Mid-America Electric Fly

Model Airplane News, Jan 1999 by Marshall, Larry

Keith and Ken throw a quiet little party...

THE ELECTRIC FLYERS ONLY and the Ann Arbor Falcons are two groups of electrics flyers who have been around for a long time. Headed by Ken Meyers and Keith Shaw, respectively, these groups have promoted electric flight by holding an annual meet called the "Mid-America Electric Fly," which is now being held on the outskirts of Detroit, MI.

Keith and Ken know how to throw a good party. [heir modus operandi is fairly simple: they provide a great site; they insist on safe flying and good frequency control ... and little else. While they do have some low-key awards for "Best Scale," [Best Jet" and the like, Keith properly puts these in perspective by saying, "Don't risk your airplane for a 50-cent plaque." Maybe most of all, Keith and Ken understand electrics flyers, so bullhorns and PA systems don't exist at their meet, leaving the flying field quiet, as we electrics flyers have come to enjoy.

Of course, there is also food-a great barbecue on the field; nothing fancy, but good and plentiful. Best of all, when you've finished eating, you can go back to flying.

And fly we did; in fact after the banquet, we flew until the sun went down, and many of the guys simply switched planes and spent the next few hours flying in the dark with lighted airplanes. Electric power is ideal for this, as a flip of the switch starts the motor, and there's little in the way of field equipment to get lost in the dark. Many power their lights off the motor battery, so no setup is required either. Some people simply tape cyalumes to their wings and tail. Doug Ingraham did this with his Hobby Lobby* Timothy and then passed the box around for others to try. Jim Ryan has a bunch of lights stuffed inside his Clancy* Lazy Bee, and in flight, it looks something like a Chinese lantern. Ralph Weaver flies a Hobby Lobby Bleriotan indoor flyer that's ideal outdoors when the wind is down. The plane has running lights and a small strobe, and it looks great in the air. Using some of the new lithium cells, Ralph gets 40 minutes of flight time, so he, too, passed his transmitter around so others could give it a try.

During the day, the sky was filled with airplanes. Keith debuted his new /4-scale Fokker DVIII, putting in its first flight during the event's "setup day." It's powered by one of the new MaxCim* mega-motors and 30 cells; the plane weighs 13 pounds. I was lucky enough to see the first flight, and as Keith inched the throttle forward, we all held our breath in anticipation. But before he got to half throttle, the plane had jumped off the ground and was flying away as pretty as you please. Keith isn't a shy pilot, and before we knew it, he was doing Cuban-8s, loops and rolls. At one point, he pulled it up and did a torque roll. I think it's fortunate that the Germans of WW I didn't have MaxCim producing their motors.

Dave Grife flew his new Fokker DVII. Built from a Proctor* kit, it weighs 24 pounds with an AstroFlight* FAI 60, a Superbox and 36 cells. It flies "as good as it looks," though Dave is searching for the right prop to make it purr as well as he'd like.

Another plane shown off at this year's meet was Jim Ryan's Speed 400-powered Bearcat (see this month's construction article for more details). What a sweetheart this plane is. Jim let me fly it, and I felt that it flies even better than his Hellcat in that it seems to track better and it's more stable in inverted flight. It continues to amaze me how much fun these small, simple warbirds are. Jim should have kits available soon.

Chris True's jets were a highlight. He has scratch-built a small MiG-15 that he powers with a slightly modified Wemotec* fan and an Astro FAI 035. He has similar power in his Kyosho* T-33, though he uses the supplied fan with that one. Both of them really get up and scoot, as he uses 10, Sanyo 1250mAh cells, and the 035s really hum.

And speaking of Kyosho T-33s, this simply has to be the model of the year in the electrics community. There were a couple of stock versions of this plane at the meet, and they fly great. This plane is the talk of the town, and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of them.

But electrics aren't all about big planes and high performance. One of the prettiest planes I saw was Les Garber's Bleriot. He powers it with a Leisure* OS with 3:1 gearbox and seven 1400mAh cells. At 30 ounces, this beautiful flying machine with all its flying wires was simply stunning in flight. He also flew an 18-ounce autogyro using a Speed 400 motor and seven 500mAh cells.

I've attended a lot of electrics events over the last few years, and none comes close to providing such a high-quality flying and social experience as does MidAmerica. Maybe more important, Keith and Ken seem to be able to make it better every year. It's truly becoming "the event" in the minds of a growing number of electrics flyers. If you fly electrics, you might consider setting aside some time in July '99 to attend Mid-America.