District XI
Fern Prairie Modelers — Warbirds over Washougal 2007
The Fern Prairie Modelers (FPM) hosted Warbirds over Washougal 2007. The weather was absolutely beautiful for this annual event. No entrance fee was required—just your AMA card and a warbird. This year 21 pilots signed in and were ready to fly, and since there was no Scale Masters judging calibration, the flying started early.
Most pilots brought several planes, so there was always something in the air. There was a very nice selection of planes and all were flown well.
Several times during the day the FPM EPLFT (electric-power loose-formation team — okay, I just made that up!) consisting of Grant Lord, Cody Stauffer, Jerry Holcomb, and the author flew circuits in an attempt to pass the pilot stations in formation. The participants and their planes included:
- Grant Lord — H9 F6F Hellcat
- Cody Stauffer — Modeltech P-47 Thunderbolt
- Jerry Holcomb — war-weary B-17 Flying Fortress
- Art Newland — H9 P-40E
It's funny — a warbird only has to do a fly-by to be cool!
Thanks to the FPM membership for allowing this event to take place every year, and a special thanks to Jim Riggle for supplying the $100 prize money and his flag-towing Piper Cub at halftime.
—Art Newland
Canby Dusters RC Club — Cub Nuts '07
The Canby Dusters RC Club in Woodburn, Oregon, hosted Cub Nuts '07 Friday and Saturday, September 21–22. This was the second year for the event and the turnout was great. The $20 entry fee included a burger lunch. There were approximately 79 Cubs and close to 90 entries in all; sizes ranged from 18-inch wingspans up to giant 1/3-scale planes.
The premise of the event is to get as many Cub fliers together in one place at one time just to have a good time. Pilots came from the Portland area, Washington, Canada, and even Texas. Dusters club members taking part included:
- Bob Beardsley
- Tom Thomasian
- Don Schultz
- Kelly Martin
- Dan Lurvey
- Terry Criswell
- Bob Hoover
- and others
Saturday was the big day with flight exhibitions and one contest. Highlights included:
- Two helicopters: a turbine-powered scale Hughes 500 and an aerobatic T-Rex flown to music. The aerobatics were impressive considering the pilot had been flying helis for only 18 months and flew to music he heard the day before.
- A performance glider towed to altitude by a mission-built tow plane, then put on a show.
- A Cub racing exhibition: three pylons, 10 laps, no engine limits — big engine plus a well-built small plane equals a winner.
The event contest was a timed solo run around the race pylons. Rules and format:
- One plane at a time, flown against the clock.
- Course: three laps and one loop required.
- Time started at wheels up and stopped at touchdown.
Around noon there was a full-scale flyby of eight planes; four of those landed and stayed for a while. The flybys included some touch-and-goes, which were neat. The short landing and takeoff capabilities of these planes were impressive.
In the after-lunch segment there was a Concours de Cub: 40 planes were lined up on the runway for inspection and voting for Best of Show. The winner was not a Cub but a beautiful Stinson 108 built from Hostetler plans.
There were pilot drawings throughout the day; winners picked prizes such as glue, license plate frames, or can cozies. The big raffle at the end of the day included prizes ranging from batteries, electric motors, and accessories to airplanes and two radios.
You might consider putting this event on your calendar next year. It is less than an hour from Portland to Molalla. This year there was no parking fee, so you get an all-day air show for next to nothing plus a nice drive through the countryside. Don't miss it!
—Cliff Pemberton
Until next time.
—Bruce
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
