District IV—Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia
RAMS Giant Scale Warbird event — overview
The Riverside Aero Modelers Society (RAMS) 2014 Giant Scale Warbird event was held April 11–12. This was the third consecutive year that the RAMS of East Bend, North Carolina, hosted a warbird event, but this time club members stepped it up a notch and made it a Giant Scale event with 80-inch mono-wing and 60-inch biplane minimums.
CD Ken Blackford enlisted the help of two well-known warbird enthusiasts within the club and the warbird community, John Welcome and Butch Pendergrass, to help spread the word that this year would be a Giant Scale event. With clever use of Facebook, RCFlightDeck.com, the Giant Scale Warbirds Association, and solid support from John and Butch, the event began to look like a success. Once word spread that a couple of big names had preregistered, pilots from California, New Hampshire, Florida, Ohio, and many surrounding states committed to attend.
Sponsors
- Dino DiGiorgio of Meister Scale
- Bob Grunden and Fred Culbertson of Dymond USA
- Mitch Stott and Ron Word of Down and Locked
- Wayne and Samantha McMasters of S & W Giant Scale Models
- King RC
- KC Hobby
- Anderson RC
These sponsors together donated more than $1,000 in raffle prizes.
Field and amenities
The RAMS field in East Bend is an excellent place to fly: thousands of putting-green-quality feet make up the runway and parking slips. Facilities include a 25-by-120-foot shelter with electricity, a concession stand, and plenty of seating for spectators. Big-band music of the era was piped over the PA system, and excellent weather made for a very pleasant weekend. A Low Country boil was served Friday night.
Awards
A special Pilots’ Choice award — an edge-lit, etched acrylic plaque — was presented Saturday after participating pilots cast their votes for the best model at the field.
- First place (tiebreaker): Brian Brannan, Selma, North Carolina — a scratch-built 108-inch Avenger from Charlie Kellogg plans with Sierra retracts and a Bryson .58 engine turning a three-blade 24x10 propeller.
- Second place: Trent Wilhelm, Salisbury, North Carolina — a 100-inch Nick Ziroli plans Navy Skyraider powered by a Quadra 75 and equipped with Robart retracts.
Previous winner Forest Morris of York, South Carolina, and his incredibly detailed Ju-87 Stuka also attended.
Notable aircraft and pilots
- John Zaner (Laurel, Maryland) showed a Composite ARF F4U Corsair built by Gary Prince (Canton, Ohio) with a five-cylinder Moki 215. The model featured an electric sliding canopy, working cowl flaps, machine-gun sounds, a moving pilot figure linked to the rudder, and amber lights for the muzzle fire in the leading edge. Dino DiGiorgio (Port St. Lucie, Florida) flew the model.
- Other notable pilots in attendance included Trent and Tyler Wilhelm, Gilbert and Jesse Cofer, and master builder Kurt Jack.
Attendance and atmosphere
There were nearly 100 models on the field and 47 registered pilots, making it the club’s best warbird event to date (the previous two years drew 29 pilots each year). The buzz around the field was positive; many first-time visitors were impressed by the quality of the field and the way the event was run. Many said they wouldn’t change a thing and planned to return next year.
Looking ahead
The travel time is well worth it if you have not been to the RAMS field in East Bend. Expect this event at approximately the same time next year. For other RAMS club event dates, go to www.riversiderc.com.
—Ken A. Blackford, Event CD
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
