District IV - 2012/02

164 MODEL AVIATION
JOHN HUNTON, chairman of the Culpeper
County Airport Committee, wrote about the
Culpeper County Airfest, which was held
October 8 in Brandy Station, Virginia.
“The hobby of model aviation has
undergone considerable technical growth in
recent years. Most model airplane activity
now is RC, and most modern model airplanes
use electric engines for power. These electric
motors are quiet. For the most part, the
scourge of neighborhood model flying—the
noisy engine—is gone. Now we have
electric-powered park flyers that are small
and lightweight. These models can be safely
flown in small fields.
“Of course, electric-propulsion aircraft,
with the development of powerful and highly
efficient batteries, are now powering larger
models. An efficient electric-powered model
in the hands of an experienced pilot can stay
up for an hour or more. An electric-powered
model can do maneuvers that full-scale
aerobatic pilots only wish they could.
“All of this advancement was in the air
and on display at the Culpeper County Airfest
on October 8.
“There was a flying display of models that
came out of the box ready to fly. There was a
wide variety of these pre-built models
available at reasonable prices.
“One of the capabilities of model
airplanes is that they can replicate historic
airplanes of the past. A Handley Page HP-42,
a four-engine replica of one of the first
reliable airliners to fly, was at the event,
along with a Scale Huey helicopter with
small people in its gurneys. A Scale B-25
dropped its bombs, and a Halifax bomber
with a wingspan of more than 10 feet flew.
The Halifax bomber delivered tons of bombs
in strategic warfare during World War II.
“Also at the event, jet models flew at
remarkable speeds.
“Those who attended the October event
saw a static display of airplanes built by local
modelers and learned about where to find
local clubs and qualified instructors. There is
a great, new flying field in Culpeper owned
by Culpeper Parks and Recreation and
managed by the Culpeper Model
Barnstormers.
“Two, talented high school students flew
at the event. The male teenager is a national
competitor, and the female can do amazing
maneuvers with her airplane.
“As a fitting highlight to the model
airplane show, Don Szczur, an internationally
ranked pilot, flew. Don performs a low-level
routine that defies the imagination with loops
and rolls inches off of the ground, then a
vertical hover—a maneuver that the full-scale
pilots can’t do.
“We hope you enjoyed the Culpeper
Airfest, and had a chance to view the
priceless exhibits and talk to the pilots.”
The British Handley Page company
developed a pre-World War II transport that
provided regular airline service from London
to Paris, and on to Khartoum in Africa. This
four-engine 8-foot wingspan model of the
HP-42 winds its stately way across a local
flying field.
A crowning accomplishment for onlooker
Mike Dale, formerly of the RAF, was to form
a team of modelers who built this huge,
Handley Page Halifax bomber. The model
has retractable landing gear and working
bomb bay doors.
Efficient, electric engines can now power
models of various sizes from the singleengine
Northrop Gamma (above) to the 6-
foot wingspan four-engine Boeing 314
seaplane shown below. There is strong
interest in modeling the classic designs of
the past.
Small-scale
electricpowered
models are
now
available.
They fly
well and
operate
quietly.
Matt
Hunton
flies his
model at
the event.
District IV
Bliss Teague, District IV Vice President; [email protected]
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia
Bliss Teague
Vice President
625 5th Ave. SW,
Hickory NC 28602
Tel.: (828) 324-2164
Fax: (828) 267-0956
[email protected]
www.amadistrictiv.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Josh Bunn, Zebulon NC; (919)
291-6374; josh@qualityplusauto
motive.com
Randy Elliott, Radford VA; Home:
(540) 239-0645; Office: (540) 994-
2238; [email protected]
Ron King, Gainesville VA; (703)
765-1608; [email protected]
John Kirchstein, Newark DE;
(302) 731-2831;
[email protected]
Richard (Rick) Moreland,
Edgewater MD; (301) 261-7366;
[email protected]
Jay Marsh, High Point NC; (336)
864-4844; [email protected]
Steve Moulton, Chesapeake VA;
(757) 421-4545; moultons@mind
spring.com; District Webmaster
Contest Coordinators:
RC: Andy Kane, 305 Natick Ct.,
Silver Spring MD 20905; (301)
785-3022; [email protected]
FF and CL: John Tate, 10
Hanbury Ave., Portsmouth VA
23702; [email protected]
Bradford Booth Jr., Frequency
and Safety Coordinator: 5563
Providence Farm Dr., Pleasant
Garden NC 27313; (336) 685-
4064; [email protected]
D i s t r i c t I V V o l u n t e e r s
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