THE MID-SOUTH Fly-in 2006 was a great
success! The weather was in the mid 70s,
little wind, and a flying field manicured so
well that even the 1/2A models could be
ROG! We had participants from Florida,
Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia,
and West Virginia.
This year’s event included the Class III
Pattern event. With 24 pilots and more than
100 aircraft, we had much more general
flying than in previous years! There were as
many as six aircraft in the air at one time and
some pilots recorded 10-15 flights on
Saturday alone!
Our spectator count almost quadrupled
from last year’s event. Several toured the pits
and the displays of vintage radio equipment
and asking all sorts of questions. A special
thanks to Ron Morgan, Don Patterson, and
everyone else who showed their collections
of radio gear and answered questions.
Some noted names in the hobby visited
with us including Bliss Teague, the AMA
District IV vice president, and Doug Holland,
the executive vice president of AMA. Also
visiting were Dave Platt with his beautiful
Falcon 56 and Norm Rosenstock offering
signed copies of his book Tales of an Ancient
Modeler. Let’s not forget Nats manager Ron
Morgan who helped with the event.
There were few mishaps but one that was
quite interesting was Dave Platt planting his
Falcon 56 in top of an 80-foot tree. With
some discussing on how to dislodge the
model, Southern Wake Aero Modeling Pilots
Society (SWAMPS) club president and flying
site owner Ralph Tutor convinced his son to
do a little tree bumping with his Bobcat skid
steer loader!
The tree gave up its prize with only a
broken propeller and needle valve. John
Johnson of John’s Hobbies was a participant
and has a large stock of vintage engine parts
in his store. John made a trip and returned
with the much-needed needle valve. Dave did
some minor repairs in the pits, was again in
the air, and went on to win the Concours!
Patsy Tutor is the maintenance person
responsible for the well-manicured site.
Model
manufacturers
Dan, Billie, and
David Gipe of
Early RC Models
came from
Michigan and
displayed their
vintage designs.
Jeff Petroski of
Home and Hobby
Solutions was on
hand with his
Kwik Fli III.
Thanks to these
people for donating some of their kits for the
give away and a special thanks to Tower
Hobbies, Ace RC, and Great Planes for
donating prizes!
The swap meet produced some great deals
on some aircraft, radios, and engines at good
prices. CD Dick Pettit picked up a huge Miss
Philadelphia on Saturday and flew it Sunday!
Saturday night’s banquet offered some of
the best eating found in the area. Thanks to
Pasty and Ralph Tutor for finding the
LinShire By the Pond facility that provided
great food and a wonderful environment for
the banquet. Many who attended asked the
owner Shirley for her recipes!
Sunday’s weather looked rather poor
everywhere except the flying field! Many
people left early but the ones who stayed
were treated to another fine day!
Thanks to my wife Elizabeth, daughter
Christina, Laura Evans, and Brian Taylor for
helping out in the concession stand, Rick
Cawley and Ed Evans for frequency control,
and Dick Pettit for CDing. A special thank
you goes to Ralph and Patsy Tutor for the use
of their superb flying facility and their
support of this event.
I hope to see you next year for the Mid-
South Vintage RC Society Fly-in!
Photographs are courtesy of Ron and Jane
Morgan, Dick Pettit, and Christine Harris.
—Bob Harris .
CD Dick Pettit with his Miss Philadelphia.
Ron Morgan checking a de Bolt Cobra.
Pattern winners included Dave Burton,
Dwane Wilson, and Ronnie Weaver with club
president Ralph Tutor.
Noted modeler Norm
Rosenstock attended
the event.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 163