“Everybody has secrets.” “Knowledge is power.” “If I told you … ” These are all well-known sayings. Electric flight has a secret of its own and I don’t know why. What is it? It’s eWeek at the Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina, every fall!
Why the Secret?
That’s the $64,000 question. Maybe I don’t want to tell you about it because it’s small, intimate, open, and perfect. There are some great electric meets across the country and I’ve attended many of them.
The Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology (NEAT) Fair, Southeast Electric Flight Festival (SEFF), Mid-America Electric Flies, and others have been around for years, and each is a great meet. eWeek at Triple Tree, also the site of Joe Nall Week, has only been held for three years, but has become my favorite event.
The Triple Tree Aerodrome crew has the job of running events down to a science and the theme of every activity is “Fun, Fellowship, and Hospitality.” Pat Hartness, the founder of Triple Tree Aerodrome, set this theme in motion years ago and his crews always exemplify it.
What’s So Special?
Triple Tree Aerodrome crew members can handle any event—from the small helicopter meet they throw in September up to one of the biggest RC gatherings in the world: Joe Nall Week. This year they also hosted a full-scale gathering that landed more than 8,000 airplanes and averaged a landing every 30 seconds for three hours on one day of the event.
For eWeek, the Triple Tree Aerodrome is open for the week if you want to camp and enjoy the grounds that include ponds, walking trails, a full-scale hangar with exhibits, fishing, and flying. Limited sites are available with 30-amp electric hookups for RVs, but there also are several primitive camping areas.
This gathering is all about pilots and flying. There are no commercial noontime demonstrations, although there is a growing vendors’ row if you need supplies or a new flying machine. HobbyKing was there with a big display, but didn’t sell products. Company representatives flew their new aircraft all week alongside other pilots.
HobbyKing auctioned off its displays on Saturday night and donated a significant portion of the proceeds to the Triple Tree Foundation. Some on-site vendors did similar things late into the night rather than haul their unsold products home.
Relax!
This is the most laid-back fly-in I’ve attended. There are rules and Jim Malek keeps a tight reign on flightline safety. Helicopters, jets, and park flyers mixed with airplanes on the main flightline with coordination between the pilots. This happened because it was a relaxed event and people wanted to see everything fly. Each type of aircraft has its own designated field on the huge site, but when it wasn’t busy, we mixed things up and enjoyed each other’s flying.
The Venue
“But it’s spread out ... ” That is the one negative comment I hear from people attending this event. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but it is different from what electric fliers are accustomed to. There are flying sites for “normal” Pattern, 3-D, helicopters, park flyers, and float flying. This covers plenty of ground and there are shuttle buses to transport people from site to site. Most venues aren’t nearly as large, and each site often interferes with the others, but that doesn’t happen at the Triple Tree Aerodrome. Pits were large and numerous and you could camp near where you wanted to fly.
The Bottom Line
If you have never been to the Triple Tree Aerodrome, you’re missing something. We had approximately 300 pilots this year and there is room for another 1,000, but maybe I don’t want you to know about it because I love it and want it for myself! This is the best-kept secret and you need to know about it and attend next year.
Last but not Least
Remember the problem with trying to find a way to add throttle cut to the Dx6i that I wrote about in my December 2013 column? A great three-minute video from Tom Hintz on how to install a switch to do that can be found at the address I’ve listed in “Sources.” Tom also sent a link to a software solution for the 6i, also listed in “Sources.” You’ll have to create this mix for each model.
There have been some reports that the solution for the Futaba T7C doesn’t work 100% of the time, so carefully experiment.
I think that wraps up the throttle-hold solutions. Thanks to all who sent them! Scott Bland, from Mooresville, North Carolina, was a huge help in organizing these.
