District V Report - 2009/09
Gooney Birds Spring Fly-In — Florence, South Carolina (June 13, 2009)
The Gooney Birds' Spring Fly-In was held in Florence, South Carolina, on June 13, 2009. Contest director Sam Smith registered 56 pilots for the fly-in on a hot, very humid day with temperatures near 94°F.
Event atmosphere
The event had the feel of a large picnic, with many visitors, children, and families gathered under shade canopies. Electric fans, hot dog lunches, and plenty of ice water and soda kept everyone comfortable throughout the day.
Clubs represented
- Gooney Birds (Florence)
- Flying Tigers (Lake City)
- Lexington Aircraft Radio Control Society (Lexington)
- Eutawville Flyers (Eutawville)
- Kershaw County Flyers (Camden)
- Congaree Flyers (Congaree)
The longest-distance pilot, Ed Grossheim, came from Boston, Massachusetts, and received a special award for his presence.
Notable pilots and aircraft
- Richard Anderson (Gooney Birds) flew a 1974 Super Kaos built from a Bridi kit. It is a good-looking, well-flying aircraft from an era when models were built rather than assembled from ARFs.
- Lee Denny (Sumter, South Carolina) flew his scratch-built Giant Scale Ercoupe. The model weighs 38 pounds and features an onboard electric starter for the Zenoah G-62 engine, plus landing and flying lights. A smooth landing and slow taxi back completed another successful flight for Lee’s Ercoupe.
- Don Carkhuff (Gooney Birds) has been modeling for 75 years. His designs and scratch-built model plans have been published in Flying Models and Model Airplane News. His 1973 vintage fun-scale Parasol flies with an O.S. .90 engine and Futaba radio; the Parasol is a gentle flyer ideal for cruising.
Submitted by
This report was submitted by Roger Marshall, AMA associate vice president in South Carolina.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
