DOGS Giant Scale Fly-In
IF YOU WERE able to fly at one of aviation's historic sites, where would you go? Kitty Hawk? Edwards Air Force Base? Oshkosh, Wisconsin?
The Dayton Ohio Giant Scalers (DOGS), not only have one of these historic sites in their backyard, but are lucky enough to be able to use it once a year for their Giant Scale Fly-In.
This site is the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base—more specifically, the grounds of the United States Air Force Museum, which is the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world.
Although the base itself is quite active, the runways and taxiways were deactivated many years ago. These are the same runways that supported the bulk of postwar testing, not to mention being wide, long, and thick enough to handle the massive bulk of the B-36 bomber—the largest production bomber ever used by the US Air Force.
The 2001 event, held August 31-September 2, marked the sixth year the DOGS club has hosted the Giant Scale Fly-In. It is quickly turning into one of the largest and best meets anywhere in the country.
Attendance on Saturday alone was quoted at 17,000 spectators. During the three days of the event, more than 35,000 people saw a wide variety of models put on quite a show.
Because this was an IMAA (International Miniature Aircraft Association)-sanctioned event, all models had to meet a minimum of one of three criteria: be an 80-inch-wingspan monoplane, be a 60-inch-wingspan biplane, or be at least one-quarter the size of the original full-scale model.
Of the 200+ models at the event, more than half were the semi-scale, or electric variety; there were CAPs, Extras, Edges, Sukhois, etc. Having seen these types of model flying many times before, it is still amazing what can be done compared to models of just a few years ago.
It seemed that at any time you could glance skyward and see pilots performing 3-D maneuvers that were only dreamed of a few years ago. Singling out any pilots is hard, but two caught my eye.
The first was the youngest pilot at the event—he was 15 years old. His name is Tristan Cline, and his model of choice was a Studacher.
I must admit that I was a bit skeptical at first, having seen many half-time acts at air shows fooling the crowd into thinking that almost anyone could pick up a transmitter and have a successful flight.
Since I had access up to the flight line, I casually walked up behind Tristan during one of his flights. Not only was he flying the model, but he was flying well.
With a bit of coaching from his father, Tristan easily performed Rolls, Snaps, Hammerheads, and more. After a very nice landing, it was clear to see that he was a crowd favorite, and he received a huge round of applause.
The second pilot who stood out was Buddy Hale. Although I didn't catch his age, I would put him close to 20. He flew an Aeroworks Edge 540 with an eye-catching red-white-and-blue color scheme.
Watching Buddy fly, it was obvious that he has what it takes to go as far as he wants in Radio Control (RC) Aerobatics.
One of his typical flights would consist of going straight into a Rolling Circle right after takeoff, then throwing in a wide variety of Point Rolls, Snaps, and any number of maneuvers you could think of. Most of Buddy's flights ended with him bringing the model down in a hover and gently setting down for a three-point landing.
Scale models were out in force, most of which were various types of warbirds. Mustangs, Hellcats, Corsairs, and Warhawks dotted the flightline. A B-17, a B-24, and a very aerobatic B-36 were on hand and flew quite well.
Among the warbirds was Kelly Goodrich's exceptional Grumman F6F Hellcat built from Ziroli plans. Piloted by Carl Borchulb, it flew some of the most realistic sorties of the day.
On hand was a smooth-flying Tigercat from the gang at Balsa USA.
The smooth, low passes were right on the deck and impressive.
There were a number of civilian-themed scale models. Joe Carnby put several flights in on his Red Baron Super Stearman that he has been flying since 1986. Eric Watz brought a brightly colored Pitts S-2B built from a Bob Dively kit.
The largest of these was a scale Stearman from the Balsa USA boys. It was finished as an Air Force trainer and had a five-cylinder, four-stroke engine for power.
Each of the three days, general flying was put on hold for a nonroutine show. Many members of the DOGS and the Ohio Buckeye Squadron wowed the crowd with demonstrations of many types of RC models.
Everything from park flyers to helicopters, fun-fly models, turbines, and 3-D aerobatics was flown.
A very impressive warbird demo, complete with a jet preprogrammed show, had no fewer than eight beautiful Scale models in the air at once.
As part of the air show and were, it was impossible to hold a close to very special guest Matt Chapman. A past U.S. Aerobatic champion and World Aerobatic Championships medalist, he put his full-scale CAP 232 EX through maneuvers that had the crowd screaming for more.
Aerobatic and Scale models weren't all there was to see. Dozens of just-plan fun models rounded out the Giant Scale experience.
I saw a rather unique wing-walking act that Mike Woodward created. He modified his Great Planes Super Aeromaster by adding a Barbie as a wing-walker. Barbie's boyfriend Ken was the pilot, and he flew quite well.
No fly-in or air show of this caliber would be possible without the vendors and sponsors' support.
Among the companies in attendance were Great Planes, Zurich International, Aircraft International, Balsa USA, Garden Aircraft, Kirby's Kustom Graphics, Just R/C Planes, Fox R/C Hobby Center, TNT Landing Gear Products, Radio R/C, com, and Cool Clothes.
Thanks to the DOGS, the director of the US Air Force Museum—Major General Charles Metcalf (retired)—and his entire staff for the hospitality and for hard work they put into one of the best RC air shows around.
They were also generous enough to open the museum after hours for all the pilots of the fun-fly.
If you find yourself in the Miami Valley during Labor Day weekend, make sure to
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
