.
``This adult playground can get expensive,'' he said. ``You can get a kit for around $150, and by the time you get the engine and transmitter, it's about $500.''
With faster and more maneuverable planes, the flying gets more complicated.
``We often have pilots come into the hobby and then actually find this harder to do . . . than flying a real airplane,'' he said.
Sometimes when flying a model plane, left is right and right is left. Up is down and down is up. Speeds can get up to 200 miles per hour.
``Nothing will humble you quicker than flying one of these planes,'' Baldwin said.
Fred Wilson,[ a former Tuskeegee Airman and retired Air Force maj]or from Burnt Chimney, learned to fly real airplanes from his father, a bush pilot in Canada.
The bigger the model, Wilson said, the easier it is to fly.
``When they're big, they're more visible and you can see what you're doing,'' he said. ``And when you're putting them together, the bigger ones have bigger parts and are easier to put together.''
Bill Adams, of Alexandria, Va., who travels as far as Florida to fly-ins, said his passion for radio-controlled flying started back in 1973.
``I tried to get into the hobby back when I was in high school,'' he said. ``But, I couldn't get anyone to help me learn anything about it. So, I would get a plane, crash it, take it home and fix it, and do it all over the next day.'' [ Finally, about five years ago, Adams said, he went to a club and met] a guy who taught him to fly.
``Once you are able to take off, land and turn around, the rest of it's pretty easy,'' Baldwin said.
Most of the planes are made with fiberglass hulls; the wings are made of foam cord in balsa sheeting. Engines are gas-powered. Some have propellers, some are modeled after jet planes.
For Charlie Trivits, of Harrington, Del., a trip to the Fentress fly-in about six years ago has cost him a lot of money since.
``I made the mistake of coming down here when they were having a jet fly-in,'' said Trivits, a residential builder, who first taught himself to fly with propeller airplanes and eventually moved up to jet engines. ``I should have gone bowling that day, it would have saved me a lot of money, but I have been flying jets ever since.''
Although the rain kept him from flying his $6,500 F-4 twin-engine Phantom jet last weekend, Trivits said he has many opportunities throughout the year.
``This is our shortest run,'' Trivits explained. ``We've been to Texas, Canada, Florida, Ohio, and we used to travel a lot more, but we're beginning to slow down a bit. But, I like to do it whenever I can.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by L. TODD SPENCER
[color cover photo, no cutline info.]
Garrie Taylor and Lloyd D. Hinrichs work to get a radio-controlled
plane to start during the Bay Area Giant Scalers Club's annual
fly-in.
Frank Himmerich disassembles his airplane before packing it up to
head home.
Arnold Smith of Hampton guides his plane through the air.
David Reynolds works on his airplane before flying on Sunday out of
Fentress Airfield.
Jerry Moore and Eddie Israel walk back to their cars after a day of
flying. Some of the radio-controlled planes had wingspans of up to
six feet.
by CNB