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| Wild blue yonder (Fall 2007) |
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Take off with those magnificent men and their miniature flying machines
By Dean Houghton
Frank Annett brings up the power on
four Saito engines, urging a scale
model of a B-17 bomber to begin
its roll forward while time marches
backward. From a distance, the bird
looks like - and even sounds remarkably
like - the famous World War II heavy bomber.
As it makes a graceful climbing left turn into
the flight pattern, the calendar shows 1944,
and this is an Allied field in England instead
of grass runway in central Iowa. We could be
watching the Memphis Belle head off to war.
But no, the base of operations for this
flight is a sanctioned field operated by Central
Iowa Aeromodelers, a few grassy acres
rented from a farmer just north of the little
town of Cambridge. Annett is one of the three dozen
or so folks who come out here to launch
their miniature flying machines. These are
supposed to be toys, not time machines, but
they are the kind of toys played with by big
boys who are serious about their fun.
Sky's the limit.
Model aeronautics is both
a sport and a hobby, and enthusiasts are flying
just about every kind and size of aircraft
imaginable. The Academy of Model Aeronautics
has more than 160,000 members across
the nation and charters more than 2,500
model-airplane clubs like this one in Iowa.
From the earliest days of aviation there
have been hand-launched balsa wood free-flight
gliders, followed by an era of model
aircraft flown on a control line. But the radio-controlled
(RC) airplanes take center stage
at this Iowa field, sporting glow-fuel engines
powered by a mixture of methanol and nitro-methane. Annett has brought along a stunt
plane, a model based on an Extra 300S aerobatic
airplane. This little orange-and-black
model packs a 1.5 cubic inch engine that
allows it to scorch the sky at 120 miles an
hour and match (or exceed) any aerobatic
maneuver its piloted bigger brother can perform.
"It's a lot of fun to fly," Annett says.
Spread spectrum.
The digital age has
brought a new level of reliability to the radios
used to control these RC airplanes. The
latest radios are based on spread-spectrum
technology, using frequencies similar to those
used for cell phones. These systems virtually
eliminate frequency interference, ensuring a nearly foolproof radio link. The combination
of multi-channel transmitters and tiny onboard
servos do a variety of chores on an RC
aircraft. On the B-17, for example, a 10-channel
transmitter sends commands for basic
flight controls - such as throttle, rudder, and
ailerons - but it also sends signals to retract
the landing gear and even open bay doors on
the belly for a simulated bomb drop.
Sophisticated computer simulators
provide another digital-age boost
for model aeronautics. While it's
still recommended that you learn to
fly through instruction from an RC
veteran, these simulators offer a way to build
hours and experience. And the inevitable
crashes that come from inexperience can be
fixed with the press of a computer key. With
photo-realistic flying fields, hundreds of RC
aircraft to choose from, and the ability to view
your flying from the ground or from the cockpit, these simulators can be addictive. And
they're a way to keep flying skills sharp when
winter weather sits in.
Dave Sult, a member of the central Iowa
club, used a simulator to do his training for
flying RC helicopters. "It saved a lot of parts
during the learning process," he quips. The
simulator also helped get his son, Michael, involved
in the sport. The young man built his first airplane
at age 11, and spent much of the next
winter sharpening his flying skills. He's now
13 and seems to spend as much time flying
his plane inverted as upright.
"RC flying has been a great family activity
for us," Dave says. "We build together in the
basement during the winter, and we spend a
lot of weekends flying together. It's our chance
for some good father-son quality time."
Young people also are attracted to a new
extreme sport that has blossomed from aeromodeling.
It's called 3-D flying, and it basically consists of flying an airplane in ways
that would have Orville and Wilbur Wright
shaking their heads. With outlandish power-to-weight ratios, these aircraft can continue to
fly even after the wing has stalled. Pilots pull
off dangerous maneuvers close to the ground
and hover their planes vertically under the
spinning propeller. Competitions draw big
crowds and pay big prize money to hot pilots.
Frank Annett is a Top Gun of sorts, having
participated in a competition in Florida with
his A-26 Invader warbird. He likes to build
warbirds in his spotless workshop, which
was converted from a hog shed on the acreage
that he and his wife, Sandy, purchased
south of Cambridge. A number of warbirds fill
the shop, including a P-40 Warhawk, a P-47
Thunderbolt, and an AT-6 Texan.
Next on his list to build is a B-29
bomber from plans scaled down
from the famous airplane. "It's
going to have a 14-foot wingspan,"
Annett says. "I've got the
wood in the shop, ready to go."
While building models has long been part
of RC flying, there are options available today
that reduce or eliminate the need to craft your
own airplane. ARF (almost ready to fly) and
RTF (ready to fly) kits are now offered. RTF
kits often are offered as packages that include
all necessary hardware and radio gear.
Foam flying machines.
Simple to build and
propelled by powerful, quiet electric motors,
foam aircraft are among today's most popular
selling models. Central Iowa Aeromodelers
member Denny Goodrich has an electric-powered
Pitts biplane. It's quite a contrast to
the B-17, which weighs around 40 pounds.
This little craft weighs less than 12 ounces.
The flat styrofoam airplane can be flown
in small areas on windless days, or even flown
inside gymnasiums. "These are called ‘park
fliers,'" he says. "They fly slowly and the
electric motors are quiet, so they often are
allowed to be flown in a park. There are a
number of clubs that use indoor facilities
for flying so people can enjoy the sport year round,
regardless of the weather outside."
Backyard airbase.
All these technological
advances mean that anyone with a patch of
grass and a chunk of blue sky can have their
own base of operations. "I think many of us
had a dream of operating our own airport
for model planes," says Bob Hunt, editor of
Model Aviation magazine. "Today's technology
allows you to do that very easily." He
suggests you start by searching for information
on the Web, at sites like the AMA's www.
modelaircraft.org. "There are hundreds of online
forums, as well as magazines and other
information sources," he says. "You'll find
everything you need to start flying."
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