Heart of America Float Fly
by Darrell Watts
Event Overview
The Heart of America Float Fly is held annually on the first weekend in June in Paola, Kansas, located 20 miles southwest of Kansas City. Coordinated by Pat McGhee, the event is sponsored by the R/C Barnstormers Model Airplane Club.
Thirty-two pilots attended and brought roughly 60 models. Along with local modelers, pilots came from as far away as Michigan, Arkansas, Nebraska, southern Missouri, and southern Kansas.
With the support of the local newspaper—which ran a quarter-page article with a color photo the week preceding the event and a three-quarter page full-color article following the event—we had a large number of spectators both days.
Venue
The Lake Miola venue is wonderful for a float-flying site. The spectator and pit area are in well-groomed park picnic grounds with large shade trees. There is an easy step down to the launch point and a large open lake area.
We have developed an excellent rapport with park management and we're allowed to put out buoys restricting boat traffic on the entire north end of the lake. The park staff brings in extra picnic tables and two porta-potties, and our pilots are allowed to camp at no charge at the flying site. (See more about securing and retaining float fly sites in the sidebar.)
These efforts build good rapport with the park management and are crucial to having a successful float fly. In my experience, after your second or third event at a location, your park manager and staff will be much more willing to extend extra effort—bringing in porta-potties, extra picnic tables, additional site grooming, and, if possible, restricting boat traffic during your flight hours. Good luck in your efforts to promote float flying!
My wife handled the registration and Pat's wife ran the kitchen.
Organizing and Dealing with Site Owners
With few exceptions, convincing a private-property owner to allow you to hold a float fly on his or her lake is rare. Because of liability concerns, they often decline. This generally means dealing with public park officials; however, should you find an interested private owner, the following suggestions still apply.
- Make an appointment to meet with the park official. Telephone requests to use the park will likely be unsuccessful.
- When you attend the meeting, take photographs of float airplanes to show what the event entails.
- Discuss the range of demographics of your club members to illustrate that the hobby isn’t restricted to a narrow group.
- Discuss the approximate number of pilots you expect at your event.
- Outline what you intend to do to draw local spectators to your float fly—park managers want new people to come see their park.
- Explain the site-owner liability insurance that you will provide through AMA.
- Try to minimize anything you might ask the park official or staff to do—their workload is a concern.
When you secure permission for a float fly, take exceptional care of the site and pay meticulous attention to safety. Be particularly courteous to other park users. Perhaps assign someone who is outgoing and friendly to circulate among spectators, explain what is going on, and offer details about the hobby. Ask the women to be in charge of the kitchen—we know the importance of having their support!
The Fly Days
After a brief pilots’ meeting, we were off and flying. There were all types of models in the air, from a 29-inch span, all-foam Polaris to a 10.5-foot span de Havilland Otter. Power systems ranged from small electrics to large gas engines. The vintage airplanes modeled encompassed everything from a World War I Sopwith Pup and a Fokker Eindecker to a modern Extra 300.
Saturday dawned with bright sunshine and roughly 10 mph winds. Saturday’s wind presented a challenge for some pilots and kept Frank Perez and his retrieval boat busy. Another requirement for a good float fly is a retrieval boat at the ready and a skilled captain to pick up models in distress quickly.
Sunday was another beautiful, sunny day with mild breezes. With less wind, there were plenty of aerobatics and touch-and-gos. There’s nothing prettier, or more rewarding, for a pilot than a “grease-it-on” touch-and-go on water. Some of the scale models that were timid in Saturday’s wind were active on Sunday.
If you haven’t tried float flying, you are missing a lot of fun!
Float-Flying Tips
Here are five key elements for a successful float airplane:
- The float size should be between 75% and 80% of the fuselage length (propeller disk to the rudder hinge).
- The step should be located 1/2 to 1 inch behind the CG.
- The floats should be positioned so that 10% of the float length is ahead of the propeller disk.
- Wing incidence should be 1° to 3° positive to the top of the float.
- The aircraft should have enough power for brisk performance off grass.
If you follow these guidelines carefully, your chances of having a successful float fly are high.
Final Remarks
During my 23 years of active float flying, I have seen nearly every kind of model you can think of—on floats! It’s not too early to start planning to attend the sixth annual Heart of America Float Fly, June 2–3, 2012.
—Darrell Watts [email protected]
Sources
- R/C Barnstormers Model Airplane Club
- www.rcbarnstormers.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
