SAn DIeGO MID-WInteR ELECTRICS

Model Airplane News, Jun 2004 by Reid, John

SoCal power-up!

Today's electric RC planes can range from tiny 3D flyers that flit and zoom like high-energy insects to gorgeous 1/3-scale warbirds that exemplify heavy-metal, electric power that has permeated every aspect of RC. Recognizing the awesome potential of battery power, the Silent Electric Flyers of San Diego eight years ago began to host the Mid-Winter Electrics every February. In that time, members have seen electric flight grow in leaps and bounds, while their own event has become the West Coast's premier electric get-together. Mid-Winter Electrics is a gathering of pilots, vendors and spectators who all share the latest in design, technology and performance for electric fliers. Though there are some contests for competition-minded fliers and noontime demos by manufacturers, most of the four days revolve around open flying, allowing pilots to show off their latest projects to fellow pilots without the fear of competition jitters.

THE WHO'S WHO OF ELECTRIC FLIGHT

This year's event attracted 110 pilots from eight states and Canada. Attendees came from California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and from as far away as New York and Pennsylvania, and one pilot was from Germany! Next to the pit area was a vendors' row, where 21 local suppliers of fine RC products showed and sold their latest merchandise. Some notables included Hitec, Hobby People, Dymond Modelsports, Thunder Power and Castle Creations, just to name a few. An estimated 900 to 1,000 spectators crowded in to admire the static display of planes in the pits and to purchase some much-needed RC products.

This year's emphasis was on open flying, and that's exactly what we got. Participants awaited their turns to fly in the teeming skies, where three to six planes flew at any given moment. The Silent Electric Flyers did a great job of regulating the frequencies to avoid any problems in the skies. When a pilot was ready to fly, he took his AMA card to the frequency-control tent, and if his frequency was in use, the card was put behind the one of the person flying. If the frequency was clear, he was given his transmitter and permission to fly. Each pilot was allowed 10 minutes of flying time; if it ran longer, a request to land came over the loudspeaker.

NOONTIME DEMOS

The windy weather didn't favor some of the planned events, but the daily noontime demonstrations went on without a hitch. The demo pilots from the vendor booths had the necessary flying skills to successfully navigate in windy conditions. Many new products demonstrated how far electric-powered flight has come. Longer flight times combined with power-producing batteries and motors really made for an entertaining noon demonstration. One such demo came from Dymond Modelsports, when Helmut Goestl carried up a 2.8-meter (114-inch) Last Down XL glider piggy-back on a Rearwind Speeder. The 100-inch Rearwind Speeder is powered by a 40-5 Actro motor and weighs 25 pounds with the glider attached. During the climb to altitude, a smoke system was activated that came from the wingtips of the glider and from under the fuselage of the Rearwind Speeder and continued after the planes separated.

EVERYBODY LIMBO

Sunday's weather was much better, and the flying line was always long. Everyone passed the time by waiting for the day's big events-the raffles and Dr. Jet's dreaded limbo combat. The raffles-with more than $6,000 in prizes-took some time to complete. Tickets were distributed to pilots with their entries and to workers based on length of service, and they were sold to the general public. Needless to say, after the raffle, many people walked around with some newly acquired prizes.

During the raffle drawing, workers set up the limbo line across the field. At about six feet high, it didn't seem to pose that big a challenge. But then they attached large, three-prong fishing hooks that hung down two to three feet, and just to make it a little harder, 8x8x16-inch concrete blocks were randomly placed under the bar to make touch-and-go passes a little more challenging. Now the planes had only two to four feet clearance under the limbo line; OK, that might be a little more difficult to fly under. Contestants earned 1 point for each time their plane passed under the limbo bar; flying inverted under the bar earned 2 points.

This event is a little different each year and is always a crowd-pleaser because (author's opinion) of the carnage! This year, it was even more of a crowd-pleaser because the spectators were allowed to participate in creating a little destruction. There were buckets filled with about 200 tennis balls, and anyone who felt the need could throw these at the planes while they navigated the limbo bar in an effort to eliminate participants from the competition. Daniel Belknap, son of Steve Belknap of Diversified Model Aircraft, survived the tennis ball onslaught and won the Limbo Combat. Both the pilots and the crowd had so much fun that after a short break to collect all the balls, they flew another round just for kicks! After the wreckage cleanup, it was back to open flying.