18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,28
18 MODEL AVIATION
BY MARK FADELY
Helicopter Jamboree
This Huey, which is more than 20 years old,
was built from a 1980s-era Hirobo kit. It is
powered by the original gasoline engine.
WELCOME TO the coverage of this year’s IRCHA (International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree. It had the
highest number of registered pilots ever recorded for a single RC
event, and that includes all facets of radio control. The final count
soared to 712.
Wow! That says a lot for the once-banished black sheep of the
flying field. (I am referring to the helicopter pilot.) Not long ago
helicopter fliers were not exactly welcomed at many RC fields.
When airplane 3-D flying came into vogue, a little love was finally
extended to the helicopter pilots.
People were learning that this hovering thing was kind of fun and
addicting. Fixed- and rotary-wing pilots could co-exist on a
flightline full of hovering without causing a riot. At roughly the time
that stigma was lifted from the hovering types, the Li-Poly batterypowered
electric helicopters came to the market in force.
What a beautiful marriage it was. Wanna-be hoverers were
supplied with cheap machines that could get what they wanted done.
That is how “accepted hovering,” or AH, came to be. We still have
our differences, but when an RC event tops 700 pilots, it makes a
loud-and-clear statement about the health of the hovering side of the
business.
Enough about the history of hovering. It is time to check out this
record-setting phenomenon.
I arrived at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie,
Mikado LOGOs performed well in
the heat at this year’s IRCHA
Jamboree. This 500 had plenty of
power to perform aggressive 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:52 PM Page 18
January 2008 19
AMA’s
International
Aeromodeling
Center hosts
the world’s
largest fun-fly
Photos by the author
Jeff Green has a smile on his face as he
pilots the smooth-flying new Hirobo Tow
Cobra RTF. This machine is super-realistic.
Aaron Smith pilots this Raptor 50. He has been flying for only two years but is extremely comfortable doing so with his model inverted.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:32 PM Page 19
20 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Bobby Watts puts the new
Miniature Aircraft Beam EP through
its paces. It looks to be extraordinarily
capable.
Top left: Nick Maxwell pilots the new
400-size, electric-powered Gazur
from Hobby Lobby. It has many
CNC-machined parts and a unique
sliding flybar control system.
Indiana, early on a very hot Thursday
morning. The official kickoff to start the
event is always on Thursday—August 9 this
year—and it runs until Sunday evening.
We did not have the storms of past years,
but the heat set records. It was in the 90s
with high humidity. Fortunately there was a
breeze in the pilots’ faces most of the time,
so it was bearable.
What a sight to drive up to. The AMA
site is big, and the flightline was already full
with pilots and vendor tent areas when I
arrived. Pit row stretched east to west as far
as I could see. The flight area was to the
north, so the sun was never in the pilots’
eyes while they flew.
At past Jamborees you had to plan on
flying Thursday; it got so busy by Friday
that it became a chore to get your frequency
and find a spot to fly. That all changed this
year with digital spread spectrum radios.
For the more than 700 pilots, only 150 72
MHz transmitters were impounded. 2.4 GHz
Middle left: Jeff Fassbinder shows off
the new Raptor 90. The helicopter is
even more refined than the previous
version, and its flying capabilities
continue to mature.
Left: Raptor team managers Jeff
Fassbinder (R) and Dino Spadaccini
wring out a machine together. That
helps them relate to the other team
members.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:55 PM Page 20
January 2008 21
Above: A pull to vertical reflects the lateafternoon
sun on the rotor disk. Last year
there were thunderstorms this time of day;
this year all the evenings were beautiful and
warm.
Above right: Jason Krause pulls hard on his
Align 600 while coming around in a Hurricane.
He designed this model from the ground up to
handle anything.
Right: Danny Szabo and Marcus Kim flew
Align 600Ns during one of the multipilot noon
demos. The machines got exceptionally close
to each other several times.
Below: Leon Luke, an Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) competitor, threw
down some wicked 3-D with his Align 600N.
He has a unique flying style that includes
smooth transitions with hard-core 3-D.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 12:57 PM Page 21
22 MODEL AVIATION
Above: Shown during the fivemodel
demo, Horizon Hobby’s new
Blade 400 flew great. The crowd
loves it when so many helicopters
fly in the same space.
Left: Greg Poppel (L) and Darrell
“Big D” Bell are great personalities
of the helicopter world. They always
help make the show entertaining.
Below left: This Miniature Aircraft
Razor 50 streaks down the
flightline in backward, inverted
flight. These machines fly as well
backward as they do forward.
technology is taking over in a hurry.
Helicopter fliers seem to be the first
to jump on any new product or idea.
That was certainly proven at this year’s
IRCHA event. It was cool to have so
many more pilots and so much less
waiting to fly. In years past there have
been long lines of pilots waiting for their
radios at the impound trailer. I never
saw more than three people in line this
year.
Let’s get to the flying. If you want to
see great pilots from around the world
lay down the best in RC aviation, this is
the place to be. I don’t mean just radical
3-D, either; there was a scale contest,
drag races, and even a 400-size electric
pylon race.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:36 PM Page 22
January 2008 23
Adam Tashjian flies his Sikorsky Skycrane
in the Scale competition. He has owned
this model for four years. Notice the
operating water spray.
Left: Nick Maxwell says “Watch this!” and then does a
tail stand all the way down the flightline. His electricpowered
Miniature Aircraft ION-X2 is rated at 6.5
horsepower.
Below: Jason Krause gestures to the crowd after his
Align 600N goes down. His flight was awesome; he just
pushed it a bit hard.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:01 PM Page 23
24 MODEL AVIATION
Top right: This is the view
of the entire event flightline
when you roll up from the
north. It looks a bit surreal
to see in person.
Above: Andy Rummer
stands his LOGO on its tail
and drives it down the
flightline. Team Mikado
had a great presence at this
gathering.
Above left: Erik Anderson
(L) and Ron Ozinski are fun
to hang with. They give
the ’07 IRCHA Jamboree a
thumbs-up for a good time.
Left: Alan Szabo flew this
Aurora, with which he won
this year’s XFC, through
his usual exciting routines.
He took his flying to the
next level.
Michael Rose owns this beautiful H500E, which houses a Raptor 50. He
says it flies great.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:40 PM Page 24
January 2008 25
Above: Dave Milner addresses the crowd at the morning pilots’ meeting.
The two superimposed signs were located at each side of Stage Center.
Above left: AMA President Dave Brown presents Bob “Finless” White
with the Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his tireless efforts to
help other pilots.
Justin Chi—who just turned 5—
waits his turn in the demo area. He
is a fine 3-D pilot and he put on
numerous flying demonstrations
during the four-day Jamboree.
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:07 PM Page 25
26 MODEL AVIATION
Below: This is early morning on the
flightline. The atmosphere was
electric when more than 700 pilots
moved in. No golf carts were
allowed to drive on pit row.
Left: James Wang (L) is a helicoptermagazine
columnist and an engineer
for the Sikorsky helicopter company.
He and Jon Tanner (R) were covering
the Jamboree for a magazine.
The 3-D pilots did leave it all on the
field this year, though. They flew so hard
that machines broke in midair. The noon 3-
D demonstrations were the best I can
remember.
One difference this year was the number
of team exhibitions. One demo by Horizon
Hobby included at least five pilots with
mini electrics. It was wild, and all five
helicopters came back in pieces. It seemed
like the motto for the demos was “anything
for the show,” and why not? The crowd
loved it.
Bobby Watts was officially crowned the
“King of Smack” for his throw-down style of
flying. He placed second at this year’s XFC
and third at the 3D Masters. That’s quite an
accomplishment for a kid who hasn’t been
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:45 PM Page 26
around very long. He tosses his Miniature
Aircraft Stratus around like a rag doll in a
rabid bulldog’s mouth.
Another fantastic new pilot on the
international scene is Daniel Jetschin of
Germany. His flying is smooth, precise, and
hard-core, all at the same time. He is versed
in reversing; I mean he can reverse his
pirouette direction at anytime. While doing
a pirouetting flip on the deck, Daniel can
reverse the helicopter’s tail direction and
keep going. His aerial ballet is amazing and
mesmerizing to watch.
Twelve-year-old Kyle Stacy is another
standout pilot. His flying keeps getting
better all the time. He is actually a veteran
despite his young age. Kyle has his own
unique style that includes a lot of smack.
Jason Krause put on a wicked flight with
his T-Rex 600 Nitro. He flew it rapidly the
length of the field, approximately 5 inches
off the deck. The crowd loved it. Jason
ended his demo by ripping the guts out of
the machine doing a ripper, of all things.
Alan and Danny Szabo, with their teammanager
father, headed up the Avant Inc.
team with Auroras. Marcus Kim and Henry
Caldwell were there flying Auroras as well.
Matt Botos flew his Synergy and gave us a
heaping helping of that ATL Smackdown I
love to watch.
Scott Gray mixed things up for us by
flying his FAI helicopter during the noon
hour. His JR Sulphide was enclosed in a
28 MODEL AVIATION
WHY WORRY?
THE HIGH CURRENT ALTERNATIVE TO LI-POLYMER
NOW AVAILABLE FOR RX, POWERBOX & ECU APPLICATIONS
• Take the worry out of charging with li-manganese chemistry
• No risk of fire if punctured or overcharged
• 20c discharge - 40c bursts
• High charge rate – up to 10c through the power lead
• No need to remove for charging
• No need to balance pack – built with Stay Balance Circuitry
• Great low temperature tolerance
• Longer life cycles than Li-Polymers
• Wiring options; 16 gauge High Current, 14 gauge Electric
Motor / Flight applications
• See our new expanded line of li-manganese batteries online
LITHIUM POWER SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU FLY
Order toll free 877-744-3685
Shop online www.duraliteflightsystems.com
LI-MANGANESE BATTERIES
ARE NON-FLAMMABLE!
cool full fuselage that made the model
extremely slippery. He made several highspeed
flybys that had to be close to 100
mph.
Competitive events at the Jamboree
included drag races, scale, pylon racing, and
autorotation. Ken Jennings won the drag
races. In fact, he won all three classes of
drag racing. He always modifies his
machines and has a super flying technique
that makes his aircraft exceptionally fast.
Darrell Sprayberry won the Scale
competition this year. His beautiful Huey
Cobra performed great in all the flying
maneuvers. Nathan Spencer of Rick’s R/C
won the autorotation contest again. He has
won or placed for as many years as I can
remember.
Electric-powered pylon racing was so
much fun to watch. There was a lot of
carnage, and everyone just laughed about it.
That is what makes the little EP helicopters
so much fun; you can abuse them and not
have to take a second mortgage if you pile
them in.
Andy Rummer won the night-fly
competition again. His aircraft had some
special lighting that scored high points with
the crowd.
The IRCHA staff did a wonderful job of
organizing and running a meet this large.
Let’s face it; the average helicopter pilot’s
disposition makes such an event a “mecca
of eccentrics.” Fortunately all the IRCHA
brass is well suited to understand our needs
and us. It takes one to know one!
Dave Milner, the current IRCHA
president, could be seen working hard all
week to make sure everything was running
smoothly. More than $30,000 worth of
prizes was given away. The grand prize was
a ready-to-fly Avant Aurora.
Dave, Charles Anderson, Shannon
Lloyd, Craig Bradley, Brett Walker, and all
the volunteers deserve a big “thank you”
from all of us.
I think there is going to be a great deal
of reflection on how this fun-fly has
affected the entire RC hobby. I am proud to
be a part of it. MA
Mark Fadely
[email protected]
Pat's Hobbys
Cars • Boats • Planes
Custom Buggies
Batteries • Electronics
A Full Line of
Accessories
609-584-1032
www.patshobbys.com
01sig1.QXD 11/19/07 1:47 PM Page 28
