Joe Nall Silver Anniversary
By Ben Lanteman
The 25th year of this Giant Scale event highlighted outstanding RC flying
I am struggling trying to find words to describe the events that took place at the 2007 Joe Nall Giant Scale Fly-In, held May 16-19. In person I can wave my arms around and yell, but in a staid model-aviation publication ...
From the moment my wife, Bonnie, and I turned our little camper under and through the entry arch to the Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina, to the last view of the arch as we left, it was a terrific visit in all respects.
I was at the event as a spectator and a reporter—not a flier—but I did want to experience the overall fun. I wanted to see what everyone else was flying, and I found that the friendly pilots love talking about and flying model airplanes, as the rest of us do.
I could list everyone who put man-hours into the fly-in to make it the success it was, but that isn't as much fun as airplane talk. Go to www.joenall.com to learn about the many Confederate Air Force events, one of which is the Joe Nall gathering.
I have posted approximately 1,000 photos from this year's Fly-In on my photo Web site at http://public.fotki.com/benlanterman. I get carried away, but I hate to leave out a photo of a flying airplane. (There were fewer hangar queens this year.) I missed many great shots while yelling "Whoa!"
Joe Nall Essentials:
The energy and driving force Pat Hartness has put into this event are amazing and obvious. As does every truly great event, the Joe Nall Giant Scale Fly-In started as a dream of someone who had the capability and desire to make it come true.
Because of Pat we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the event. He shows remarkable faith in us fellow modelers by letting us walk around his marvelous airplanes and trusting us to not break them. Thank you, Pat!
Bob Sadler emceed the event. It is not easy to talk about model airplanes all day long—well, okay, it is—but do it with hundreds of ears listening to you. Most of your friends would be happy to make fun of any mistake you might make! Well done, Bob.
I think every person who drives a camper into the Triple Tree campground area meets Chaz Frye; he appears to be the Aerodrome’s deck handler. He puts the campers where they fit the best, with a smile, day after day. Next year I would like up front and center, Chaz. Thanks!
Numerous volunteers at the Joe Nall Giant Scale Fly-In work at the front gate, run the event, and cook and serve the excellent food. (Lucky for us the weakest-willed volunteers are reserved to pass out the chocolate chip cookies after the barbecue.)
Thanks to every one of you. You made this a perfect event.
Big Models:
Apparently the wind always blows in South Carolina. The photos I took this year of the giant American flag look exactly like the ones I have taken in the past; it is straight out.
A good thing, though, was that the wind was straight down the immaculate runway for the majority of the flying and the big airplanes didn’t notice it!
Hundreds of all kinds of airplanes were flown this year. There were warbirds, exotic 3-D and aerobatic machines, and some beautifully executed scale aircraft.
My wife and I make the trip to South Carolina to see the flying and enjoy the companionship, and we are never disappointed. What seemed more common this year were interesting formation flights, even though the maneuvers weren’t necessarily exotic or fast-paced and the airplanes may not have been matched in looks or capability.
Meeting the criteria of identical airplanes performing realistic formation flying were Larry and Buzz Killingsworth’s two PT-17 biplanes. With the big radial engines chugging along, you could imagine student pilots trying to stay in formation and keep track of everything at once. If we could get Larry and Buzz to get their models a bit closer, it would be even better!
Quique Somenzini and Curtis Youngblood’s variation on formation flying was the most breathtaking model flying I have ever watched! If you haven’t seen these guys fly together, you are still thinking about model aviation in the dark ages. The good guys from SKS Video Productions should have coverage of the flying.
The most unexpected formation flight was the delightful combination of Frank Noll Jr. and Matt Chapman. Matt flew a full-scale CAP and Frank matched his maneuvers with a model CAP.
Do not try that with your friend’s full-scale Piper Cub and a rickety 10-foot trainer! Those guys have the skills, the machines, and intelligence to have made the extraordinary hard look deceptively easy.
Another interesting demo involved the 2.4 GHz radio equipment. A mass flight of roughly 15 airplanes (I lost count in all the excitement) guided by 2.4 GHz radios was performed each day. The radios performed as advertised. That exhibition should put to rest any residual fears about using this technology. The most dangerous problem now would be tripping over each other at the flightline.
Dedications:
The Hartness family has named the gazebo at the Triple Tree Aerodrome in memory of Dalton Jay Russo, who passed away of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). His dad, Tony Russo of Dalton Aviation, accepted the plaque that was mounted on the structure.
A couple of awards were given this year. Mrs. Aubrey Nabors (whose late husband won this honor last year) presented Matt Chapman with the Bob Smith Trophy, and Andrew Jesyk accepted the Joe Nall Award on behalf of his family.
To receive those awards from their modeling contemporaries was a great honor, and Matt’s and Andrew’s smiles showed that they know it. They are great guys.
Another thing that made this year’s Fly-In perfect was the weather during the event. It was the nearest-to-perfect temperature range I have ever experienced at a model-airplane meet.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Joe Nall Giant Scale Fly-In at the Triple Tree Aerodrome was a great way to spend a few days in May. I encourage you to enjoy the coverage found at other places on the Internet and in the other magazines, whose good (if not old—sorry, Jerry Smith) reporters also covered the event.
To quote Carol McKinney, “The Joe Nall Fly-In is about good sportsmanship, a willingness to help others, friendliness, a love of the hobby, and the people involved in the hobby.”
Come next year, enjoy the 26th anniversary, and see what Carol is talking about!
Ben Lanteman [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
