Editorial

Model Airplane News, Nov 1997 by Marshall, Larry

HAVING FUN!

One of the ironies of editing a model aviation magazine is that it tends to cut into your flying time. While we do get to attend a lot of flying events, we are more often behind a camera than a set of gimbals. But when given the opportunity to fly and have fun, we're like most modelers and jump at the chance to get some air time. When we found ourselves with an unscheduled weekend that coincided with an electric fun fly organized by Ron and Renee Torrito and the Northern Connecticut R/C Club, Gerry, Debra and I decided to take advantage of our good fortune.

I prepped some of my planes and stuffed a motor into one I hadn't flown in a while. Needing to test-fly it before the meet (I don't like to "test" a model at a flying event), Gerry and I decided we'd put in some flights the evening before. When I showed up at Gerry's house, however, I found him-the archetypic "Give me gas engines or give me death" kinda guy-busily stuffing an AstroFlight Cobalt ISG into a Nifty 50 so he'd have an electric airplane to fly at the impending event. Does this sound reminiscent of nights you've spent in your basement before events? I just couldn't help but chuckle a bit as I dived in to help.

After we had finished our conversion, we headed to a local park. We flew against a setting sun, and a young deer stood calmly at the edge of the field, watching a couple of crazed modelers using the area between second and third base as the runway. Our silent electrics seemed to suit our brush with wildlife just fine. We had fun in the quiet of that evening, and by the time the sun had finally set, we were happy and our planes were ready.

The next day, the 10th running of the NCRCC Electric Fun Fly ran like clockwork. Ron managed to use his connections to provide a superb day of no wind, sunny sky, flying weather for us. Renee produced a large batch of her world famous (at least in the electrics community) chocolate chip cookies and all concerned provided what is the real reason we all attend these events-camaraderie.

Of course, we flew; we all flew a lot. But mostly we had fun being in one another's company at a no-pressure fun fly. And so it goes in this hobby; it's the people who really count. It doesn't matter what you fly; it doesn't even matter where you fly. But who you fly with ... that's what makes or breaks our enjoyment. There is nothing sweeter than flying with friends such that, as you're walking out to fly, someone (as Larry Sribnick did at this event) jokes with you by saying "Everyone's watching" and "No pressure." So kudos to all of you who organize events; you are the glue that holds this hobby together. You motivate us. But most of all, you give us a forum to gather and enjoy one another.

WARBIRDS, AEROTOWINO AND SLOPE SOARING

And speaking of places to have fun, this month, we have coverage of the lOth Annual Miniature Warbirds Festival and Elmira Aerotow events. These meets represent two fast-growing facets of our hobby. The warbird meets are growing both in number and popularity, and the warbird meet in Schenectady is the granddaddy of them all.

Aerotowing of model sailplanes by model power planes is really taking off (pun intended) as more and more people discover the fun of mixing sailplanes with power planes. While the Europeans have been doing this for a long time, it has been slow to migrate to this continent. But it seems the advocates are making up for lost time. The event at Elmira is quickly becoming Mecca for those pursuing this part of the hobby, as the site is associated with the sailplane museum there, and they have good slope lift most of the time. As you'll see from Dave Sanders' coverage, it's a happening event.

If you'd rather go sloping locally, Dave Garwood will show you how to find inland slope sites. His article should punch a few holes in the myth that you need a coast to slope soar.