Reflections on Toledo
Jay Smith
It has only been a handful of days since I returned from the Toledo R/C Expo and the show is still on my mind. This year's event provided a glimpse of some of the exciting products that will be available at your local hobby store in the next few months.
One thing I enjoy is seeing the Model Competition entries, and this year certainly didn't disappoint. There were many beautiful offerings and the craftsmanship and ingenuity was amazing.
One example was the Giant Scale Pitts Model 12 by Karl Schneider. Karl constructed the entire airframe using inexpensive products purchased at his local home improvement store! He made everything himself from the canopy and cowl to the landing gear, with an investment of only $600. Look for more information on Karl's methods in a future issue of MA.
Longtime vendor, Dave Platt, announced that this year was his final Toledo Show. Dave and the employees of Dave Platt Models are staples at Toledo and can easily be spotted wearing their Hawaiian-style shirts. Dave will certainly be missed.
Possibly the biggest surprise was the Swap Shop, which dominates the second story of the SeaGate Convention Centre. Typically packed with buyers and sellers any time of day, this year found some of the tables empty. I hope next year will see it filled to capacity for the show's 60th anniversary.
For more in-depth coverage of the Toledo Expo, look for photos and several videos showcasing a number of new products on our website at www.ModelAviation.com/toledo2013.
Product Reviews
You will notice this month that we have five product reviews. The magazine received a number of products in a short amount of time. I wanted to get these in the magazine in a timely fashion, so I elected to include additional reviews in this issue.
The focus of Model Aviation has not shifted to filling our pages with review content. Event coverage, how-to articles, and construction features are still a primary focus.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
