18 MODEL AVIATION
2009
by Michael Ramsey
and Jay Smith
Great Planes
Left: The “angry bees” take to the air at the start of
Combat. A total of 58 aircraft were set aloft for a fullcontact
mission.
Indoor RC
flight done on a
giant scale
Above: Steve Johnston’s Fancy Foam Models Seminoll
looked great with its custom-airbrushed paint.
FOUR YEARS AGO, when this event premiered, indoor RC
was crawling out of the nest, as it were. Digital spread
spectrum radios were coming onto the scene, and the GWS C
gearbox and a Speed 350 motor was the best place to start to
dial in your indoor-arena skills.
Then, a 10C Li-Poly was the hot ticket, and building bluefoam
models from plans downloaded off of the Internet was
more fun than many of us thought RC flying could be. As a
reporter, up to this point it had been impossible to photograph
pilots flying their aircraft with smiles on their faces; they had
been so tense.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 2:53 PM Page 18
June 2009 19
Above: “Catch me if you can” was Chris Hass’s approach to keeping
all of the prizes, in the balloon-adorned basket, as he ran for the
staging area.
Below: Mike Lising transformed his E-flite mCX into a Hiller-copter
with a body adapted from a Fiddler’s Green paper model.
Above: Dream It RC had several birds flying at the event.
This patriotic eagle got our attention and flew
remarkably well.
Below: Don Anderson of Great Planes gets in a bit of stick
time. Judging from the smile on his face, he was having as
much fun as everyone else.
Photos by the authors
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:41 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Jason Noll (center) and Andrew Jesky practice their formation aerobatic routine,
Below: Combat was exciting to watch and even
more so for the pilots. Not only did they get to
compete for cash, but their models were also
easier to pack for the trip home.
Left: Factory pilots from Horizon Hobby
demonstrated that the new 4Site enjoys flying on
its side as much as it enjoys flying right-side up.
Mike “Grimracer” Zaborowski is well known as
an RC boat racer and designer. His beautiful Gee
Bee proved that he is also a skilled model airplane
builder.
Jim Fassino’s Demoiselle looked amazing both on the ground and in the air.
Judges agreed, and he took first place in the Scale competition.
while Fred Midgett of Higher Plane Productions
captures their performance on tape.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 3:04 PM Page 20
June 2009 21
Left: Hobbico’s make-and-take area was a popular stop for families.
Participants were given the opportunity to fly their creations later in
the day for prizes.
Above: Dewey Davenport gives Tina Rolfe her first helicopter flight with
a Blade mCX. Horizon Hobby allowed several spectators to fly RC for
the first time.
Above: Jacob Ramsey repairs the “radar dome,” while an
Ember 2 comes in to land on the deck. The aircraft
carrier was a huge hit in the micro area.
Below: Event Director Frank Noll takes a moment to talk to the press. Those
who were involved did an excellent job of making sure E-Fest ran smoothly.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:46 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Mike Lising’s Super Cobra is finished in Forest Service colors. E325 Mini Titan mechanics
from Thunder Tiger are underneath.
Jason Danhakl shows off the new Heli-Max
Novus RTF collective-pitch micro helicopter.
Not only did it fly well, but it also matched
his shirt. Way to accessorize, Jason!
Kyle Stacy won the helicopter Smackdown
judging by applause. When he wasn’t on the
flightline, he could be found practicing on
the flight simulator.
Peter Sripol demonstrates his cargo aircraft with a whopping 10 ducted fans. The hum
of all the fans running at once drew plenty of attention.
This Align T-Rex 450 V2 helicopter belongs to former AMA president, Dave Brown. He
relocated his gyro to sit lower on a custom tray.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:51 PM Page 22
June 2009 23
Above: The 8-ounce E-Flite Divo had no problem laying down several knife-edge passes, with
minimal rudder input required.
Below: We were impressed by how well this Scorpion-powered Beam flew. Having a Spartan
RC ds760 gyro onboard didn’t hurt, and the pilot made full use of it.
Great Planes
ElectriFly
Futaba
Heli-Max
Carl Goldberg
Products Ltd.
RCGroups.com
AMA
Model Aviation
Fly RC
Model Airplane News
Backyard Flyer
RC Sport Flyer
RC Heli
Tower Hobbies
JR
Spektrum
Hoffman Magnetics
2Dog RC
Advantage Hobby
Zap
PowerHelis.com
Lukes RC Planes
Sponsor s
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:56 PM Page 23
The Great Planes E-Fest is about fun for
the pilots, but it also puts on a heck of a
show for the spectators, who are typically
friends and families of the fliers who live
nearby. Many former spectators of all ages
attended the E-Fest during the first weekend
in February this year as bona fide RC pilot
participants.
MA dedicated two staff members to
cover this groundbreaking event for the
AMA members. Jay Smith will report from
the “fixed wing” point of view, and Michael
Ramsey will give an account of the airbeating
helicopter perspective.
The final count for the 2009 E-Fest was
308 registered pilots, and more than half of
them registered as both helicopter and
airplane enthusiasts. We’ve come a long
way!
—MA Staff
Airplanes: Before this year’s event, the
closest I had gotten to flying in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign’s Armory Track & Floor, where
E-Fest is held, was on my flight simulator.
Even after seeing pictures and a video from
the get-together, I was unprepared for the
sheer size of it all; this event needs to be
experienced to be believed.
Three flightlines and a micro-flyer area
were employed during the entire gathering.
The largest flying section was used to fly
aircraft in a racetrack configuration.
Aerobatics were allowed, as long as
pilots followed the pattern. A 3-D area was
provided for hovering and extreme
aerobatics. Both areas were well run and
pilots were considerate of one another,
which led to fewer midairs than you would
expect from the amount of models that were
flown at any given time.
The micro-flying area was hugely
popular, and it was used to fly both
production and scratch-built aircraft. Peter
and Stephan Sripol brought a scratch-built
aircraft carrier with working lights and radar
dome. It was driven into the micro area,
where pilots swarmed it, trying their best to
land micro airplanes and helicopters on the
deck.
Horizon Hobby set up in the micro area
Saturday, with ParkZone Vapors, Embers,
and E-flite mCX helicopters, allowing
attendees to get in on the excitement of RC
flight. Hobbico hosted a make-and-take
venue, where children made gliders and
custom-decorated them. Later in the day, all
flightlines were shut down so children could
launch their models and win prizes for the
flights that went the longest distances.
Several activities at E-Fest helped break
things up and keep it exciting for both the
pilots and the crowd. Some of the events
included Combat, Pylon Race, an Indoor
Scale competition, and balloon busting.
Fifty-eight Combat participants launched
their aircraft into an immediate “furball” for
the chance to win a cash prize. The aircraft
looked like an angry mass of bees, intent on
taking their anger out on one another.
Various types of models were used in
Combat, including 3-D aircraft, Combat
airplanes, slow flyers, flying wings, and, for
fun, even a Vapor or four (unofficially) made
their way into the competition. The finale
was throwing all of the battered aircraft in a
huge pile at show center.
The Scale competition was in stark
contrast to Combat; the miniature
masterpieces were flown one at a time, in a
scalelike manner. The only rules were that
entries could weigh no more than 18 ounces
ready to fly and were required to fly during
their scheduled time slots.
After both static and flight judging were
complete, two awards were given. Jim
Fassino received honors for his Demoiselle,
and Steve Beros earned recognition with his
Antonov An-2.
Several new aircraft were shown and
flown at the event. Two releases that
garnered considerable attention were the
flying birds from Dream It RC and a micro
Sukhoi from the indoor experts at ParkZone.
E-flite and ElectriFly represented threechannel
World War I RC with a Nieuport and
a Sopwith Pup respectively. Dynamic Foamy
flew profile World War II warbirds with
ParkZone micro gear and featured a larger
profile A-10.
When you needed a break from flying or
walking the show floor, the pit areas were a
great place to talk to fellow pilots and ask
questions about their unique models. Those I
spoke with were friendly and enthusiastic
about the event, and more than happy to
show off their aircraft.
Jay Smith
[email protected]
Helicopters: As mentioned, most registered
pilots were both airplane and helicopter
enthusiasts, so the pit areas were riddled with
almost every flying machine imaginable. The
specialized helicopter flightline was located
on the east end of the building, so that’s
where we found the die-hard helicopter nuts.
Being called a “helicopter nut” is a badge
worn with respect. It puts you up there with
the likes of Nick Maxwell, Curtis
Youngblood, Kyle Stacy, Mark Fadely, and
many others who have found E-Fest to be a
respected arena that makes them feel
welcomed.
Part of what draws these top-class pilots
may be the helicopter Smackdown
competition, which took place at roughly 8
p.m. Saturday night. It was a privilege to
watch the pilots practice and break in their
machines all day.
Yes, Curtis was there, but he was happy to
report that he had retired from 3-D
competition. That’s not a bad thing for the rest
of us, because his Next D Designs company
finally began full distribution of the 450-class
Rave. Even the guys at PowerHelis.com were
there, to supply the kit and the remarkable
complement of replacement parts.
If you’re in the market for a new 450-class
machine, there are many from which to
choose. T-Rex fans have the new 450 Pro to
show off, and the new 250 is a great fit in
the smaller indoor gym areas that are more
likely available to most clubs.
The Beam E4 from Advantage Hobby
was a common sight, and the owners/pilots
were not kind to them; those helicopters
flipped, spun, and slid in toward every point
on the compass. They flew great!
Now that the Miniature Aircraft Furion
is available from Tower Hobbies, more
were seen at this event than ever. Some
even incorporated the new, amazingly small
Futaba GY520 gyro system.
The 200- to 250-class machines fit in
nicely with the short flightline that the
helicopter pilots had to share with the 3-D
airplane pilots. Even the Gaui 100
helicopter proved to be a venerable 3-D
performer that showed little evidence of
squirrelly behavior, as so many attempts at
this size of machine used to have. And some
of the new models were even smaller.
Heli-Max debuted a new line of micro
helicopters, and the first to be released is the
Novus: a coaxial, palm-size machine with
handsome looks and a smart electronics
system. It will be available (heck, it’s
probably available now) as an RTF that
includes a 2.4 GHz radio and 400 mAh, 3.7-
volt Li-Poly battery.
Later releases in the line are promised to
include a single-axle, fixed-pitch helicopter
and even a 3-D-capable, collective-pitch
version. What number should we give this
class of machines? We’re running out!
In an activity dominated by the ARF, it
was nice to see a few models decked out in
a unique scale fashion. Mike Lising came to
the E-Fest last year with a Fiddler’s Greencovered
E-Sky Honey Bee that convincingly
pulled off the look of a heavy-lifting
Sikorsky S-55.
Mike returned this year with an mCX
darned up with a Hiller body, but his
heavy metal was a Super Cobra finished in
Forest Service colors. It had a Mini Titan
body and mechanics from Thunder Tiger.
When it came to the final showdown—
the helicopter Smackdown—the evening
did not disappoint, even though the
attrition rate seemed a bit too high. Five of
the nine pilots earned a DNF (Did Not
Finish), so only four fliers were eligible to
win the $500 check.
I was glad to see that Kyle Stacy won
by popularity metered with applause. That
kid practiced diligently all day; when he
wasn’t standing at the flightline, he was
hooked into the laptop, burning up the
virtual electrons on the flight simulator.
His dad, Ray (a darn good helicopter
pilot himself), was right beside Kyle,
typically fixing something. They make a
great pair.
Although this account has focused
mostly on the hotshots of the helicopter
scene, at the flightline I observed
camaraderie among pilots at all skill
levels. Those who simply wanted to hover
and get familiar with the indoor
surroundings were made comfortable at
either end of the flightline, while the
active 3-D fliers were positioned in the
middle.
It was considerate of the event staff to
break up the day with helicopter-only
times. It permitted the spectators to get a
better idea of the spectrum of RC
helicopters that the event had to offer. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
Sources:
E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
18 MODEL AVIATION
2009
by Michael Ramsey
and Jay Smith
Great Planes
Left: The “angry bees” take to the air at the start of
Combat. A total of 58 aircraft were set aloft for a fullcontact
mission.
Indoor RC
flight done on a
giant scale
Above: Steve Johnston’s Fancy Foam Models Seminoll
looked great with its custom-airbrushed paint.
FOUR YEARS AGO, when this event premiered, indoor RC
was crawling out of the nest, as it were. Digital spread
spectrum radios were coming onto the scene, and the GWS C
gearbox and a Speed 350 motor was the best place to start to
dial in your indoor-arena skills.
Then, a 10C Li-Poly was the hot ticket, and building bluefoam
models from plans downloaded off of the Internet was
more fun than many of us thought RC flying could be. As a
reporter, up to this point it had been impossible to photograph
pilots flying their aircraft with smiles on their faces; they had
been so tense.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 2:53 PM Page 18
June 2009 19
Above: “Catch me if you can” was Chris Hass’s approach to keeping
all of the prizes, in the balloon-adorned basket, as he ran for the
staging area.
Below: Mike Lising transformed his E-flite mCX into a Hiller-copter
with a body adapted from a Fiddler’s Green paper model.
Above: Dream It RC had several birds flying at the event.
This patriotic eagle got our attention and flew
remarkably well.
Below: Don Anderson of Great Planes gets in a bit of stick
time. Judging from the smile on his face, he was having as
much fun as everyone else.
Photos by the authors
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:41 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Jason Noll (center) and Andrew Jesky practice their formation aerobatic routine,
Below: Combat was exciting to watch and even
more so for the pilots. Not only did they get to
compete for cash, but their models were also
easier to pack for the trip home.
Left: Factory pilots from Horizon Hobby
demonstrated that the new 4Site enjoys flying on
its side as much as it enjoys flying right-side up.
Mike “Grimracer” Zaborowski is well known as
an RC boat racer and designer. His beautiful Gee
Bee proved that he is also a skilled model airplane
builder.
Jim Fassino’s Demoiselle looked amazing both on the ground and in the air.
Judges agreed, and he took first place in the Scale competition.
while Fred Midgett of Higher Plane Productions
captures their performance on tape.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 3:04 PM Page 20
June 2009 21
Left: Hobbico’s make-and-take area was a popular stop for families.
Participants were given the opportunity to fly their creations later in
the day for prizes.
Above: Dewey Davenport gives Tina Rolfe her first helicopter flight with
a Blade mCX. Horizon Hobby allowed several spectators to fly RC for
the first time.
Above: Jacob Ramsey repairs the “radar dome,” while an
Ember 2 comes in to land on the deck. The aircraft
carrier was a huge hit in the micro area.
Below: Event Director Frank Noll takes a moment to talk to the press. Those
who were involved did an excellent job of making sure E-Fest ran smoothly.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:46 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Mike Lising’s Super Cobra is finished in Forest Service colors. E325 Mini Titan mechanics
from Thunder Tiger are underneath.
Jason Danhakl shows off the new Heli-Max
Novus RTF collective-pitch micro helicopter.
Not only did it fly well, but it also matched
his shirt. Way to accessorize, Jason!
Kyle Stacy won the helicopter Smackdown
judging by applause. When he wasn’t on the
flightline, he could be found practicing on
the flight simulator.
Peter Sripol demonstrates his cargo aircraft with a whopping 10 ducted fans. The hum
of all the fans running at once drew plenty of attention.
This Align T-Rex 450 V2 helicopter belongs to former AMA president, Dave Brown. He
relocated his gyro to sit lower on a custom tray.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:51 PM Page 22
June 2009 23
Above: The 8-ounce E-Flite Divo had no problem laying down several knife-edge passes, with
minimal rudder input required.
Below: We were impressed by how well this Scorpion-powered Beam flew. Having a Spartan
RC ds760 gyro onboard didn’t hurt, and the pilot made full use of it.
Great Planes
ElectriFly
Futaba
Heli-Max
Carl Goldberg
Products Ltd.
RCGroups.com
AMA
Model Aviation
Fly RC
Model Airplane News
Backyard Flyer
RC Sport Flyer
RC Heli
Tower Hobbies
JR
Spektrum
Hoffman Magnetics
2Dog RC
Advantage Hobby
Zap
PowerHelis.com
Lukes RC Planes
Sponsor s
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:56 PM Page 23
The Great Planes E-Fest is about fun for
the pilots, but it also puts on a heck of a
show for the spectators, who are typically
friends and families of the fliers who live
nearby. Many former spectators of all ages
attended the E-Fest during the first weekend
in February this year as bona fide RC pilot
participants.
MA dedicated two staff members to
cover this groundbreaking event for the
AMA members. Jay Smith will report from
the “fixed wing” point of view, and Michael
Ramsey will give an account of the airbeating
helicopter perspective.
The final count for the 2009 E-Fest was
308 registered pilots, and more than half of
them registered as both helicopter and
airplane enthusiasts. We’ve come a long
way!
—MA Staff
Airplanes: Before this year’s event, the
closest I had gotten to flying in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign’s Armory Track & Floor, where
E-Fest is held, was on my flight simulator.
Even after seeing pictures and a video from
the get-together, I was unprepared for the
sheer size of it all; this event needs to be
experienced to be believed.
Three flightlines and a micro-flyer area
were employed during the entire gathering.
The largest flying section was used to fly
aircraft in a racetrack configuration.
Aerobatics were allowed, as long as
pilots followed the pattern. A 3-D area was
provided for hovering and extreme
aerobatics. Both areas were well run and
pilots were considerate of one another,
which led to fewer midairs than you would
expect from the amount of models that were
flown at any given time.
The micro-flying area was hugely
popular, and it was used to fly both
production and scratch-built aircraft. Peter
and Stephan Sripol brought a scratch-built
aircraft carrier with working lights and radar
dome. It was driven into the micro area,
where pilots swarmed it, trying their best to
land micro airplanes and helicopters on the
deck.
Horizon Hobby set up in the micro area
Saturday, with ParkZone Vapors, Embers,
and E-flite mCX helicopters, allowing
attendees to get in on the excitement of RC
flight. Hobbico hosted a make-and-take
venue, where children made gliders and
custom-decorated them. Later in the day, all
flightlines were shut down so children could
launch their models and win prizes for the
flights that went the longest distances.
Several activities at E-Fest helped break
things up and keep it exciting for both the
pilots and the crowd. Some of the events
included Combat, Pylon Race, an Indoor
Scale competition, and balloon busting.
Fifty-eight Combat participants launched
their aircraft into an immediate “furball” for
the chance to win a cash prize. The aircraft
looked like an angry mass of bees, intent on
taking their anger out on one another.
Various types of models were used in
Combat, including 3-D aircraft, Combat
airplanes, slow flyers, flying wings, and, for
fun, even a Vapor or four (unofficially) made
their way into the competition. The finale
was throwing all of the battered aircraft in a
huge pile at show center.
The Scale competition was in stark
contrast to Combat; the miniature
masterpieces were flown one at a time, in a
scalelike manner. The only rules were that
entries could weigh no more than 18 ounces
ready to fly and were required to fly during
their scheduled time slots.
After both static and flight judging were
complete, two awards were given. Jim
Fassino received honors for his Demoiselle,
and Steve Beros earned recognition with his
Antonov An-2.
Several new aircraft were shown and
flown at the event. Two releases that
garnered considerable attention were the
flying birds from Dream It RC and a micro
Sukhoi from the indoor experts at ParkZone.
E-flite and ElectriFly represented threechannel
World War I RC with a Nieuport and
a Sopwith Pup respectively. Dynamic Foamy
flew profile World War II warbirds with
ParkZone micro gear and featured a larger
profile A-10.
When you needed a break from flying or
walking the show floor, the pit areas were a
great place to talk to fellow pilots and ask
questions about their unique models. Those I
spoke with were friendly and enthusiastic
about the event, and more than happy to
show off their aircraft.
Jay Smith
[email protected]
Helicopters: As mentioned, most registered
pilots were both airplane and helicopter
enthusiasts, so the pit areas were riddled with
almost every flying machine imaginable. The
specialized helicopter flightline was located
on the east end of the building, so that’s
where we found the die-hard helicopter nuts.
Being called a “helicopter nut” is a badge
worn with respect. It puts you up there with
the likes of Nick Maxwell, Curtis
Youngblood, Kyle Stacy, Mark Fadely, and
many others who have found E-Fest to be a
respected arena that makes them feel
welcomed.
Part of what draws these top-class pilots
may be the helicopter Smackdown
competition, which took place at roughly 8
p.m. Saturday night. It was a privilege to
watch the pilots practice and break in their
machines all day.
Yes, Curtis was there, but he was happy to
report that he had retired from 3-D
competition. That’s not a bad thing for the rest
of us, because his Next D Designs company
finally began full distribution of the 450-class
Rave. Even the guys at PowerHelis.com were
there, to supply the kit and the remarkable
complement of replacement parts.
If you’re in the market for a new 450-class
machine, there are many from which to
choose. T-Rex fans have the new 450 Pro to
show off, and the new 250 is a great fit in
the smaller indoor gym areas that are more
likely available to most clubs.
The Beam E4 from Advantage Hobby
was a common sight, and the owners/pilots
were not kind to them; those helicopters
flipped, spun, and slid in toward every point
on the compass. They flew great!
Now that the Miniature Aircraft Furion
is available from Tower Hobbies, more
were seen at this event than ever. Some
even incorporated the new, amazingly small
Futaba GY520 gyro system.
The 200- to 250-class machines fit in
nicely with the short flightline that the
helicopter pilots had to share with the 3-D
airplane pilots. Even the Gaui 100
helicopter proved to be a venerable 3-D
performer that showed little evidence of
squirrelly behavior, as so many attempts at
this size of machine used to have. And some
of the new models were even smaller.
Heli-Max debuted a new line of micro
helicopters, and the first to be released is the
Novus: a coaxial, palm-size machine with
handsome looks and a smart electronics
system. It will be available (heck, it’s
probably available now) as an RTF that
includes a 2.4 GHz radio and 400 mAh, 3.7-
volt Li-Poly battery.
Later releases in the line are promised to
include a single-axle, fixed-pitch helicopter
and even a 3-D-capable, collective-pitch
version. What number should we give this
class of machines? We’re running out!
In an activity dominated by the ARF, it
was nice to see a few models decked out in
a unique scale fashion. Mike Lising came to
the E-Fest last year with a Fiddler’s Greencovered
E-Sky Honey Bee that convincingly
pulled off the look of a heavy-lifting
Sikorsky S-55.
Mike returned this year with an mCX
darned up with a Hiller body, but his
heavy metal was a Super Cobra finished in
Forest Service colors. It had a Mini Titan
body and mechanics from Thunder Tiger.
When it came to the final showdown—
the helicopter Smackdown—the evening
did not disappoint, even though the
attrition rate seemed a bit too high. Five of
the nine pilots earned a DNF (Did Not
Finish), so only four fliers were eligible to
win the $500 check.
I was glad to see that Kyle Stacy won
by popularity metered with applause. That
kid practiced diligently all day; when he
wasn’t standing at the flightline, he was
hooked into the laptop, burning up the
virtual electrons on the flight simulator.
His dad, Ray (a darn good helicopter
pilot himself), was right beside Kyle,
typically fixing something. They make a
great pair.
Although this account has focused
mostly on the hotshots of the helicopter
scene, at the flightline I observed
camaraderie among pilots at all skill
levels. Those who simply wanted to hover
and get familiar with the indoor
surroundings were made comfortable at
either end of the flightline, while the
active 3-D fliers were positioned in the
middle.
It was considerate of the event staff to
break up the day with helicopter-only
times. It permitted the spectators to get a
better idea of the spectrum of RC
helicopters that the event had to offer. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
Sources:
E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
18 MODEL AVIATION
2009
by Michael Ramsey
and Jay Smith
Great Planes
Left: The “angry bees” take to the air at the start of
Combat. A total of 58 aircraft were set aloft for a fullcontact
mission.
Indoor RC
flight done on a
giant scale
Above: Steve Johnston’s Fancy Foam Models Seminoll
looked great with its custom-airbrushed paint.
FOUR YEARS AGO, when this event premiered, indoor RC
was crawling out of the nest, as it were. Digital spread
spectrum radios were coming onto the scene, and the GWS C
gearbox and a Speed 350 motor was the best place to start to
dial in your indoor-arena skills.
Then, a 10C Li-Poly was the hot ticket, and building bluefoam
models from plans downloaded off of the Internet was
more fun than many of us thought RC flying could be. As a
reporter, up to this point it had been impossible to photograph
pilots flying their aircraft with smiles on their faces; they had
been so tense.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 2:53 PM Page 18
June 2009 19
Above: “Catch me if you can” was Chris Hass’s approach to keeping
all of the prizes, in the balloon-adorned basket, as he ran for the
staging area.
Below: Mike Lising transformed his E-flite mCX into a Hiller-copter
with a body adapted from a Fiddler’s Green paper model.
Above: Dream It RC had several birds flying at the event.
This patriotic eagle got our attention and flew
remarkably well.
Below: Don Anderson of Great Planes gets in a bit of stick
time. Judging from the smile on his face, he was having as
much fun as everyone else.
Photos by the authors
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:41 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Jason Noll (center) and Andrew Jesky practice their formation aerobatic routine,
Below: Combat was exciting to watch and even
more so for the pilots. Not only did they get to
compete for cash, but their models were also
easier to pack for the trip home.
Left: Factory pilots from Horizon Hobby
demonstrated that the new 4Site enjoys flying on
its side as much as it enjoys flying right-side up.
Mike “Grimracer” Zaborowski is well known as
an RC boat racer and designer. His beautiful Gee
Bee proved that he is also a skilled model airplane
builder.
Jim Fassino’s Demoiselle looked amazing both on the ground and in the air.
Judges agreed, and he took first place in the Scale competition.
while Fred Midgett of Higher Plane Productions
captures their performance on tape.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 3:04 PM Page 20
June 2009 21
Left: Hobbico’s make-and-take area was a popular stop for families.
Participants were given the opportunity to fly their creations later in
the day for prizes.
Above: Dewey Davenport gives Tina Rolfe her first helicopter flight with
a Blade mCX. Horizon Hobby allowed several spectators to fly RC for
the first time.
Above: Jacob Ramsey repairs the “radar dome,” while an
Ember 2 comes in to land on the deck. The aircraft
carrier was a huge hit in the micro area.
Below: Event Director Frank Noll takes a moment to talk to the press. Those
who were involved did an excellent job of making sure E-Fest ran smoothly.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:46 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Mike Lising’s Super Cobra is finished in Forest Service colors. E325 Mini Titan mechanics
from Thunder Tiger are underneath.
Jason Danhakl shows off the new Heli-Max
Novus RTF collective-pitch micro helicopter.
Not only did it fly well, but it also matched
his shirt. Way to accessorize, Jason!
Kyle Stacy won the helicopter Smackdown
judging by applause. When he wasn’t on the
flightline, he could be found practicing on
the flight simulator.
Peter Sripol demonstrates his cargo aircraft with a whopping 10 ducted fans. The hum
of all the fans running at once drew plenty of attention.
This Align T-Rex 450 V2 helicopter belongs to former AMA president, Dave Brown. He
relocated his gyro to sit lower on a custom tray.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:51 PM Page 22
June 2009 23
Above: The 8-ounce E-Flite Divo had no problem laying down several knife-edge passes, with
minimal rudder input required.
Below: We were impressed by how well this Scorpion-powered Beam flew. Having a Spartan
RC ds760 gyro onboard didn’t hurt, and the pilot made full use of it.
Great Planes
ElectriFly
Futaba
Heli-Max
Carl Goldberg
Products Ltd.
RCGroups.com
AMA
Model Aviation
Fly RC
Model Airplane News
Backyard Flyer
RC Sport Flyer
RC Heli
Tower Hobbies
JR
Spektrum
Hoffman Magnetics
2Dog RC
Advantage Hobby
Zap
PowerHelis.com
Lukes RC Planes
Sponsor s
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:56 PM Page 23
The Great Planes E-Fest is about fun for
the pilots, but it also puts on a heck of a
show for the spectators, who are typically
friends and families of the fliers who live
nearby. Many former spectators of all ages
attended the E-Fest during the first weekend
in February this year as bona fide RC pilot
participants.
MA dedicated two staff members to
cover this groundbreaking event for the
AMA members. Jay Smith will report from
the “fixed wing” point of view, and Michael
Ramsey will give an account of the airbeating
helicopter perspective.
The final count for the 2009 E-Fest was
308 registered pilots, and more than half of
them registered as both helicopter and
airplane enthusiasts. We’ve come a long
way!
—MA Staff
Airplanes: Before this year’s event, the
closest I had gotten to flying in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign’s Armory Track & Floor, where
E-Fest is held, was on my flight simulator.
Even after seeing pictures and a video from
the get-together, I was unprepared for the
sheer size of it all; this event needs to be
experienced to be believed.
Three flightlines and a micro-flyer area
were employed during the entire gathering.
The largest flying section was used to fly
aircraft in a racetrack configuration.
Aerobatics were allowed, as long as
pilots followed the pattern. A 3-D area was
provided for hovering and extreme
aerobatics. Both areas were well run and
pilots were considerate of one another,
which led to fewer midairs than you would
expect from the amount of models that were
flown at any given time.
The micro-flying area was hugely
popular, and it was used to fly both
production and scratch-built aircraft. Peter
and Stephan Sripol brought a scratch-built
aircraft carrier with working lights and radar
dome. It was driven into the micro area,
where pilots swarmed it, trying their best to
land micro airplanes and helicopters on the
deck.
Horizon Hobby set up in the micro area
Saturday, with ParkZone Vapors, Embers,
and E-flite mCX helicopters, allowing
attendees to get in on the excitement of RC
flight. Hobbico hosted a make-and-take
venue, where children made gliders and
custom-decorated them. Later in the day, all
flightlines were shut down so children could
launch their models and win prizes for the
flights that went the longest distances.
Several activities at E-Fest helped break
things up and keep it exciting for both the
pilots and the crowd. Some of the events
included Combat, Pylon Race, an Indoor
Scale competition, and balloon busting.
Fifty-eight Combat participants launched
their aircraft into an immediate “furball” for
the chance to win a cash prize. The aircraft
looked like an angry mass of bees, intent on
taking their anger out on one another.
Various types of models were used in
Combat, including 3-D aircraft, Combat
airplanes, slow flyers, flying wings, and, for
fun, even a Vapor or four (unofficially) made
their way into the competition. The finale
was throwing all of the battered aircraft in a
huge pile at show center.
The Scale competition was in stark
contrast to Combat; the miniature
masterpieces were flown one at a time, in a
scalelike manner. The only rules were that
entries could weigh no more than 18 ounces
ready to fly and were required to fly during
their scheduled time slots.
After both static and flight judging were
complete, two awards were given. Jim
Fassino received honors for his Demoiselle,
and Steve Beros earned recognition with his
Antonov An-2.
Several new aircraft were shown and
flown at the event. Two releases that
garnered considerable attention were the
flying birds from Dream It RC and a micro
Sukhoi from the indoor experts at ParkZone.
E-flite and ElectriFly represented threechannel
World War I RC with a Nieuport and
a Sopwith Pup respectively. Dynamic Foamy
flew profile World War II warbirds with
ParkZone micro gear and featured a larger
profile A-10.
When you needed a break from flying or
walking the show floor, the pit areas were a
great place to talk to fellow pilots and ask
questions about their unique models. Those I
spoke with were friendly and enthusiastic
about the event, and more than happy to
show off their aircraft.
Jay Smith
[email protected]
Helicopters: As mentioned, most registered
pilots were both airplane and helicopter
enthusiasts, so the pit areas were riddled with
almost every flying machine imaginable. The
specialized helicopter flightline was located
on the east end of the building, so that’s
where we found the die-hard helicopter nuts.
Being called a “helicopter nut” is a badge
worn with respect. It puts you up there with
the likes of Nick Maxwell, Curtis
Youngblood, Kyle Stacy, Mark Fadely, and
many others who have found E-Fest to be a
respected arena that makes them feel
welcomed.
Part of what draws these top-class pilots
may be the helicopter Smackdown
competition, which took place at roughly 8
p.m. Saturday night. It was a privilege to
watch the pilots practice and break in their
machines all day.
Yes, Curtis was there, but he was happy to
report that he had retired from 3-D
competition. That’s not a bad thing for the rest
of us, because his Next D Designs company
finally began full distribution of the 450-class
Rave. Even the guys at PowerHelis.com were
there, to supply the kit and the remarkable
complement of replacement parts.
If you’re in the market for a new 450-class
machine, there are many from which to
choose. T-Rex fans have the new 450 Pro to
show off, and the new 250 is a great fit in
the smaller indoor gym areas that are more
likely available to most clubs.
The Beam E4 from Advantage Hobby
was a common sight, and the owners/pilots
were not kind to them; those helicopters
flipped, spun, and slid in toward every point
on the compass. They flew great!
Now that the Miniature Aircraft Furion
is available from Tower Hobbies, more
were seen at this event than ever. Some
even incorporated the new, amazingly small
Futaba GY520 gyro system.
The 200- to 250-class machines fit in
nicely with the short flightline that the
helicopter pilots had to share with the 3-D
airplane pilots. Even the Gaui 100
helicopter proved to be a venerable 3-D
performer that showed little evidence of
squirrelly behavior, as so many attempts at
this size of machine used to have. And some
of the new models were even smaller.
Heli-Max debuted a new line of micro
helicopters, and the first to be released is the
Novus: a coaxial, palm-size machine with
handsome looks and a smart electronics
system. It will be available (heck, it’s
probably available now) as an RTF that
includes a 2.4 GHz radio and 400 mAh, 3.7-
volt Li-Poly battery.
Later releases in the line are promised to
include a single-axle, fixed-pitch helicopter
and even a 3-D-capable, collective-pitch
version. What number should we give this
class of machines? We’re running out!
In an activity dominated by the ARF, it
was nice to see a few models decked out in
a unique scale fashion. Mike Lising came to
the E-Fest last year with a Fiddler’s Greencovered
E-Sky Honey Bee that convincingly
pulled off the look of a heavy-lifting
Sikorsky S-55.
Mike returned this year with an mCX
darned up with a Hiller body, but his
heavy metal was a Super Cobra finished in
Forest Service colors. It had a Mini Titan
body and mechanics from Thunder Tiger.
When it came to the final showdown—
the helicopter Smackdown—the evening
did not disappoint, even though the
attrition rate seemed a bit too high. Five of
the nine pilots earned a DNF (Did Not
Finish), so only four fliers were eligible to
win the $500 check.
I was glad to see that Kyle Stacy won
by popularity metered with applause. That
kid practiced diligently all day; when he
wasn’t standing at the flightline, he was
hooked into the laptop, burning up the
virtual electrons on the flight simulator.
His dad, Ray (a darn good helicopter
pilot himself), was right beside Kyle,
typically fixing something. They make a
great pair.
Although this account has focused
mostly on the hotshots of the helicopter
scene, at the flightline I observed
camaraderie among pilots at all skill
levels. Those who simply wanted to hover
and get familiar with the indoor
surroundings were made comfortable at
either end of the flightline, while the
active 3-D fliers were positioned in the
middle.
It was considerate of the event staff to
break up the day with helicopter-only
times. It permitted the spectators to get a
better idea of the spectrum of RC
helicopters that the event had to offer. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
Sources:
E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
18 MODEL AVIATION
2009
by Michael Ramsey
and Jay Smith
Great Planes
Left: The “angry bees” take to the air at the start of
Combat. A total of 58 aircraft were set aloft for a fullcontact
mission.
Indoor RC
flight done on a
giant scale
Above: Steve Johnston’s Fancy Foam Models Seminoll
looked great with its custom-airbrushed paint.
FOUR YEARS AGO, when this event premiered, indoor RC
was crawling out of the nest, as it were. Digital spread
spectrum radios were coming onto the scene, and the GWS C
gearbox and a Speed 350 motor was the best place to start to
dial in your indoor-arena skills.
Then, a 10C Li-Poly was the hot ticket, and building bluefoam
models from plans downloaded off of the Internet was
more fun than many of us thought RC flying could be. As a
reporter, up to this point it had been impossible to photograph
pilots flying their aircraft with smiles on their faces; they had
been so tense.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 2:53 PM Page 18
June 2009 19
Above: “Catch me if you can” was Chris Hass’s approach to keeping
all of the prizes, in the balloon-adorned basket, as he ran for the
staging area.
Below: Mike Lising transformed his E-flite mCX into a Hiller-copter
with a body adapted from a Fiddler’s Green paper model.
Above: Dream It RC had several birds flying at the event.
This patriotic eagle got our attention and flew
remarkably well.
Below: Don Anderson of Great Planes gets in a bit of stick
time. Judging from the smile on his face, he was having as
much fun as everyone else.
Photos by the authors
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:41 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Jason Noll (center) and Andrew Jesky practice their formation aerobatic routine,
Below: Combat was exciting to watch and even
more so for the pilots. Not only did they get to
compete for cash, but their models were also
easier to pack for the trip home.
Left: Factory pilots from Horizon Hobby
demonstrated that the new 4Site enjoys flying on
its side as much as it enjoys flying right-side up.
Mike “Grimracer” Zaborowski is well known as
an RC boat racer and designer. His beautiful Gee
Bee proved that he is also a skilled model airplane
builder.
Jim Fassino’s Demoiselle looked amazing both on the ground and in the air.
Judges agreed, and he took first place in the Scale competition.
while Fred Midgett of Higher Plane Productions
captures their performance on tape.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 3:04 PM Page 20
June 2009 21
Left: Hobbico’s make-and-take area was a popular stop for families.
Participants were given the opportunity to fly their creations later in
the day for prizes.
Above: Dewey Davenport gives Tina Rolfe her first helicopter flight with
a Blade mCX. Horizon Hobby allowed several spectators to fly RC for
the first time.
Above: Jacob Ramsey repairs the “radar dome,” while an
Ember 2 comes in to land on the deck. The aircraft
carrier was a huge hit in the micro area.
Below: Event Director Frank Noll takes a moment to talk to the press. Those
who were involved did an excellent job of making sure E-Fest ran smoothly.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:46 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Mike Lising’s Super Cobra is finished in Forest Service colors. E325 Mini Titan mechanics
from Thunder Tiger are underneath.
Jason Danhakl shows off the new Heli-Max
Novus RTF collective-pitch micro helicopter.
Not only did it fly well, but it also matched
his shirt. Way to accessorize, Jason!
Kyle Stacy won the helicopter Smackdown
judging by applause. When he wasn’t on the
flightline, he could be found practicing on
the flight simulator.
Peter Sripol demonstrates his cargo aircraft with a whopping 10 ducted fans. The hum
of all the fans running at once drew plenty of attention.
This Align T-Rex 450 V2 helicopter belongs to former AMA president, Dave Brown. He
relocated his gyro to sit lower on a custom tray.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:51 PM Page 22
June 2009 23
Above: The 8-ounce E-Flite Divo had no problem laying down several knife-edge passes, with
minimal rudder input required.
Below: We were impressed by how well this Scorpion-powered Beam flew. Having a Spartan
RC ds760 gyro onboard didn’t hurt, and the pilot made full use of it.
Great Planes
ElectriFly
Futaba
Heli-Max
Carl Goldberg
Products Ltd.
RCGroups.com
AMA
Model Aviation
Fly RC
Model Airplane News
Backyard Flyer
RC Sport Flyer
RC Heli
Tower Hobbies
JR
Spektrum
Hoffman Magnetics
2Dog RC
Advantage Hobby
Zap
PowerHelis.com
Lukes RC Planes
Sponsor s
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:56 PM Page 23
The Great Planes E-Fest is about fun for
the pilots, but it also puts on a heck of a
show for the spectators, who are typically
friends and families of the fliers who live
nearby. Many former spectators of all ages
attended the E-Fest during the first weekend
in February this year as bona fide RC pilot
participants.
MA dedicated two staff members to
cover this groundbreaking event for the
AMA members. Jay Smith will report from
the “fixed wing” point of view, and Michael
Ramsey will give an account of the airbeating
helicopter perspective.
The final count for the 2009 E-Fest was
308 registered pilots, and more than half of
them registered as both helicopter and
airplane enthusiasts. We’ve come a long
way!
—MA Staff
Airplanes: Before this year’s event, the
closest I had gotten to flying in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign’s Armory Track & Floor, where
E-Fest is held, was on my flight simulator.
Even after seeing pictures and a video from
the get-together, I was unprepared for the
sheer size of it all; this event needs to be
experienced to be believed.
Three flightlines and a micro-flyer area
were employed during the entire gathering.
The largest flying section was used to fly
aircraft in a racetrack configuration.
Aerobatics were allowed, as long as
pilots followed the pattern. A 3-D area was
provided for hovering and extreme
aerobatics. Both areas were well run and
pilots were considerate of one another,
which led to fewer midairs than you would
expect from the amount of models that were
flown at any given time.
The micro-flying area was hugely
popular, and it was used to fly both
production and scratch-built aircraft. Peter
and Stephan Sripol brought a scratch-built
aircraft carrier with working lights and radar
dome. It was driven into the micro area,
where pilots swarmed it, trying their best to
land micro airplanes and helicopters on the
deck.
Horizon Hobby set up in the micro area
Saturday, with ParkZone Vapors, Embers,
and E-flite mCX helicopters, allowing
attendees to get in on the excitement of RC
flight. Hobbico hosted a make-and-take
venue, where children made gliders and
custom-decorated them. Later in the day, all
flightlines were shut down so children could
launch their models and win prizes for the
flights that went the longest distances.
Several activities at E-Fest helped break
things up and keep it exciting for both the
pilots and the crowd. Some of the events
included Combat, Pylon Race, an Indoor
Scale competition, and balloon busting.
Fifty-eight Combat participants launched
their aircraft into an immediate “furball” for
the chance to win a cash prize. The aircraft
looked like an angry mass of bees, intent on
taking their anger out on one another.
Various types of models were used in
Combat, including 3-D aircraft, Combat
airplanes, slow flyers, flying wings, and, for
fun, even a Vapor or four (unofficially) made
their way into the competition. The finale
was throwing all of the battered aircraft in a
huge pile at show center.
The Scale competition was in stark
contrast to Combat; the miniature
masterpieces were flown one at a time, in a
scalelike manner. The only rules were that
entries could weigh no more than 18 ounces
ready to fly and were required to fly during
their scheduled time slots.
After both static and flight judging were
complete, two awards were given. Jim
Fassino received honors for his Demoiselle,
and Steve Beros earned recognition with his
Antonov An-2.
Several new aircraft were shown and
flown at the event. Two releases that
garnered considerable attention were the
flying birds from Dream It RC and a micro
Sukhoi from the indoor experts at ParkZone.
E-flite and ElectriFly represented threechannel
World War I RC with a Nieuport and
a Sopwith Pup respectively. Dynamic Foamy
flew profile World War II warbirds with
ParkZone micro gear and featured a larger
profile A-10.
When you needed a break from flying or
walking the show floor, the pit areas were a
great place to talk to fellow pilots and ask
questions about their unique models. Those I
spoke with were friendly and enthusiastic
about the event, and more than happy to
show off their aircraft.
Jay Smith
[email protected]
Helicopters: As mentioned, most registered
pilots were both airplane and helicopter
enthusiasts, so the pit areas were riddled with
almost every flying machine imaginable. The
specialized helicopter flightline was located
on the east end of the building, so that’s
where we found the die-hard helicopter nuts.
Being called a “helicopter nut” is a badge
worn with respect. It puts you up there with
the likes of Nick Maxwell, Curtis
Youngblood, Kyle Stacy, Mark Fadely, and
many others who have found E-Fest to be a
respected arena that makes them feel
welcomed.
Part of what draws these top-class pilots
may be the helicopter Smackdown
competition, which took place at roughly 8
p.m. Saturday night. It was a privilege to
watch the pilots practice and break in their
machines all day.
Yes, Curtis was there, but he was happy to
report that he had retired from 3-D
competition. That’s not a bad thing for the rest
of us, because his Next D Designs company
finally began full distribution of the 450-class
Rave. Even the guys at PowerHelis.com were
there, to supply the kit and the remarkable
complement of replacement parts.
If you’re in the market for a new 450-class
machine, there are many from which to
choose. T-Rex fans have the new 450 Pro to
show off, and the new 250 is a great fit in
the smaller indoor gym areas that are more
likely available to most clubs.
The Beam E4 from Advantage Hobby
was a common sight, and the owners/pilots
were not kind to them; those helicopters
flipped, spun, and slid in toward every point
on the compass. They flew great!
Now that the Miniature Aircraft Furion
is available from Tower Hobbies, more
were seen at this event than ever. Some
even incorporated the new, amazingly small
Futaba GY520 gyro system.
The 200- to 250-class machines fit in
nicely with the short flightline that the
helicopter pilots had to share with the 3-D
airplane pilots. Even the Gaui 100
helicopter proved to be a venerable 3-D
performer that showed little evidence of
squirrelly behavior, as so many attempts at
this size of machine used to have. And some
of the new models were even smaller.
Heli-Max debuted a new line of micro
helicopters, and the first to be released is the
Novus: a coaxial, palm-size machine with
handsome looks and a smart electronics
system. It will be available (heck, it’s
probably available now) as an RTF that
includes a 2.4 GHz radio and 400 mAh, 3.7-
volt Li-Poly battery.
Later releases in the line are promised to
include a single-axle, fixed-pitch helicopter
and even a 3-D-capable, collective-pitch
version. What number should we give this
class of machines? We’re running out!
In an activity dominated by the ARF, it
was nice to see a few models decked out in
a unique scale fashion. Mike Lising came to
the E-Fest last year with a Fiddler’s Greencovered
E-Sky Honey Bee that convincingly
pulled off the look of a heavy-lifting
Sikorsky S-55.
Mike returned this year with an mCX
darned up with a Hiller body, but his
heavy metal was a Super Cobra finished in
Forest Service colors. It had a Mini Titan
body and mechanics from Thunder Tiger.
When it came to the final showdown—
the helicopter Smackdown—the evening
did not disappoint, even though the
attrition rate seemed a bit too high. Five of
the nine pilots earned a DNF (Did Not
Finish), so only four fliers were eligible to
win the $500 check.
I was glad to see that Kyle Stacy won
by popularity metered with applause. That
kid practiced diligently all day; when he
wasn’t standing at the flightline, he was
hooked into the laptop, burning up the
virtual electrons on the flight simulator.
His dad, Ray (a darn good helicopter
pilot himself), was right beside Kyle,
typically fixing something. They make a
great pair.
Although this account has focused
mostly on the hotshots of the helicopter
scene, at the flightline I observed
camaraderie among pilots at all skill
levels. Those who simply wanted to hover
and get familiar with the indoor
surroundings were made comfortable at
either end of the flightline, while the
active 3-D fliers were positioned in the
middle.
It was considerate of the event staff to
break up the day with helicopter-only
times. It permitted the spectators to get a
better idea of the spectrum of RC
helicopters that the event had to offer. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
Sources:
E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
18 MODEL AVIATION
2009
by Michael Ramsey
and Jay Smith
Great Planes
Left: The “angry bees” take to the air at the start of
Combat. A total of 58 aircraft were set aloft for a fullcontact
mission.
Indoor RC
flight done on a
giant scale
Above: Steve Johnston’s Fancy Foam Models Seminoll
looked great with its custom-airbrushed paint.
FOUR YEARS AGO, when this event premiered, indoor RC
was crawling out of the nest, as it were. Digital spread
spectrum radios were coming onto the scene, and the GWS C
gearbox and a Speed 350 motor was the best place to start to
dial in your indoor-arena skills.
Then, a 10C Li-Poly was the hot ticket, and building bluefoam
models from plans downloaded off of the Internet was
more fun than many of us thought RC flying could be. As a
reporter, up to this point it had been impossible to photograph
pilots flying their aircraft with smiles on their faces; they had
been so tense.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 2:53 PM Page 18
June 2009 19
Above: “Catch me if you can” was Chris Hass’s approach to keeping
all of the prizes, in the balloon-adorned basket, as he ran for the
staging area.
Below: Mike Lising transformed his E-flite mCX into a Hiller-copter
with a body adapted from a Fiddler’s Green paper model.
Above: Dream It RC had several birds flying at the event.
This patriotic eagle got our attention and flew
remarkably well.
Below: Don Anderson of Great Planes gets in a bit of stick
time. Judging from the smile on his face, he was having as
much fun as everyone else.
Photos by the authors
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:41 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Jason Noll (center) and Andrew Jesky practice their formation aerobatic routine,
Below: Combat was exciting to watch and even
more so for the pilots. Not only did they get to
compete for cash, but their models were also
easier to pack for the trip home.
Left: Factory pilots from Horizon Hobby
demonstrated that the new 4Site enjoys flying on
its side as much as it enjoys flying right-side up.
Mike “Grimracer” Zaborowski is well known as
an RC boat racer and designer. His beautiful Gee
Bee proved that he is also a skilled model airplane
builder.
Jim Fassino’s Demoiselle looked amazing both on the ground and in the air.
Judges agreed, and he took first place in the Scale competition.
while Fred Midgett of Higher Plane Productions
captures their performance on tape.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 3:04 PM Page 20
June 2009 21
Left: Hobbico’s make-and-take area was a popular stop for families.
Participants were given the opportunity to fly their creations later in
the day for prizes.
Above: Dewey Davenport gives Tina Rolfe her first helicopter flight with
a Blade mCX. Horizon Hobby allowed several spectators to fly RC for
the first time.
Above: Jacob Ramsey repairs the “radar dome,” while an
Ember 2 comes in to land on the deck. The aircraft
carrier was a huge hit in the micro area.
Below: Event Director Frank Noll takes a moment to talk to the press. Those
who were involved did an excellent job of making sure E-Fest ran smoothly.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:46 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Mike Lising’s Super Cobra is finished in Forest Service colors. E325 Mini Titan mechanics
from Thunder Tiger are underneath.
Jason Danhakl shows off the new Heli-Max
Novus RTF collective-pitch micro helicopter.
Not only did it fly well, but it also matched
his shirt. Way to accessorize, Jason!
Kyle Stacy won the helicopter Smackdown
judging by applause. When he wasn’t on the
flightline, he could be found practicing on
the flight simulator.
Peter Sripol demonstrates his cargo aircraft with a whopping 10 ducted fans. The hum
of all the fans running at once drew plenty of attention.
This Align T-Rex 450 V2 helicopter belongs to former AMA president, Dave Brown. He
relocated his gyro to sit lower on a custom tray.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:51 PM Page 22
June 2009 23
Above: The 8-ounce E-Flite Divo had no problem laying down several knife-edge passes, with
minimal rudder input required.
Below: We were impressed by how well this Scorpion-powered Beam flew. Having a Spartan
RC ds760 gyro onboard didn’t hurt, and the pilot made full use of it.
Great Planes
ElectriFly
Futaba
Heli-Max
Carl Goldberg
Products Ltd.
RCGroups.com
AMA
Model Aviation
Fly RC
Model Airplane News
Backyard Flyer
RC Sport Flyer
RC Heli
Tower Hobbies
JR
Spektrum
Hoffman Magnetics
2Dog RC
Advantage Hobby
Zap
PowerHelis.com
Lukes RC Planes
Sponsor s
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:56 PM Page 23
The Great Planes E-Fest is about fun for
the pilots, but it also puts on a heck of a
show for the spectators, who are typically
friends and families of the fliers who live
nearby. Many former spectators of all ages
attended the E-Fest during the first weekend
in February this year as bona fide RC pilot
participants.
MA dedicated two staff members to
cover this groundbreaking event for the
AMA members. Jay Smith will report from
the “fixed wing” point of view, and Michael
Ramsey will give an account of the airbeating
helicopter perspective.
The final count for the 2009 E-Fest was
308 registered pilots, and more than half of
them registered as both helicopter and
airplane enthusiasts. We’ve come a long
way!
—MA Staff
Airplanes: Before this year’s event, the
closest I had gotten to flying in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign’s Armory Track & Floor, where
E-Fest is held, was on my flight simulator.
Even after seeing pictures and a video from
the get-together, I was unprepared for the
sheer size of it all; this event needs to be
experienced to be believed.
Three flightlines and a micro-flyer area
were employed during the entire gathering.
The largest flying section was used to fly
aircraft in a racetrack configuration.
Aerobatics were allowed, as long as
pilots followed the pattern. A 3-D area was
provided for hovering and extreme
aerobatics. Both areas were well run and
pilots were considerate of one another,
which led to fewer midairs than you would
expect from the amount of models that were
flown at any given time.
The micro-flying area was hugely
popular, and it was used to fly both
production and scratch-built aircraft. Peter
and Stephan Sripol brought a scratch-built
aircraft carrier with working lights and radar
dome. It was driven into the micro area,
where pilots swarmed it, trying their best to
land micro airplanes and helicopters on the
deck.
Horizon Hobby set up in the micro area
Saturday, with ParkZone Vapors, Embers,
and E-flite mCX helicopters, allowing
attendees to get in on the excitement of RC
flight. Hobbico hosted a make-and-take
venue, where children made gliders and
custom-decorated them. Later in the day, all
flightlines were shut down so children could
launch their models and win prizes for the
flights that went the longest distances.
Several activities at E-Fest helped break
things up and keep it exciting for both the
pilots and the crowd. Some of the events
included Combat, Pylon Race, an Indoor
Scale competition, and balloon busting.
Fifty-eight Combat participants launched
their aircraft into an immediate “furball” for
the chance to win a cash prize. The aircraft
looked like an angry mass of bees, intent on
taking their anger out on one another.
Various types of models were used in
Combat, including 3-D aircraft, Combat
airplanes, slow flyers, flying wings, and, for
fun, even a Vapor or four (unofficially) made
their way into the competition. The finale
was throwing all of the battered aircraft in a
huge pile at show center.
The Scale competition was in stark
contrast to Combat; the miniature
masterpieces were flown one at a time, in a
scalelike manner. The only rules were that
entries could weigh no more than 18 ounces
ready to fly and were required to fly during
their scheduled time slots.
After both static and flight judging were
complete, two awards were given. Jim
Fassino received honors for his Demoiselle,
and Steve Beros earned recognition with his
Antonov An-2.
Several new aircraft were shown and
flown at the event. Two releases that
garnered considerable attention were the
flying birds from Dream It RC and a micro
Sukhoi from the indoor experts at ParkZone.
E-flite and ElectriFly represented threechannel
World War I RC with a Nieuport and
a Sopwith Pup respectively. Dynamic Foamy
flew profile World War II warbirds with
ParkZone micro gear and featured a larger
profile A-10.
When you needed a break from flying or
walking the show floor, the pit areas were a
great place to talk to fellow pilots and ask
questions about their unique models. Those I
spoke with were friendly and enthusiastic
about the event, and more than happy to
show off their aircraft.
Jay Smith
[email protected]
Helicopters: As mentioned, most registered
pilots were both airplane and helicopter
enthusiasts, so the pit areas were riddled with
almost every flying machine imaginable. The
specialized helicopter flightline was located
on the east end of the building, so that’s
where we found the die-hard helicopter nuts.
Being called a “helicopter nut” is a badge
worn with respect. It puts you up there with
the likes of Nick Maxwell, Curtis
Youngblood, Kyle Stacy, Mark Fadely, and
many others who have found E-Fest to be a
respected arena that makes them feel
welcomed.
Part of what draws these top-class pilots
may be the helicopter Smackdown
competition, which took place at roughly 8
p.m. Saturday night. It was a privilege to
watch the pilots practice and break in their
machines all day.
Yes, Curtis was there, but he was happy to
report that he had retired from 3-D
competition. That’s not a bad thing for the rest
of us, because his Next D Designs company
finally began full distribution of the 450-class
Rave. Even the guys at PowerHelis.com were
there, to supply the kit and the remarkable
complement of replacement parts.
If you’re in the market for a new 450-class
machine, there are many from which to
choose. T-Rex fans have the new 450 Pro to
show off, and the new 250 is a great fit in
the smaller indoor gym areas that are more
likely available to most clubs.
The Beam E4 from Advantage Hobby
was a common sight, and the owners/pilots
were not kind to them; those helicopters
flipped, spun, and slid in toward every point
on the compass. They flew great!
Now that the Miniature Aircraft Furion
is available from Tower Hobbies, more
were seen at this event than ever. Some
even incorporated the new, amazingly small
Futaba GY520 gyro system.
The 200- to 250-class machines fit in
nicely with the short flightline that the
helicopter pilots had to share with the 3-D
airplane pilots. Even the Gaui 100
helicopter proved to be a venerable 3-D
performer that showed little evidence of
squirrelly behavior, as so many attempts at
this size of machine used to have. And some
of the new models were even smaller.
Heli-Max debuted a new line of micro
helicopters, and the first to be released is the
Novus: a coaxial, palm-size machine with
handsome looks and a smart electronics
system. It will be available (heck, it’s
probably available now) as an RTF that
includes a 2.4 GHz radio and 400 mAh, 3.7-
volt Li-Poly battery.
Later releases in the line are promised to
include a single-axle, fixed-pitch helicopter
and even a 3-D-capable, collective-pitch
version. What number should we give this
class of machines? We’re running out!
In an activity dominated by the ARF, it
was nice to see a few models decked out in
a unique scale fashion. Mike Lising came to
the E-Fest last year with a Fiddler’s Greencovered
E-Sky Honey Bee that convincingly
pulled off the look of a heavy-lifting
Sikorsky S-55.
Mike returned this year with an mCX
darned up with a Hiller body, but his
heavy metal was a Super Cobra finished in
Forest Service colors. It had a Mini Titan
body and mechanics from Thunder Tiger.
When it came to the final showdown—
the helicopter Smackdown—the evening
did not disappoint, even though the
attrition rate seemed a bit too high. Five of
the nine pilots earned a DNF (Did Not
Finish), so only four fliers were eligible to
win the $500 check.
I was glad to see that Kyle Stacy won
by popularity metered with applause. That
kid practiced diligently all day; when he
wasn’t standing at the flightline, he was
hooked into the laptop, burning up the
virtual electrons on the flight simulator.
His dad, Ray (a darn good helicopter
pilot himself), was right beside Kyle,
typically fixing something. They make a
great pair.
Although this account has focused
mostly on the hotshots of the helicopter
scene, at the flightline I observed
camaraderie among pilots at all skill
levels. Those who simply wanted to hover
and get familiar with the indoor
surroundings were made comfortable at
either end of the flightline, while the
active 3-D fliers were positioned in the
middle.
It was considerate of the event staff to
break up the day with helicopter-only
times. It permitted the spectators to get a
better idea of the spectrum of RC
helicopters that the event had to offer. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
Sources:
E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
18 MODEL AVIATION
2009
by Michael Ramsey
and Jay Smith
Great Planes
Left: The “angry bees” take to the air at the start of
Combat. A total of 58 aircraft were set aloft for a fullcontact
mission.
Indoor RC
flight done on a
giant scale
Above: Steve Johnston’s Fancy Foam Models Seminoll
looked great with its custom-airbrushed paint.
FOUR YEARS AGO, when this event premiered, indoor RC
was crawling out of the nest, as it were. Digital spread
spectrum radios were coming onto the scene, and the GWS C
gearbox and a Speed 350 motor was the best place to start to
dial in your indoor-arena skills.
Then, a 10C Li-Poly was the hot ticket, and building bluefoam
models from plans downloaded off of the Internet was
more fun than many of us thought RC flying could be. As a
reporter, up to this point it had been impossible to photograph
pilots flying their aircraft with smiles on their faces; they had
been so tense.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 2:53 PM Page 18
June 2009 19
Above: “Catch me if you can” was Chris Hass’s approach to keeping
all of the prizes, in the balloon-adorned basket, as he ran for the
staging area.
Below: Mike Lising transformed his E-flite mCX into a Hiller-copter
with a body adapted from a Fiddler’s Green paper model.
Above: Dream It RC had several birds flying at the event.
This patriotic eagle got our attention and flew
remarkably well.
Below: Don Anderson of Great Planes gets in a bit of stick
time. Judging from the smile on his face, he was having as
much fun as everyone else.
Photos by the authors
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:41 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Jason Noll (center) and Andrew Jesky practice their formation aerobatic routine,
Below: Combat was exciting to watch and even
more so for the pilots. Not only did they get to
compete for cash, but their models were also
easier to pack for the trip home.
Left: Factory pilots from Horizon Hobby
demonstrated that the new 4Site enjoys flying on
its side as much as it enjoys flying right-side up.
Mike “Grimracer” Zaborowski is well known as
an RC boat racer and designer. His beautiful Gee
Bee proved that he is also a skilled model airplane
builder.
Jim Fassino’s Demoiselle looked amazing both on the ground and in the air.
Judges agreed, and he took first place in the Scale competition.
while Fred Midgett of Higher Plane Productions
captures their performance on tape.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 3:04 PM Page 20
June 2009 21
Left: Hobbico’s make-and-take area was a popular stop for families.
Participants were given the opportunity to fly their creations later in
the day for prizes.
Above: Dewey Davenport gives Tina Rolfe her first helicopter flight with
a Blade mCX. Horizon Hobby allowed several spectators to fly RC for
the first time.
Above: Jacob Ramsey repairs the “radar dome,” while an
Ember 2 comes in to land on the deck. The aircraft
carrier was a huge hit in the micro area.
Below: Event Director Frank Noll takes a moment to talk to the press. Those
who were involved did an excellent job of making sure E-Fest ran smoothly.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:46 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Mike Lising’s Super Cobra is finished in Forest Service colors. E325 Mini Titan mechanics
from Thunder Tiger are underneath.
Jason Danhakl shows off the new Heli-Max
Novus RTF collective-pitch micro helicopter.
Not only did it fly well, but it also matched
his shirt. Way to accessorize, Jason!
Kyle Stacy won the helicopter Smackdown
judging by applause. When he wasn’t on the
flightline, he could be found practicing on
the flight simulator.
Peter Sripol demonstrates his cargo aircraft with a whopping 10 ducted fans. The hum
of all the fans running at once drew plenty of attention.
This Align T-Rex 450 V2 helicopter belongs to former AMA president, Dave Brown. He
relocated his gyro to sit lower on a custom tray.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:51 PM Page 22
June 2009 23
Above: The 8-ounce E-Flite Divo had no problem laying down several knife-edge passes, with
minimal rudder input required.
Below: We were impressed by how well this Scorpion-powered Beam flew. Having a Spartan
RC ds760 gyro onboard didn’t hurt, and the pilot made full use of it.
Great Planes
ElectriFly
Futaba
Heli-Max
Carl Goldberg
Products Ltd.
RCGroups.com
AMA
Model Aviation
Fly RC
Model Airplane News
Backyard Flyer
RC Sport Flyer
RC Heli
Tower Hobbies
JR
Spektrum
Hoffman Magnetics
2Dog RC
Advantage Hobby
Zap
PowerHelis.com
Lukes RC Planes
Sponsor s
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:56 PM Page 23
The Great Planes E-Fest is about fun for
the pilots, but it also puts on a heck of a
show for the spectators, who are typically
friends and families of the fliers who live
nearby. Many former spectators of all ages
attended the E-Fest during the first weekend
in February this year as bona fide RC pilot
participants.
MA dedicated two staff members to
cover this groundbreaking event for the
AMA members. Jay Smith will report from
the “fixed wing” point of view, and Michael
Ramsey will give an account of the airbeating
helicopter perspective.
The final count for the 2009 E-Fest was
308 registered pilots, and more than half of
them registered as both helicopter and
airplane enthusiasts. We’ve come a long
way!
—MA Staff
Airplanes: Before this year’s event, the
closest I had gotten to flying in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign’s Armory Track & Floor, where
E-Fest is held, was on my flight simulator.
Even after seeing pictures and a video from
the get-together, I was unprepared for the
sheer size of it all; this event needs to be
experienced to be believed.
Three flightlines and a micro-flyer area
were employed during the entire gathering.
The largest flying section was used to fly
aircraft in a racetrack configuration.
Aerobatics were allowed, as long as
pilots followed the pattern. A 3-D area was
provided for hovering and extreme
aerobatics. Both areas were well run and
pilots were considerate of one another,
which led to fewer midairs than you would
expect from the amount of models that were
flown at any given time.
The micro-flying area was hugely
popular, and it was used to fly both
production and scratch-built aircraft. Peter
and Stephan Sripol brought a scratch-built
aircraft carrier with working lights and radar
dome. It was driven into the micro area,
where pilots swarmed it, trying their best to
land micro airplanes and helicopters on the
deck.
Horizon Hobby set up in the micro area
Saturday, with ParkZone Vapors, Embers,
and E-flite mCX helicopters, allowing
attendees to get in on the excitement of RC
flight. Hobbico hosted a make-and-take
venue, where children made gliders and
custom-decorated them. Later in the day, all
flightlines were shut down so children could
launch their models and win prizes for the
flights that went the longest distances.
Several activities at E-Fest helped break
things up and keep it exciting for both the
pilots and the crowd. Some of the events
included Combat, Pylon Race, an Indoor
Scale competition, and balloon busting.
Fifty-eight Combat participants launched
their aircraft into an immediate “furball” for
the chance to win a cash prize. The aircraft
looked like an angry mass of bees, intent on
taking their anger out on one another.
Various types of models were used in
Combat, including 3-D aircraft, Combat
airplanes, slow flyers, flying wings, and, for
fun, even a Vapor or four (unofficially) made
their way into the competition. The finale
was throwing all of the battered aircraft in a
huge pile at show center.
The Scale competition was in stark
contrast to Combat; the miniature
masterpieces were flown one at a time, in a
scalelike manner. The only rules were that
entries could weigh no more than 18 ounces
ready to fly and were required to fly during
their scheduled time slots.
After both static and flight judging were
complete, two awards were given. Jim
Fassino received honors for his Demoiselle,
and Steve Beros earned recognition with his
Antonov An-2.
Several new aircraft were shown and
flown at the event. Two releases that
garnered considerable attention were the
flying birds from Dream It RC and a micro
Sukhoi from the indoor experts at ParkZone.
E-flite and ElectriFly represented threechannel
World War I RC with a Nieuport and
a Sopwith Pup respectively. Dynamic Foamy
flew profile World War II warbirds with
ParkZone micro gear and featured a larger
profile A-10.
When you needed a break from flying or
walking the show floor, the pit areas were a
great place to talk to fellow pilots and ask
questions about their unique models. Those I
spoke with were friendly and enthusiastic
about the event, and more than happy to
show off their aircraft.
Jay Smith
[email protected]
Helicopters: As mentioned, most registered
pilots were both airplane and helicopter
enthusiasts, so the pit areas were riddled with
almost every flying machine imaginable. The
specialized helicopter flightline was located
on the east end of the building, so that’s
where we found the die-hard helicopter nuts.
Being called a “helicopter nut” is a badge
worn with respect. It puts you up there with
the likes of Nick Maxwell, Curtis
Youngblood, Kyle Stacy, Mark Fadely, and
many others who have found E-Fest to be a
respected arena that makes them feel
welcomed.
Part of what draws these top-class pilots
may be the helicopter Smackdown
competition, which took place at roughly 8
p.m. Saturday night. It was a privilege to
watch the pilots practice and break in their
machines all day.
Yes, Curtis was there, but he was happy to
report that he had retired from 3-D
competition. That’s not a bad thing for the rest
of us, because his Next D Designs company
finally began full distribution of the 450-class
Rave. Even the guys at PowerHelis.com were
there, to supply the kit and the remarkable
complement of replacement parts.
If you’re in the market for a new 450-class
machine, there are many from which to
choose. T-Rex fans have the new 450 Pro to
show off, and the new 250 is a great fit in
the smaller indoor gym areas that are more
likely available to most clubs.
The Beam E4 from Advantage Hobby
was a common sight, and the owners/pilots
were not kind to them; those helicopters
flipped, spun, and slid in toward every point
on the compass. They flew great!
Now that the Miniature Aircraft Furion
is available from Tower Hobbies, more
were seen at this event than ever. Some
even incorporated the new, amazingly small
Futaba GY520 gyro system.
The 200- to 250-class machines fit in
nicely with the short flightline that the
helicopter pilots had to share with the 3-D
airplane pilots. Even the Gaui 100
helicopter proved to be a venerable 3-D
performer that showed little evidence of
squirrelly behavior, as so many attempts at
this size of machine used to have. And some
of the new models were even smaller.
Heli-Max debuted a new line of micro
helicopters, and the first to be released is the
Novus: a coaxial, palm-size machine with
handsome looks and a smart electronics
system. It will be available (heck, it’s
probably available now) as an RTF that
includes a 2.4 GHz radio and 400 mAh, 3.7-
volt Li-Poly battery.
Later releases in the line are promised to
include a single-axle, fixed-pitch helicopter
and even a 3-D-capable, collective-pitch
version. What number should we give this
class of machines? We’re running out!
In an activity dominated by the ARF, it
was nice to see a few models decked out in
a unique scale fashion. Mike Lising came to
the E-Fest last year with a Fiddler’s Greencovered
E-Sky Honey Bee that convincingly
pulled off the look of a heavy-lifting
Sikorsky S-55.
Mike returned this year with an mCX
darned up with a Hiller body, but his
heavy metal was a Super Cobra finished in
Forest Service colors. It had a Mini Titan
body and mechanics from Thunder Tiger.
When it came to the final showdown—
the helicopter Smackdown—the evening
did not disappoint, even though the
attrition rate seemed a bit too high. Five of
the nine pilots earned a DNF (Did Not
Finish), so only four fliers were eligible to
win the $500 check.
I was glad to see that Kyle Stacy won
by popularity metered with applause. That
kid practiced diligently all day; when he
wasn’t standing at the flightline, he was
hooked into the laptop, burning up the
virtual electrons on the flight simulator.
His dad, Ray (a darn good helicopter
pilot himself), was right beside Kyle,
typically fixing something. They make a
great pair.
Although this account has focused
mostly on the hotshots of the helicopter
scene, at the flightline I observed
camaraderie among pilots at all skill
levels. Those who simply wanted to hover
and get familiar with the indoor
surroundings were made comfortable at
either end of the flightline, while the
active 3-D fliers were positioned in the
middle.
It was considerate of the event staff to
break up the day with helicopter-only
times. It permitted the spectators to get a
better idea of the spectrum of RC
helicopters that the event had to offer. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
Sources:
E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
18 MODEL AVIATION
2009
by Michael Ramsey
and Jay Smith
Great Planes
Left: The “angry bees” take to the air at the start of
Combat. A total of 58 aircraft were set aloft for a fullcontact
mission.
Indoor RC
flight done on a
giant scale
Above: Steve Johnston’s Fancy Foam Models Seminoll
looked great with its custom-airbrushed paint.
FOUR YEARS AGO, when this event premiered, indoor RC
was crawling out of the nest, as it were. Digital spread
spectrum radios were coming onto the scene, and the GWS C
gearbox and a Speed 350 motor was the best place to start to
dial in your indoor-arena skills.
Then, a 10C Li-Poly was the hot ticket, and building bluefoam
models from plans downloaded off of the Internet was
more fun than many of us thought RC flying could be. As a
reporter, up to this point it had been impossible to photograph
pilots flying their aircraft with smiles on their faces; they had
been so tense.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 2:53 PM Page 18
June 2009 19
Above: “Catch me if you can” was Chris Hass’s approach to keeping
all of the prizes, in the balloon-adorned basket, as he ran for the
staging area.
Below: Mike Lising transformed his E-flite mCX into a Hiller-copter
with a body adapted from a Fiddler’s Green paper model.
Above: Dream It RC had several birds flying at the event.
This patriotic eagle got our attention and flew
remarkably well.
Below: Don Anderson of Great Planes gets in a bit of stick
time. Judging from the smile on his face, he was having as
much fun as everyone else.
Photos by the authors
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:41 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Jason Noll (center) and Andrew Jesky practice their formation aerobatic routine,
Below: Combat was exciting to watch and even
more so for the pilots. Not only did they get to
compete for cash, but their models were also
easier to pack for the trip home.
Left: Factory pilots from Horizon Hobby
demonstrated that the new 4Site enjoys flying on
its side as much as it enjoys flying right-side up.
Mike “Grimracer” Zaborowski is well known as
an RC boat racer and designer. His beautiful Gee
Bee proved that he is also a skilled model airplane
builder.
Jim Fassino’s Demoiselle looked amazing both on the ground and in the air.
Judges agreed, and he took first place in the Scale competition.
while Fred Midgett of Higher Plane Productions
captures their performance on tape.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 3:04 PM Page 20
June 2009 21
Left: Hobbico’s make-and-take area was a popular stop for families.
Participants were given the opportunity to fly their creations later in
the day for prizes.
Above: Dewey Davenport gives Tina Rolfe her first helicopter flight with
a Blade mCX. Horizon Hobby allowed several spectators to fly RC for
the first time.
Above: Jacob Ramsey repairs the “radar dome,” while an
Ember 2 comes in to land on the deck. The aircraft
carrier was a huge hit in the micro area.
Below: Event Director Frank Noll takes a moment to talk to the press. Those
who were involved did an excellent job of making sure E-Fest ran smoothly.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:46 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Mike Lising’s Super Cobra is finished in Forest Service colors. E325 Mini Titan mechanics
from Thunder Tiger are underneath.
Jason Danhakl shows off the new Heli-Max
Novus RTF collective-pitch micro helicopter.
Not only did it fly well, but it also matched
his shirt. Way to accessorize, Jason!
Kyle Stacy won the helicopter Smackdown
judging by applause. When he wasn’t on the
flightline, he could be found practicing on
the flight simulator.
Peter Sripol demonstrates his cargo aircraft with a whopping 10 ducted fans. The hum
of all the fans running at once drew plenty of attention.
This Align T-Rex 450 V2 helicopter belongs to former AMA president, Dave Brown. He
relocated his gyro to sit lower on a custom tray.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:51 PM Page 22
June 2009 23
Above: The 8-ounce E-Flite Divo had no problem laying down several knife-edge passes, with
minimal rudder input required.
Below: We were impressed by how well this Scorpion-powered Beam flew. Having a Spartan
RC ds760 gyro onboard didn’t hurt, and the pilot made full use of it.
Great Planes
ElectriFly
Futaba
Heli-Max
Carl Goldberg
Products Ltd.
RCGroups.com
AMA
Model Aviation
Fly RC
Model Airplane News
Backyard Flyer
RC Sport Flyer
RC Heli
Tower Hobbies
JR
Spektrum
Hoffman Magnetics
2Dog RC
Advantage Hobby
Zap
PowerHelis.com
Lukes RC Planes
Sponsor s
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:56 PM Page 23
The Great Planes E-Fest is about fun for
the pilots, but it also puts on a heck of a
show for the spectators, who are typically
friends and families of the fliers who live
nearby. Many former spectators of all ages
attended the E-Fest during the first weekend
in February this year as bona fide RC pilot
participants.
MA dedicated two staff members to
cover this groundbreaking event for the
AMA members. Jay Smith will report from
the “fixed wing” point of view, and Michael
Ramsey will give an account of the airbeating
helicopter perspective.
The final count for the 2009 E-Fest was
308 registered pilots, and more than half of
them registered as both helicopter and
airplane enthusiasts. We’ve come a long
way!
—MA Staff
Airplanes: Before this year’s event, the
closest I had gotten to flying in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign’s Armory Track & Floor, where
E-Fest is held, was on my flight simulator.
Even after seeing pictures and a video from
the get-together, I was unprepared for the
sheer size of it all; this event needs to be
experienced to be believed.
Three flightlines and a micro-flyer area
were employed during the entire gathering.
The largest flying section was used to fly
aircraft in a racetrack configuration.
Aerobatics were allowed, as long as
pilots followed the pattern. A 3-D area was
provided for hovering and extreme
aerobatics. Both areas were well run and
pilots were considerate of one another,
which led to fewer midairs than you would
expect from the amount of models that were
flown at any given time.
The micro-flying area was hugely
popular, and it was used to fly both
production and scratch-built aircraft. Peter
and Stephan Sripol brought a scratch-built
aircraft carrier with working lights and radar
dome. It was driven into the micro area,
where pilots swarmed it, trying their best to
land micro airplanes and helicopters on the
deck.
Horizon Hobby set up in the micro area
Saturday, with ParkZone Vapors, Embers,
and E-flite mCX helicopters, allowing
attendees to get in on the excitement of RC
flight. Hobbico hosted a make-and-take
venue, where children made gliders and
custom-decorated them. Later in the day, all
flightlines were shut down so children could
launch their models and win prizes for the
flights that went the longest distances.
Several activities at E-Fest helped break
things up and keep it exciting for both the
pilots and the crowd. Some of the events
included Combat, Pylon Race, an Indoor
Scale competition, and balloon busting.
Fifty-eight Combat participants launched
their aircraft into an immediate “furball” for
the chance to win a cash prize. The aircraft
looked like an angry mass of bees, intent on
taking their anger out on one another.
Various types of models were used in
Combat, including 3-D aircraft, Combat
airplanes, slow flyers, flying wings, and, for
fun, even a Vapor or four (unofficially) made
their way into the competition. The finale
was throwing all of the battered aircraft in a
huge pile at show center.
The Scale competition was in stark
contrast to Combat; the miniature
masterpieces were flown one at a time, in a
scalelike manner. The only rules were that
entries could weigh no more than 18 ounces
ready to fly and were required to fly during
their scheduled time slots.
After both static and flight judging were
complete, two awards were given. Jim
Fassino received honors for his Demoiselle,
and Steve Beros earned recognition with his
Antonov An-2.
Several new aircraft were shown and
flown at the event. Two releases that
garnered considerable attention were the
flying birds from Dream It RC and a micro
Sukhoi from the indoor experts at ParkZone.
E-flite and ElectriFly represented threechannel
World War I RC with a Nieuport and
a Sopwith Pup respectively. Dynamic Foamy
flew profile World War II warbirds with
ParkZone micro gear and featured a larger
profile A-10.
When you needed a break from flying or
walking the show floor, the pit areas were a
great place to talk to fellow pilots and ask
questions about their unique models. Those I
spoke with were friendly and enthusiastic
about the event, and more than happy to
show off their aircraft.
Jay Smith
[email protected]
Helicopters: As mentioned, most registered
pilots were both airplane and helicopter
enthusiasts, so the pit areas were riddled with
almost every flying machine imaginable. The
specialized helicopter flightline was located
on the east end of the building, so that’s
where we found the die-hard helicopter nuts.
Being called a “helicopter nut” is a badge
worn with respect. It puts you up there with
the likes of Nick Maxwell, Curtis
Youngblood, Kyle Stacy, Mark Fadely, and
many others who have found E-Fest to be a
respected arena that makes them feel
welcomed.
Part of what draws these top-class pilots
may be the helicopter Smackdown
competition, which took place at roughly 8
p.m. Saturday night. It was a privilege to
watch the pilots practice and break in their
machines all day.
Yes, Curtis was there, but he was happy to
report that he had retired from 3-D
competition. That’s not a bad thing for the rest
of us, because his Next D Designs company
finally began full distribution of the 450-class
Rave. Even the guys at PowerHelis.com were
there, to supply the kit and the remarkable
complement of replacement parts.
If you’re in the market for a new 450-class
machine, there are many from which to
choose. T-Rex fans have the new 450 Pro to
show off, and the new 250 is a great fit in
the smaller indoor gym areas that are more
likely available to most clubs.
The Beam E4 from Advantage Hobby
was a common sight, and the owners/pilots
were not kind to them; those helicopters
flipped, spun, and slid in toward every point
on the compass. They flew great!
Now that the Miniature Aircraft Furion
is available from Tower Hobbies, more
were seen at this event than ever. Some
even incorporated the new, amazingly small
Futaba GY520 gyro system.
The 200- to 250-class machines fit in
nicely with the short flightline that the
helicopter pilots had to share with the 3-D
airplane pilots. Even the Gaui 100
helicopter proved to be a venerable 3-D
performer that showed little evidence of
squirrelly behavior, as so many attempts at
this size of machine used to have. And some
of the new models were even smaller.
Heli-Max debuted a new line of micro
helicopters, and the first to be released is the
Novus: a coaxial, palm-size machine with
handsome looks and a smart electronics
system. It will be available (heck, it’s
probably available now) as an RTF that
includes a 2.4 GHz radio and 400 mAh, 3.7-
volt Li-Poly battery.
Later releases in the line are promised to
include a single-axle, fixed-pitch helicopter
and even a 3-D-capable, collective-pitch
version. What number should we give this
class of machines? We’re running out!
In an activity dominated by the ARF, it
was nice to see a few models decked out in
a unique scale fashion. Mike Lising came to
the E-Fest last year with a Fiddler’s Greencovered
E-Sky Honey Bee that convincingly
pulled off the look of a heavy-lifting
Sikorsky S-55.
Mike returned this year with an mCX
darned up with a Hiller body, but his
heavy metal was a Super Cobra finished in
Forest Service colors. It had a Mini Titan
body and mechanics from Thunder Tiger.
When it came to the final showdown—
the helicopter Smackdown—the evening
did not disappoint, even though the
attrition rate seemed a bit too high. Five of
the nine pilots earned a DNF (Did Not
Finish), so only four fliers were eligible to
win the $500 check.
I was glad to see that Kyle Stacy won
by popularity metered with applause. That
kid practiced diligently all day; when he
wasn’t standing at the flightline, he was
hooked into the laptop, burning up the
virtual electrons on the flight simulator.
His dad, Ray (a darn good helicopter
pilot himself), was right beside Kyle,
typically fixing something. They make a
great pair.
Although this account has focused
mostly on the hotshots of the helicopter
scene, at the flightline I observed
camaraderie among pilots at all skill
levels. Those who simply wanted to hover
and get familiar with the indoor
surroundings were made comfortable at
either end of the flightline, while the
active 3-D fliers were positioned in the
middle.
It was considerate of the event staff to
break up the day with helicopter-only
times. It permitted the spectators to get a
better idea of the spectrum of RC
helicopters that the event had to offer. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
Sources:
E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
18 MODEL AVIATION
2009
by Michael Ramsey
and Jay Smith
Great Planes
Left: The “angry bees” take to the air at the start of
Combat. A total of 58 aircraft were set aloft for a fullcontact
mission.
Indoor RC
flight done on a
giant scale
Above: Steve Johnston’s Fancy Foam Models Seminoll
looked great with its custom-airbrushed paint.
FOUR YEARS AGO, when this event premiered, indoor RC
was crawling out of the nest, as it were. Digital spread
spectrum radios were coming onto the scene, and the GWS C
gearbox and a Speed 350 motor was the best place to start to
dial in your indoor-arena skills.
Then, a 10C Li-Poly was the hot ticket, and building bluefoam
models from plans downloaded off of the Internet was
more fun than many of us thought RC flying could be. As a
reporter, up to this point it had been impossible to photograph
pilots flying their aircraft with smiles on their faces; they had
been so tense.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 2:53 PM Page 18
June 2009 19
Above: “Catch me if you can” was Chris Hass’s approach to keeping
all of the prizes, in the balloon-adorned basket, as he ran for the
staging area.
Below: Mike Lising transformed his E-flite mCX into a Hiller-copter
with a body adapted from a Fiddler’s Green paper model.
Above: Dream It RC had several birds flying at the event.
This patriotic eagle got our attention and flew
remarkably well.
Below: Don Anderson of Great Planes gets in a bit of stick
time. Judging from the smile on his face, he was having as
much fun as everyone else.
Photos by the authors
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:41 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Jason Noll (center) and Andrew Jesky practice their formation aerobatic routine,
Below: Combat was exciting to watch and even
more so for the pilots. Not only did they get to
compete for cash, but their models were also
easier to pack for the trip home.
Left: Factory pilots from Horizon Hobby
demonstrated that the new 4Site enjoys flying on
its side as much as it enjoys flying right-side up.
Mike “Grimracer” Zaborowski is well known as
an RC boat racer and designer. His beautiful Gee
Bee proved that he is also a skilled model airplane
builder.
Jim Fassino’s Demoiselle looked amazing both on the ground and in the air.
Judges agreed, and he took first place in the Scale competition.
while Fred Midgett of Higher Plane Productions
captures their performance on tape.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 3:04 PM Page 20
June 2009 21
Left: Hobbico’s make-and-take area was a popular stop for families.
Participants were given the opportunity to fly their creations later in
the day for prizes.
Above: Dewey Davenport gives Tina Rolfe her first helicopter flight with
a Blade mCX. Horizon Hobby allowed several spectators to fly RC for
the first time.
Above: Jacob Ramsey repairs the “radar dome,” while an
Ember 2 comes in to land on the deck. The aircraft
carrier was a huge hit in the micro area.
Below: Event Director Frank Noll takes a moment to talk to the press. Those
who were involved did an excellent job of making sure E-Fest ran smoothly.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:46 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Mike Lising’s Super Cobra is finished in Forest Service colors. E325 Mini Titan mechanics
from Thunder Tiger are underneath.
Jason Danhakl shows off the new Heli-Max
Novus RTF collective-pitch micro helicopter.
Not only did it fly well, but it also matched
his shirt. Way to accessorize, Jason!
Kyle Stacy won the helicopter Smackdown
judging by applause. When he wasn’t on the
flightline, he could be found practicing on
the flight simulator.
Peter Sripol demonstrates his cargo aircraft with a whopping 10 ducted fans. The hum
of all the fans running at once drew plenty of attention.
This Align T-Rex 450 V2 helicopter belongs to former AMA president, Dave Brown. He
relocated his gyro to sit lower on a custom tray.
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:51 PM Page 22
June 2009 23
Above: The 8-ounce E-Flite Divo had no problem laying down several knife-edge passes, with
minimal rudder input required.
Below: We were impressed by how well this Scorpion-powered Beam flew. Having a Spartan
RC ds760 gyro onboard didn’t hurt, and the pilot made full use of it.
Great Planes
ElectriFly
Futaba
Heli-Max
Carl Goldberg
Products Ltd.
RCGroups.com
AMA
Model Aviation
Fly RC
Model Airplane News
Backyard Flyer
RC Sport Flyer
RC Heli
Tower Hobbies
JR
Spektrum
Hoffman Magnetics
2Dog RC
Advantage Hobby
Zap
PowerHelis.com
Lukes RC Planes
Sponsor s
06sig1.QXD 4/22/09 1:56 PM Page 23
The Great Planes E-Fest is about fun for
the pilots, but it also puts on a heck of a
show for the spectators, who are typically
friends and families of the fliers who live
nearby. Many former spectators of all ages
attended the E-Fest during the first weekend
in February this year as bona fide RC pilot
participants.
MA dedicated two staff members to
cover this groundbreaking event for the
AMA members. Jay Smith will report from
the “fixed wing” point of view, and Michael
Ramsey will give an account of the airbeating
helicopter perspective.
The final count for the 2009 E-Fest was
308 registered pilots, and more than half of
them registered as both helicopter and
airplane enthusiasts. We’ve come a long
way!
—MA Staff
Airplanes: Before this year’s event, the
closest I had gotten to flying in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign’s Armory Track & Floor, where
E-Fest is held, was on my flight simulator.
Even after seeing pictures and a video from
the get-together, I was unprepared for the
sheer size of it all; this event needs to be
experienced to be believed.
Three flightlines and a micro-flyer area
were employed during the entire gathering.
The largest flying section was used to fly
aircraft in a racetrack configuration.
Aerobatics were allowed, as long as
pilots followed the pattern. A 3-D area was
provided for hovering and extreme
aerobatics. Both areas were well run and
pilots were considerate of one another,
which led to fewer midairs than you would
expect from the amount of models that were
flown at any given time.
The micro-flying area was hugely
popular, and it was used to fly both
production and scratch-built aircraft. Peter
and Stephan Sripol brought a scratch-built
aircraft carrier with working lights and radar
dome. It was driven into the micro area,
where pilots swarmed it, trying their best to
land micro airplanes and helicopters on the
deck.
Horizon Hobby set up in the micro area
Saturday, with ParkZone Vapors, Embers,
and E-flite mCX helicopters, allowing
attendees to get in on the excitement of RC
flight. Hobbico hosted a make-and-take
venue, where children made gliders and
custom-decorated them. Later in the day, all
flightlines were shut down so children could
launch their models and win prizes for the
flights that went the longest distances.
Several activities at E-Fest helped break
things up and keep it exciting for both the
pilots and the crowd. Some of the events
included Combat, Pylon Race, an Indoor
Scale competition, and balloon busting.
Fifty-eight Combat participants launched
their aircraft into an immediate “furball” for
the chance to win a cash prize. The aircraft
looked like an angry mass of bees, intent on
taking their anger out on one another.
Various types of models were used in
Combat, including 3-D aircraft, Combat
airplanes, slow flyers, flying wings, and, for
fun, even a Vapor or four (unofficially) made
their way into the competition. The finale
was throwing all of the battered aircraft in a
huge pile at show center.
The Scale competition was in stark
contrast to Combat; the miniature
masterpieces were flown one at a time, in a
scalelike manner. The only rules were that
entries could weigh no more than 18 ounces
ready to fly and were required to fly during
their scheduled time slots.
After both static and flight judging were
complete, two awards were given. Jim
Fassino received honors for his Demoiselle,
and Steve Beros earned recognition with his
Antonov An-2.
Several new aircraft were shown and
flown at the event. Two releases that
garnered considerable attention were the
flying birds from Dream It RC and a micro
Sukhoi from the indoor experts at ParkZone.
E-flite and ElectriFly represented threechannel
World War I RC with a Nieuport and
a Sopwith Pup respectively. Dynamic Foamy
flew profile World War II warbirds with
ParkZone micro gear and featured a larger
profile A-10.
When you needed a break from flying or
walking the show floor, the pit areas were a
great place to talk to fellow pilots and ask
questions about their unique models. Those I
spoke with were friendly and enthusiastic
about the event, and more than happy to
show off their aircraft.
Jay Smith
[email protected]
Helicopters: As mentioned, most registered
pilots were both airplane and helicopter
enthusiasts, so the pit areas were riddled with
almost every flying machine imaginable. The
specialized helicopter flightline was located
on the east end of the building, so that’s
where we found the die-hard helicopter nuts.
Being called a “helicopter nut” is a badge
worn with respect. It puts you up there with
the likes of Nick Maxwell, Curtis
Youngblood, Kyle Stacy, Mark Fadely, and
many others who have found E-Fest to be a
respected arena that makes them feel
welcomed.
Part of what draws these top-class pilots
may be the helicopter Smackdown
competition, which took place at roughly 8
p.m. Saturday night. It was a privilege to
watch the pilots practice and break in their
machines all day.
Yes, Curtis was there, but he was happy to
report that he had retired from 3-D
competition. That’s not a bad thing for the rest
of us, because his Next D Designs company
finally began full distribution of the 450-class
Rave. Even the guys at PowerHelis.com were
there, to supply the kit and the remarkable
complement of replacement parts.
If you’re in the market for a new 450-class
machine, there are many from which to
choose. T-Rex fans have the new 450 Pro to
show off, and the new 250 is a great fit in
the smaller indoor gym areas that are more
likely available to most clubs.
The Beam E4 from Advantage Hobby
was a common sight, and the owners/pilots
were not kind to them; those helicopters
flipped, spun, and slid in toward every point
on the compass. They flew great!
Now that the Miniature Aircraft Furion
is available from Tower Hobbies, more
were seen at this event than ever. Some
even incorporated the new, amazingly small
Futaba GY520 gyro system.
The 200- to 250-class machines fit in
nicely with the short flightline that the
helicopter pilots had to share with the 3-D
airplane pilots. Even the Gaui 100
helicopter proved to be a venerable 3-D
performer that showed little evidence of
squirrelly behavior, as so many attempts at
this size of machine used to have. And some
of the new models were even smaller.
Heli-Max debuted a new line of micro
helicopters, and the first to be released is the
Novus: a coaxial, palm-size machine with
handsome looks and a smart electronics
system. It will be available (heck, it’s
probably available now) as an RTF that
includes a 2.4 GHz radio and 400 mAh, 3.7-
volt Li-Poly battery.
Later releases in the line are promised to
include a single-axle, fixed-pitch helicopter
and even a 3-D-capable, collective-pitch
version. What number should we give this
class of machines? We’re running out!
In an activity dominated by the ARF, it
was nice to see a few models decked out in
a unique scale fashion. Mike Lising came to
the E-Fest last year with a Fiddler’s Greencovered
E-Sky Honey Bee that convincingly
pulled off the look of a heavy-lifting
Sikorsky S-55.
Mike returned this year with an mCX
darned up with a Hiller body, but his
heavy metal was a Super Cobra finished in
Forest Service colors. It had a Mini Titan
body and mechanics from Thunder Tiger.
When it came to the final showdown—
the helicopter Smackdown—the evening
did not disappoint, even though the
attrition rate seemed a bit too high. Five of
the nine pilots earned a DNF (Did Not
Finish), so only four fliers were eligible to
win the $500 check.
I was glad to see that Kyle Stacy won
by popularity metered with applause. That
kid practiced diligently all day; when he
wasn’t standing at the flightline, he was
hooked into the laptop, burning up the
virtual electrons on the flight simulator.
His dad, Ray (a darn good helicopter
pilot himself), was right beside Kyle,
typically fixing something. They make a
great pair.
Although this account has focused
mostly on the hotshots of the helicopter
scene, at the flightline I observed
camaraderie among pilots at all skill
levels. Those who simply wanted to hover
and get familiar with the indoor
surroundings were made comfortable at
either end of the flightline, while the
active 3-D fliers were positioned in the
middle.
It was considerate of the event staff to
break up the day with helicopter-only
times. It permitted the spectators to get a
better idea of the spectrum of RC
helicopters that the event had to offer. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
Sources:
E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com