In the Air - 2015/05
An RC Flying Tribute to Our Heroes
To some of us who fly RC warbirds, it’s more than just because they look cool. It’s because they are functioning replicas of history. Sadly, with each passing year, we lose more of our veterans.
It has become the mission of one particular group of RC enthusiasts to share that history and keep the memory of our veterans alive. On October 11, 2014, the group achieved its greatest mission ever: performing a flying tribute to a special group of World War II veterans—the members of the 352nd Fighter Group.
The 352nd, known as the Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney, were the youngest group of the Eighth Air Force—not in age, but in experience. Still, they managed to produce 29 aces, flew 420 missions amassing 59,387 operational combat hours, and destroyed 776 enemy aircraft. The group also had the highest-scoring Mustang ace of all time, Maj. George E. Preddy, who shot down six enemy aircraft in five minutes on one mission. More about the achievements of the 352nd Fighter Group can be found at www.352ndfightergroup.com/assoc/main.html.
The veterans and members of the 352nd Fighter Group Association held their 2014 reunion in Huntsville, Alabama, in October 2014. Because of the expense of having full-scale P-51s at the reunions, as they had in the past, it looked as though having any flying representation wasn’t going to happen. This is when association member and RC enthusiast Aleksey Lomov brainstormed the idea of having as many RC pilots with 352nd Fighter Group RC airplanes attend for a flying tribute.
Aleksey found that the Rocket City Radio Controllers (RCRC) club was the closest AMA field to the reunion. Fellow association member and RC enthusiast Derik Rinehart of Decatur, Georgia, put the call out on RCGroups and contacted the president of RCRC, Bill Mitchell, to help make it happen. Several on RCGroups responded but, unfortunately, couldn’t make it.
In the end, there were 16 P-51s representing the 352nd Fighter Group and nine FMS 1,450mm P-51s. It was an impressive lineup and the flying tribute gave the RC pilots a chance to show the veterans exactly how and why they fly warbirds. After the flight demos, Derik gave a speech telling the history of the 352nd Fighter Group. Rain threatened the event, letting up only a few minutes before the veterans’ arrival, and held off until right after the last airplane was loaded up for home.
Five of the living veterans of the 352nd attended the event, and two of the models represented aircraft flown by those veterans. Jim Butler of West Virginia flew the P-51B The West "By Gawd" Virginian, replicating the airplane of attending veteran Lt. Robert “Punchy” Powell of the 328th. Derik flew the P-51B that replicated Lt. Elmer Smith’s aircraft.
All of the 352nd Fighter Group models were accompanied by historical data sheets, giving information about the airplane, pilot, and their achievements. Derik said of the event: "It all came together thanks to the quick thinking of Aleksey Lomov and, most importantly, the cooperation and incredible hospitality of the Rocket City club members. We take our mission of representing these great veterans very seriously. The only way to keep their memory and achievements alive is to continue perpetuating their history.
"We chose to use our hobby as a means to do this. Doing the demo at their reunion was our way of saying thanks, and letting them know we will never forget what they did. Hopefully what we did will encourage others to do the same."
Veterans and RC Pilots
- Veterans who attended:
- Richard Creamer
- John Kaprelian
- Louis O’Brien
- Howard Polin
- Robert “Punchy” Powell
- Elmer Smith
- RC pilots who flew 352nd replicas:
- Aleksey Lomov (Pennsylvania)
- Jim Butler (West Virginia)
- Keith Rinehart (Georgia)
- Derik Rinehart (Georgia)
- Gavin Woodruff (Georgia)
— submitted by Derik Rinehart
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
