Two Wrights Flying Together At Mid-America 2013

Photo’s by Dennis Summer. Thanks Dennis!

Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 1
Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 1

Great fun getting to fly formation with another 1905 Wright Flyer. We’ll, it was fairly windy and flying was actually more like herding cats around the field. But we got them reasonably close enough to each other for a few fine shots.

Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 2
Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 2
Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 3
Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 3
Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 4
Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 4
Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 1
Keith Shaw & Dave Thacker MidAm 2013 Photo 1
Share

1905 Wright Flyer Enters Scale Competition

If anybody had a photo from that event they could let me add to this article, please forward. Thanks Keith for a fun story!

Hi Dave,
I just got back from the big judged scale meet (Central Ohio Scale) in Westerville. They had a great turnout, something like 47 pilots in 6 judged classes. I entered my Yak UT-1 in Designer Scale and got a third place. The first and second place were last year’s NATS winner and the Runner-Up, so not too bad for my first scale meet in about 15 years…
They had a “Fun Scale” class for beginners and experts, minimal static judging, but regular flight judging. I entered the Wright in Fun Scale Expert just for fun. The concept of doing “precision maneuvers” with the Wright in quite a bit of turbulence gave everyone a good dose of Comic Relief. It was like herding a cat around the sky. Surprisingly, I didn’t place last, as I got great marks for Flight Realism and the multi-motor option.
Early Sunday morning it was dead calm and ***very*** foggy. I flew a flight low and slow to the enjoyment of the spectators and contestants while waiting for the ceiling to lift so that the contest flights could resume. I recharged and waited my turn for the first sunday round. When it came time to fly, it was still very calm, and I had high hopes for a really good flight score. However, when I took off the plane pulled REALLY hard to the right, and full left trim on aileron and rudder and half left stick on aileron and rudder were required to barely fly straight. I struggled mightily to do the required maneuvers, and garnished about the same scores as saturday due to the awkward appearance to the flight and turns. Oh well.
I looked it over after a scary, but safe landing. The high humidity and wet grass had made all the joints on the parallelograms lock up solid. Even with the stain on the wood and the candle wax I rubbed on all the mating surfaces. Once it fully dried out in the sun, everything worked great later in the afternoon. Controls were back to normal, but of course, the winds had come up and the flight scores stayed the same as saturday. Can’t win… 🙂
But it got a LOT of attention, and many favorable comments. At the end of the first flight on saturday, it got a large round of applause and cheering from everyone. I think more photos were taken of it than any other plane at the meet. Hope one of them ends up in the contest write-up for the mags.

Take care,

Keith

Share

Excellent Joe Nall 2013 Video

Check out this fantastic workmanship. In this video you’ll find every reason why you need to get yourself to Triple Tree at least once. Don’t miss out.

Notes from the author of the video:
The Joe Nall Fly-In, which is hosted by the very generous Pat Hartness at his estate in Woodruff South Carolina is possibly the largest radio controlled model aircraft event found anywhere on the planet. And as a model aviation enthusiast I am captivated by the thousands of beautiful aircraft and have great admiration for the piloting skill of those who travel to the event from all over the world.

But for me it is the event itself which keeps drawing me back and each time I drive through the magnificent front gates at Triple Tree Aerodrome I soon forget about the twelve hour journey it took to get there. You see, for seven days in May each year, the Joe Nall Fly-In is our little slice of heaven on earth that we call home. A magical place where people of vastly different ages, religions, occupations, and wealth come together for a common cause and to forget about the stresses of life.

I could have easily filled my slideshow with pretty photos of model airplanes but in doing so I would have done a great disservice to those who have never experienced Joe Nall. Hopefully you will be inspired by my video and perhaps you could join our family next year.

Stan
Buy “You Raise Me Up” on

Comments from Dave:
OK, you all know me, I can’t help myself. I have to put up resistance to the Objectors to Liberty wherever they reside. The fact that you or I couldn’t offer to pay this film maker even $1 to get those aerial shots for us is an Objection to Liberty. What’s wrong with Liberty I ask you? As a society, we need to identify these people who want to control and hamstring us as what they are. There are forces at this very moment attempting to prevent the very video you just enjoyed along with other activities in our hobby. Let us reject their ideology of control and force wherever we see it. Let us reject the Objectors to Liberty. If successful, at the very least, we’ll have more great video’s of our country’s best events!!!!

Share

Swap And Fly August 11, 2012 – Wingmaster Field

Wingmaster Field
Wingmaster Field
Every year in August the Dayton Wingmasters host a Swap and Fly. This year is the 4th annual Swap and Fly, it’s scheduled for Saturday August 11th. Last year we had a full house with a lot of merchandise being bought and sold. Every year it seems to grow and grow. This is an outdoor tailgate swap, bring your own tent/tables if you wish, give a good deal and get one. In addition we welcome you to fly with us at one of the area’s nicest fields. Cost to enter is free. $10 for selling space, first come, first serve. Food is available on site. We hope to see you there!

Swap And Fly
Swap And Fly

Gate Opens At 8:30 For Sellers / Set-Up Swap Meet Starts At 10:00 – Flying Starts At 12:00 – Flyer Below

2012 Wingmasters Swap And Fly Flyer

Wingmasters info and maps on Radical RC Workbench Blog

Wingmasters Club Website

Share

1905 Wright Flyer Kit Wins Award

Flightline Photo borrowed from Ampeer Newsletter
Thanks to Ken Meyers and Keith Shaw (now both AMA Hall of Fame members) for all the work and effort continuing the country’s oldest ongoing electric fly in. The Mid-America Electric Flies. This years event was held July 7 & 8 2012 and is usually scheduled the weekend after July 4th holiday. This event is a gathering of friends and is attended by many builders. The group is full of electric flyers that were working hard at making electric work since long before it was cool or easy. It’s always a great time.

Sunday included an award for the Radical RC 1905 Wright Flyer kit “1st Place CD’s Choice” award. All of us at Radical RC appreciate the award and recognition. It’s such a fun airplane to fly. Several people at the event flew the model including Keith Shaw who is now the proud owner of a kit. He reports to me this is only the 8th kit he’s purchased in his lifetime. Keith normally makes his own plans or occasionally builds from plans scratch building nearly all of his models. We consider it a high compliment that our 1905 Wright Flyer kit will cross the same workbench as a lifetime of award winning and hobby expanding projects Keith Shaw has completed.

The EFO group’s newsleter, the longest running journal for electrick flight. In this issue, coverage of the 28th edition of the Mid-America Electric Flies event. The Ampeer August 2012

Share

Chance To Fly At Huffman Prairie Aero Carnival


Please Tweet, Post or do whatever you can to help me the the news out to pilots that might want to fly their early aviation models at the Wright Aero Carnival at Huffman Prarie.

I am working with the National Parks to bring demonstration flying of early aircraft to the Wright Aero Carnival at Huffman Prairie. The Carnival is a celabration of the Wright Brothers and early aviation. Models may be brought for demonstration flying of any aircraft through 1916. All models are welcome, not only Wright machines. You may bring any aircraft, Curtiss, Langley, Bleriot, many WWI aircraft qualify, even controversal or failed aircraft are welcome. Essentially anything the Wrights might have read news accounts of, hear rumors of, anything that might have been part of the what was going on in the development of flight up to 1916. All of these aircraft help to tell the story of early aviation and that is the point of participating in the event. Flying will be from 10am to Noon and 1pm to 3pm on Saturday August 18, 2012. The public will be in attendance. It’s is a very special and rare opportunity to get a photo of you and your aircraft flying at the worlds first airport, Huffman Prairie.

Aero Carnival Flyer 2012
Aero Carnival Flyer 2012

Aircraft need not be museum scale. Stand off scale, is welcome also. Models of any size are welcome. We will be flying over the same grass as the Wrights flew over. A paved road ajoining the field is available for a runway. I plan to be there with my 1905 kit which is stand off scale. Won’t you bring your model an help fill in the story of early flight?

Flying is not allowed at Huffman Prairie at any other time.

Please contact me if you can come. davthacker77@aol.com (remove the 77, it’s there to foil spam email spiders) There is a limit of 10 pilot slots for this event.

This rare opportunity to fly at Huffman Prairie is also a great way to set a positive example for modeling with the US Airforce and the National Parks Service. Decision makers within the National Parks Service across the country will be reading accounts of this event. What you do here in Dayton on August 18 could have a big impact on modelers elsewhere in the country.


View Larger MapMap showing overall area including I-75, I-70 & I-675 highways.


View Larger Map
On the day of the event, you’ll enter at the Golf Course and follow the signs in. (zoom the map 1 level + to see the road names) On the map above, the west end of Pylon Road will be closed. You’ll drive around the field by following Hebble Creek to right on Marl to right on Symmes to right on Pylon. Our pit area will be between the replica launch derrick and Pylon road at the turn circle.

1905 Wright Shed & Derrick Photo
1905 Wright Shed & Derrick Photo

The view from the flying area of our pit area.

Share

Dayton Hamvention 2012 May 18-20

Hamvention Aerial View
Hamvention Aerial View

Yes, everything you see in the lot is a vendor booth with the exception of the left most triangle. The entire building is full. Several RC vendors with cross-over products attend this event.

Audio Commercial for Hamvention

Hamvention Home Page

I had a ball here one year ago. Not exactly modeling, however, it’s a tinker’s delight. You need to attend this event once in your lifetime. Lots of radio, computer, antenna and misc here. You can see it in one day if you keep those feet moving fast all day.

Share

$400 Flash Bulb Seen At SEFF 2012, Cool Video

Tanken By WildBill at SEFF 2012. Get a load of how big this event is and the 5 flight lines. A large portion of the field was locked out due to Mac leveling the grade of the runway and building the pond. Still plenty of room for 5 flight lines. Will there be 6 next year? Yikes! Oh yea, did I say carbon is conductive?

And the Aftermath Video includes a closer shot of the perps:

Share

Night Bowling at SEFF 2012

This had to be the biggest hoot ever at a night fly. Heard the cheering from across the field, went to investigate and found alot of foam crunching fun going on. Had to be 200 spectators. It looked easier than it was, how could these guys miss so often?

Come to SEFF, learn that you can have more fun that you thought you could take. Stretch yourself.

Share