West Coast Electrics extravaganza

The Silent Electric Fliers of San Diego host a first-class meet

Modelers fortunate enough to make the trek to San Diego in February were richly rewarded with a four-day weekend of world-class electric flying. The fourth annual Mid Winter Electric Fly-In hosted by the Silent Electric Fliers of San Diego (SEFSD) and primarily sponsored by Hitec RCD was a rousing success, with more than 100 pilots registered. Estimates of the final model count rose to over 350 by the end of the event. The word is out: this event is a must for any electrics enthusiast.

The flying started a bit slowly; recent rains had flooded the SEFSD field and forced the club to move the event to nearby Fiesta Island. On Friday morning, dedicated volunteers literally built a new runway by hand and then rolled it smooth with their cars. Their efforts were successful, and the first flights began less than two hours after the scheduled start on a new dry field.

Friday's flying was spectacular. The sky was cloudless, and the winds were light. Open sport flying was the rule, and the pilots were not slow to capitalize on the weather and the new facility.

On Saturday, unofficial flights began just after sunrise. Official flying followed the pilots' briefing shortly after 8 a.m. and didn't let up all day. The weather cooperated again with light winds under a high overcast. All types of activities filled the day, from laughter-inducing hijinks to serious competition. Beautiful scale models were put through their paces, helicopters danced, and racers streaked across the sky.

SKY SCOOTER SHENANIGANS

The folks who brought Funtec Sky Scooters had some of the most fun; there were three official events for these durable craft. The first was Sky Scooter pylon racing. Wise enough to know that no pilot can leave well enough alone, the event organizers offered both Stock and Custom classes. Both heats provided good racing action for beginners as well as experts. In the Custom class, veteran competitor Steve Neu ran away from the field with his all-red "Death from Below" model. His sense of humor really shone with this model that, despite being liberally covered with homemade decals-some of them flapping in the breeze-easily lapped the field. Perhaps it was a combination of his smooth flying and an Aveox motor that provided the winning edge. The planned Sky Scooter combat was an action-packed furball, as more than 15 aircraft tried to engage one another. Not a single hit was scored, but despite this (or perhaps because of it), the pilots and spectators nearly collapsed in laughter.

All Up/Last Down for the Sky Scooters was another interesting event. Some climbed aggressively, banking all hope on a long glide back to earth. Others thought it was a continuation of the combat event and tried to knock competitors from the sky. In the end, Hitec rep Glenn Merritt bested the field with an absolutely stock setup. His secret? He trimmed his model so it just slightly gained altitude in a large left circle and then set his transmitter on the ground!

RACERS AND SCALE MODELS

In more serious competition, Speed 400 pylon racing continues to advance. Despite their humble beginnings, these little $10 motors are generating amazing speeds. Their small airframes made these little screamers difficult to follow. Not to be outdone, the larger FAI-- class racers provided another level of excitement as they made the smaller Speed 400 racers look just a bit more humble.

Do you have the need for speed with a larger wingspan? FSB gliders are astounding. With the ability to disappear from sight within a few seconds, these models are not for the faint of heart. Several of them took to the skies over the weekend.

Scale fans were not disappointed in the search for speed, either. Steve Toschi's remarkable MiG lSs were back, as were a number of their offspring: both RnR and K&A Models offer kits derived from Steve's handiwork, and these were well represented. These fantastic airplanes gave a really convincing impression of jetfighter performance.

Scale modelers who were looking for something a bit more relaxed, both in performance and cost, showed off a number of nice WW I and Golden Age aircraft. Fred Harris of San Diego brought a Nieuport biplane, a Sopwith Triplane, a Longster Wimpy and an American Eaglet Parasol. All were exceptionally well executed, and Fred flew them in a very convincing manner. Of more recent vintage was Chuck Haverlah's semi-scale U-2 driven by a small ducted fan. His 7-ounce model was complete with a small digital surveillance camera!

Perhaps the most impressive scale model was brought by Ed Sweeney of Black Forest, CO. Ed's model was a large Laser from the Murray kit. As impressive as the 66-inch-span airframe was in its own right, the power system was truly at the leading edge of model flying: two Aveox motors drive a 3-blade prop through a custom toothed belt drive. At full throttle, the power level is approximately 4.4hp! Obviously, you don't get to run that much power for very long with batteries, so Ed has gone several steps further toward refining the system. He spent much of the last year designing and prototyping the world's first digitally controlled, constant-speed propeller for model airplanes. His first flight ever with this system was Friday evening in waning light. Those of us who were still around were treated to something very special indeed. The story of this propeller is much too complex for this article. Suffice it to say that the power system seemed to fly his model quite well, and the sound at run-up as Ed cycled the propeller was just like that of a fullscale prop getting the same exercise. We all look forward to further development of this unique system.