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FERGUSON FIELD Barnstormers, Inc. has
a new name—Smokey Mountain
Barnstormers, Inc.—and a new flying field.
The club had been flying on Cherokee Indian
property for many years and then there was a
problem.
This is not unlike many other club’s
history. In this case, it turned out to be a
blessing and after much hard work, the club
was able to acquire the use of a private airport
near by in Bryson City, North Carolina.
Now the members have the use of a
2,200-foot paved runway and 800 feet of
grassed area parallel to the paved runway.
Smokey Mountain Barnstormers, Inc. had
its first event and field dedication October 4-
5, 2003. They had a lot of flying and good
food, as you can see by the smiles on their
faces. Ken Solomon and Dwayne Wright
supervised the event and I was proud to have
been part of it.
An RC airpane is pictured dropping a
parachute which landed beside the runway.
Ken Solomon displays some of his
equipment.
Chris Wilkinson of Mooresville, North
Carolina, is pictured with his Sukhoi.
This clipped-wing Taylorcraft belongs to
John Stuffs of Mooresville, North Carolina.
Jeff Shumate of Mooresville, North
Carolina, shows his Lazy Ace.
This Dynaflite PT-19 is Tim Huettel’s of
Knoxville, Tennessee.
This Balsa USA Pup is owned by Scotty
Breeden of Benton, Tennessee.
Lee Ament of Madisonville, Tennessee,
owns this Ziroli Stuka.
David Brown of the PoBoys PropTwisters in
North Carolina, sent in the following.
“On the evenings of September 22 and 23,
our club hosted Cub Scout Pack 151 from
Indian Trail for an RC demonstration. The
Scouts were just finishing their aviation
month and planned to visit the field with their
parents.
“On the first night we were to host the
first, fourth, and fifth graders, but the weather
had other plans. At the last moment, a change
of venue was called, so David Brown, club
secretary, met them at the church where they
normally meet and did some inside
demonstrations, including a video, slide
show, and a show-and-tell with a trainer
modal.
“The second night brought better weather,
so the second and third graders came, as well
as with many from the night before who
missed the flying. The Scouts came at 6:30
p.m. via a convoy of cars. In all there were 56
Scouts and 39 Scout leaders and parents.
“To get their attention, we set up a balloon
bust as they drove in and put up two
airplanes, both gunning for the balloon. That
spectacle got everyone up to the safety rope
in pretty short order.
“Following a few brief announcements,
we selected two buddy-box candidates from
this crowd. The fairest (and coolest) method
of choosing we could think of was to drop
ping-pong balls over the field from a Senior
Telemaster, and let the kids run out and grab
the balls while the airplane circled in a distant
holding pattern. Two balls were specially
marked indicating who would fly the buddy
box later in the evening.
“While the two buddy-box Scouts were
briefed, Michael Hill, 2003 Nats Pattern
winner, thrilled the crowd with a short
aerobatic program. As anyone who has ever
seen Mike’s hotdog antics would know, the
crowd was delighted.
“Abe Williams, club president, flew his
Enduro and performed some very pleasing 3-
D maneuvers, finishing with a rotolanding
(controlled flat spin to the ground). David
Brown and Dave Collins then took off the
Senior Telemaster with a piggyback glider.
The kids found it very entertaining to see the
glider lift off the tugplane at altitude.
“Mike Hill launched a Pattern Focus and
did a few exciting laps including an
interactive wave with the crowd and some
close high-speed passes. Danny Allsop put up
his Cub and dropped two parachutes which
the kids were very eager to retrieve. (Because
of safety concerns, they were not allowed to
go after the parachutes.)
“Abe Williams sent up the Enduro for
another rotolanding attempt on the field.
Although this attempt ended in a minor crash
in the weeds, the crowd still enjoyed it.
“Finally our two buddy-box Scouts took
their turns at the end of the buddy cord, using
a trainer with marker lights installed. David
Brown flew the trainer box, while Michael
Hill assisted the kids on the buddy box.
Those kids were beaming as Mike led them
through some basic maneuvers.
“To end the night, the Senior Telemaster
was launched again; this time the mission
was to drop three pounds of candy which the
kids wasted no time in retrieving. Everyone
was appreciative of our fine exhibition, and
showed a lot of interest in perhaps
investigating this hobby further.
“Special thanks to Michael Hill, Steve
Hill, Mike Radeke, Abe Williams, Dave
Collins, Danny Allsop, and David Brown for
making this a huge success. The Scout
leaders have already begun to ask about next
year.”
Note: For a listing of all district volunteer
workers please consult a previous issue of
Model Aviation.
Delaware / District of
Columbia / Maryland /North
Carolina / Virginia
Bliss Teague
Vice President
625 5th Ave., SW, Hickory
NC 28602-2812
Home: (828) 324-2164
Fax: (828) 267-0956
E-mail:
[email protected]
District IV Report
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/05
Page Numbers: 172