Joe Nall Thirty Years of Southern Hospitality - 2012/10

Whether you have been to Joe Nall once or a dozen times, there’s a
level of excitement and anticipation as you drive under the Triple Tree
Aerodrome archway and along the winding road. You know that Pat
Hartness’s beautiful facility, with all of its amenities, is open for your enjoyment.
Similar to Model Aviation magazine, Joe Nall caters to a broad range of
participants who can enjoy their favorite segment of the hobby at one of six
flightlines, or take it all in. Joe Nall isn’t so much an event, it’s an experience. Here is
an overview from each flightline.
Main Flightline
The main fl ightline is the hub of activity where you
will fi nd the majority of vendors set up and the noontime
demonstration show. Open to aircraft that fl y the racetrack
pattern, this is also the place to see the Scale masterpieces
taking to the sky.
Basic aerobatics are allowed as long as you keep with
the fl ow of air traffi c. Also, aircraft on this fl ightline must
meet International Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA)
standards.
A familiar face on this line is Jim Malek, the fl ight boss. Jim
is easy to spot walking the line, wearing his drill sergeant’s
hat. He does a great job ensuring pilots communicate with
one another, and won’t hesitate to enforce the rules to
ensure everyone’s safety.
While on the subject of safety, the main
fl ightline also has a warning system installed
at each pilot station. If a pilot loses control
of his or her aircraft, his or her spotter can
quickly sound the alarm letting those in
attendance know an aircraft may be in
distress.
3-D Flightline
The 3-D line is open to any fl ier, but
the style of fl ying leans toward extreme aerobatics, high-alpha
stalled fl ight, and off-the-hook fl ying.
The week started slightly wet with intermittent rain showers
and downpours, but with occasional dry spells to open up the
fl ightline. The road got muddy, making the trek to the 3-D line
an adventure!
All week, pilots pushed
themselves and their
airplanes to the outside edge
of performance, with the
occasional misstep over the
edge.
One of the fun attractions
is the pond, and there is a
pilot station set up for those
who want to tempt fate over the water. The goal for many is
the coveted rudder dip in the water, with the dreaded swim in
the pond as the sometimes inevitable result.
Although the goal was to keep the fl ightline open as much
as possible, there still was time to have a few great fl ight
demos and the fun of the One Trick Contest. Wednesday
afternoon was the fi rst demonstration. Most of the noon
demos were held at the main fl ightline.
Later in the afternoon at the 3-D line, some of the best
aerobatics pilots in the country came out for short demos to
show what 3-D has to offer. All of the pilots pushed hard. Jase
Dussia pushed too much with his
rolling harrier landing—oh, for two
more inches of clearance! The crowd
loved the action and the pilots had a
ball!
The plan was for another demonstration on Thursday, but
storms moved through, shutting down the fl ightlines. Not to
worry; the storms cleared out and it was a great afternoon of
fl ying.
Thursday night brought us some live music from The Out
of Towners band. Many attendees had fun and plenty got up
and danced to the music while electric fl ying was going on at
the pilots’ stations.
Each night of the week, fl ying continued well into the
night with various night-fl ying setups—from small foamies all
the way to 120cc airframes! During the band’s set breaks on
Thursday, we enjoyed several special night-fl ying demos.
The most spectacular was Nick Maxwell’s night heli demo,
culminating in a fantastic blade stop. Unfortunately, the restart
was not so good! Nick took it in
stride with a smile on his face and
the crowd had a great time!
The parties and fellowship
continued late into the night,
making new friends and rekindling old friendships from Joe
Nalls of the past.
Friday brought more open fl ying and the second annual
One Trick contest later in the afternoon. The crowd was
thick and there was excitement in the air. The One Trick
contest sends the pilots up to perform their best aerobatics
tricks for a panel of judges.
Arron Bates won the contest with a fantastic blender to a
snap, then to a crash! Landing was not in the rules. Several
companies donated great prizes for the winner, including a
couple of airframes. Arron—being a sponsored pilot—stepped
up and donated the prizes to some excited kids in the crowd.
Next time you are at Joe Nall, make the trek down to the
3-D line. Visit, fl y, and have fun.
Control Line
Some of the best CL
Aerobatics pilots came to
fl y, enjoy themselves, and
put on demonstrations.
Included in
that group
were former
World Team
member Derek
Barry, William
Davis, Dale
Barry, Allen
Brickhaus, Tom
Morris, Joe
Adamusko, and Craig Gunder. Many
RCers also dropped by with their CL
airplanes and enjoyed the open fl ying.
Mark Weiss shared the following:
“A fl eet of models was prepared for
the event for two main purposes: one,
to demonstrate radio Control Line. Two
CL planes were modifi ed to fl y around
a tether and be controlled from outside
the circle by radio, using elevator and
throttle control. This was a real crowd
pleaser and was Pat’s [Hartness] idea for
me to develop and bring. Pat took the
transmitter and put on a very nice fl ight
on his own.
“Secondly, I wanted attendees to
be able to fl y a CL plane and feel that
special sensation. That became more
popular than I had thought. In addition
to many, many demonstration
fl ights, attendees logged 241
training fl ights.
“A close friend, Bruce Jennings,
was in the circle for the fi rst three
days and then I took the rest of the
folks for the next four days. Every
one of them told me how much
they appreciated the opportunity
and enjoyed fl ying by wire. Here is
an approximate breakdown:
• 40% told me they had not picked
up a handle in 25-50 years.
• 20% said that their
fathers or
grandfathers used
to fl y CL, but
they had
not.
• 20%
were RC
fl iers wanting to see
what it was like and
had never done it
before.
• 20% were
children and spouses who fl ew a model
for the fi rst time
“The ages of trainees ranged from
2 up to 86 (Jerry Smith). Some of
the best-known RC folks took the
handle during the week. The comment
that seemed to sum it all up came
from Mac Hodges, Mr. B-29 and X-1
showman.
“After he landed the little CL plane
on Friday morning, he turned to his
two friends and passionately said,
‘Now that was pure fun!’ I also had the
pleasure to giving NASCAR/F1 driver
Juan Pablo Montoya his fi rst CL fl ight.
“Without support, this would have
been an even more daunting challenge.
The following companies really helped:
Stevens AeroModel, Thunder Power
RC, Sonic-Tronics, Bob Smith Industries, P3 Models, Brodak
Manufacturing, SP Lube: S&W, Byron, Sullivan Products,
Fox Manufacturing, Horizon
Hobby, and Radical RC.
“The AMA was a tremendous
partner with their assistance, as was
my home RC club, the Delaware
RC Club, home of Warbirds Over
Delaware.
“Of course, none of this would
have happened without Pat
Hartness and his wonderful crew
at Triple Tree. They treated all of us
like VIPs and prepared a CL area
that was just wonderful.”
Electric Flightline
Located between the main flightline and the 3-D
flightline, the electric group had a large number of pilots and
the support of Precision Aerobatics and After Dark, which
set up there.
Throughout the event, a wide cross-section of aircraft was
flown—from micros to large Pattern and 3-D aircraft.
Night flying was encouraged. Thanks to Tom from After
Dark whose well-lit and colorful
tent could be seen by everyone.
Water Flying
Few modelers get the
opportunity to fly off a picturesque
50-acre lake. The ParkZone ICON
was the most commonly flown
aircraft on the lake this year.
The most impressive aircraft to
grace the lake was the 60% L-4
Cub flown by Robert Komro. The
Bill Hemple ARF is powered by a
3W275 and made countless flights at the event.
Thanks to its large size and scale flight characteristics, many
in attendance did a double take to ensure it wasn’t a full-scale
aircraft.
Several model boaters also enjoyed the lake, and the Chris-
Craft built and driven by Tom Drake was fantastic. The
1/3-scale boat is powered with a water-cooled G26 engine. Tom
generously provided me the opportunity to drive his Scale
masterpiece, which was a blast.
The lake always draws a good crowd of pilots and spectators,
and this year was no exception. This group was eager to allow
others to try their boats and aircraft.
Helicopter Flightline
Castle sponsored the heli fl ightline for the third successive
year. This worked out great because it allowed Clint Akins
and Steve Rogers to attend the entire week to help out. This
was the second year at the new heli site, and Mike Gregory
and others did a fantastic job prepping the area for helicopter
fl ying.
This year saw more growth and interest in the heli line.
More Scale helicopters were fl own and it is always a pleasure
to be able to hang out with these pilots and watch their
beautiful aircraft fl y.
Notable Scale pilots who attended this year included Peter
Wales, Darrell Sprayberry, Joe Howard, Sandy Jaffe, and Bob
Burgo. These pilots brought some nice helis to share with
everyone, and they entertained questions all week.
It is not uncommon to run into professional pilots such as
Matt Botos (owner and designer of Synergy Helicopters), Jared
Granzow, Henry Caldwell, Marcus Kim, or John Adams from
Horizon Hobby.
The heli pilots enjoy this event because they can visit the
other fl ightlines during the day and then return to the heli
fl ightline to lay down some smack.
Although every year at the Joe Nall is special, the nostalgia of
an event that has spanned 30 years was exciting. Pat Hartness
has a beautiful facility that he happily allows us all to enjoy,
and the Joe Nall staff embodies its motto: “Fun, Fellowship,
and Hospitality.” Anyone who hasn’t attended at least once is
missing out!
I would like to thank Jerry Smith, Clint Akins, Robert Vest,
Curtis Cozier, and Mark Weiss for their assistance in putting
together this article.

Whether you have been to Joe Nall once or a dozen times, there’s a
level of excitement and anticipation as you drive under the Triple Tree
Aerodrome archway and along the winding road. You know that Pat
Hartness’s beautiful facility, with all of its amenities, is open for your enjoyment.
Similar to Model Aviation magazine, Joe Nall caters to a broad range of
participants who can enjoy their favorite segment of the hobby at one of six
flightlines, or take it all in. Joe Nall isn’t so much an event, it’s an experience. Here is
an overview from each flightline.
Main Flightline
The main fl ightline is the hub of activity where you
will fi nd the majority of vendors set up and the noontime
demonstration show. Open to aircraft that fl y the racetrack
pattern, this is also the place to see the Scale masterpieces
taking to the sky.
Basic aerobatics are allowed as long as you keep with
the fl ow of air traffi c. Also, aircraft on this fl ightline must
meet International Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA)
standards.
A familiar face on this line is Jim Malek, the fl ight boss. Jim
is easy to spot walking the line, wearing his drill sergeant’s
hat. He does a great job ensuring pilots communicate with
one another, and won’t hesitate to enforce the rules to
ensure everyone’s safety.
While on the subject of safety, the main
fl ightline also has a warning system installed
at each pilot station. If a pilot loses control
of his or her aircraft, his or her spotter can
quickly sound the alarm letting those in
attendance know an aircraft may be in
distress.
3-D Flightline
The 3-D line is open to any fl ier, but
the style of fl ying leans toward extreme aerobatics, high-alpha
stalled fl ight, and off-the-hook fl ying.
The week started slightly wet with intermittent rain showers
and downpours, but with occasional dry spells to open up the
fl ightline. The road got muddy, making the trek to the 3-D line
an adventure!
All week, pilots pushed
themselves and their
airplanes to the outside edge
of performance, with the
occasional misstep over the
edge.
One of the fun attractions
is the pond, and there is a
pilot station set up for those
who want to tempt fate over the water. The goal for many is
the coveted rudder dip in the water, with the dreaded swim in
the pond as the sometimes inevitable result.
Although the goal was to keep the fl ightline open as much
as possible, there still was time to have a few great fl ight
demos and the fun of the One Trick Contest. Wednesday
afternoon was the fi rst demonstration. Most of the noon
demos were held at the main fl ightline.
Later in the afternoon at the 3-D line, some of the best
aerobatics pilots in the country came out for short demos to
show what 3-D has to offer. All of the pilots pushed hard. Jase
Dussia pushed too much with his
rolling harrier landing—oh, for two
more inches of clearance! The crowd
loved the action and the pilots had a
ball!
The plan was for another demonstration on Thursday, but
storms moved through, shutting down the fl ightlines. Not to
worry; the storms cleared out and it was a great afternoon of
fl ying.
Thursday night brought us some live music from The Out
of Towners band. Many attendees had fun and plenty got up
and danced to the music while electric fl ying was going on at
the pilots’ stations.
Each night of the week, fl ying continued well into the
night with various night-fl ying setups—from small foamies all
the way to 120cc airframes! During the band’s set breaks on
Thursday, we enjoyed several special night-fl ying demos.
The most spectacular was Nick Maxwell’s night heli demo,
culminating in a fantastic blade stop. Unfortunately, the restart
was not so good! Nick took it in
stride with a smile on his face and
the crowd had a great time!
The parties and fellowship
continued late into the night,
making new friends and rekindling old friendships from Joe
Nalls of the past.
Friday brought more open fl ying and the second annual
One Trick contest later in the afternoon. The crowd was
thick and there was excitement in the air. The One Trick
contest sends the pilots up to perform their best aerobatics
tricks for a panel of judges.
Arron Bates won the contest with a fantastic blender to a
snap, then to a crash! Landing was not in the rules. Several
companies donated great prizes for the winner, including a
couple of airframes. Arron—being a sponsored pilot—stepped
up and donated the prizes to some excited kids in the crowd.
Next time you are at Joe Nall, make the trek down to the
3-D line. Visit, fl y, and have fun.
Control Line
Some of the best CL
Aerobatics pilots came to
fl y, enjoy themselves, and
put on demonstrations.
Included in
that group
were former
World Team
member Derek
Barry, William
Davis, Dale
Barry, Allen
Brickhaus, Tom
Morris, Joe
Adamusko, and Craig Gunder. Many
RCers also dropped by with their CL
airplanes and enjoyed the open fl ying.
Mark Weiss shared the following:
“A fl eet of models was prepared for
the event for two main purposes: one,
to demonstrate radio Control Line. Two
CL planes were modifi ed to fl y around
a tether and be controlled from outside
the circle by radio, using elevator and
throttle control. This was a real crowd
pleaser and was Pat’s [Hartness] idea for
me to develop and bring. Pat took the
transmitter and put on a very nice fl ight
on his own.
“Secondly, I wanted attendees to
be able to fl y a CL plane and feel that
special sensation. That became more
popular than I had thought. In addition
to many, many demonstration
fl ights, attendees logged 241
training fl ights.
“A close friend, Bruce Jennings,
was in the circle for the fi rst three
days and then I took the rest of the
folks for the next four days. Every
one of them told me how much
they appreciated the opportunity
and enjoyed fl ying by wire. Here is
an approximate breakdown:
• 40% told me they had not picked
up a handle in 25-50 years.
• 20% said that their
fathers or
grandfathers used
to fl y CL, but
they had
not.
• 20%
were RC
fl iers wanting to see
what it was like and
had never done it
before.
• 20% were
children and spouses who fl ew a model
for the fi rst time
“The ages of trainees ranged from
2 up to 86 (Jerry Smith). Some of
the best-known RC folks took the
handle during the week. The comment
that seemed to sum it all up came
from Mac Hodges, Mr. B-29 and X-1
showman.
“After he landed the little CL plane
on Friday morning, he turned to his
two friends and passionately said,
‘Now that was pure fun!’ I also had the
pleasure to giving NASCAR/F1 driver
Juan Pablo Montoya his fi rst CL fl ight.
“Without support, this would have
been an even more daunting challenge.
The following companies really helped:
Stevens AeroModel, Thunder Power
RC, Sonic-Tronics, Bob Smith Industries, P3 Models, Brodak
Manufacturing, SP Lube: S&W, Byron, Sullivan Products,
Fox Manufacturing, Horizon
Hobby, and Radical RC.
“The AMA was a tremendous
partner with their assistance, as was
my home RC club, the Delaware
RC Club, home of Warbirds Over
Delaware.
“Of course, none of this would
have happened without Pat
Hartness and his wonderful crew
at Triple Tree. They treated all of us
like VIPs and prepared a CL area
that was just wonderful.”
Electric Flightline
Located between the main flightline and the 3-D
flightline, the electric group had a large number of pilots and
the support of Precision Aerobatics and After Dark, which
set up there.
Throughout the event, a wide cross-section of aircraft was
flown—from micros to large Pattern and 3-D aircraft.
Night flying was encouraged. Thanks to Tom from After
Dark whose well-lit and colorful
tent could be seen by everyone.
Water Flying
Few modelers get the
opportunity to fly off a picturesque
50-acre lake. The ParkZone ICON
was the most commonly flown
aircraft on the lake this year.
The most impressive aircraft to
grace the lake was the 60% L-4
Cub flown by Robert Komro. The
Bill Hemple ARF is powered by a
3W275 and made countless flights at the event.
Thanks to its large size and scale flight characteristics, many
in attendance did a double take to ensure it wasn’t a full-scale
aircraft.
Several model boaters also enjoyed the lake, and the Chris-
Craft built and driven by Tom Drake was fantastic. The
1/3-scale boat is powered with a water-cooled G26 engine. Tom
generously provided me the opportunity to drive his Scale
masterpiece, which was a blast.
The lake always draws a good crowd of pilots and spectators,
and this year was no exception. This group was eager to allow
others to try their boats and aircraft.
Helicopter Flightline
Castle sponsored the heli fl ightline for the third successive
year. This worked out great because it allowed Clint Akins
and Steve Rogers to attend the entire week to help out. This
was the second year at the new heli site, and Mike Gregory
and others did a fantastic job prepping the area for helicopter
fl ying.
This year saw more growth and interest in the heli line.
More Scale helicopters were fl own and it is always a pleasure
to be able to hang out with these pilots and watch their
beautiful aircraft fl y.
Notable Scale pilots who attended this year included Peter
Wales, Darrell Sprayberry, Joe Howard, Sandy Jaffe, and Bob
Burgo. These pilots brought some nice helis to share with
everyone, and they entertained questions all week.
It is not uncommon to run into professional pilots such as
Matt Botos (owner and designer of Synergy Helicopters), Jared
Granzow, Henry Caldwell, Marcus Kim, or John Adams from
Horizon Hobby.
The heli pilots enjoy this event because they can visit the
other fl ightlines during the day and then return to the heli
fl ightline to lay down some smack.
Although every year at the Joe Nall is special, the nostalgia of
an event that has spanned 30 years was exciting. Pat Hartness
has a beautiful facility that he happily allows us all to enjoy,
and the Joe Nall staff embodies its motto: “Fun, Fellowship,
and Hospitality.” Anyone who hasn’t attended at least once is
missing out!
I would like to thank Jerry Smith, Clint Akins, Robert Vest,
Curtis Cozier, and Mark Weiss for their assistance in putting
together this article.

Whether you have been to Joe Nall once or a dozen times, there’s a
level of excitement and anticipation as you drive under the Triple Tree
Aerodrome archway and along the winding road. You know that Pat
Hartness’s beautiful facility, with all of its amenities, is open for your enjoyment.
Similar to Model Aviation magazine, Joe Nall caters to a broad range of
participants who can enjoy their favorite segment of the hobby at one of six
flightlines, or take it all in. Joe Nall isn’t so much an event, it’s an experience. Here is
an overview from each flightline.
Main Flightline
The main fl ightline is the hub of activity where you
will fi nd the majority of vendors set up and the noontime
demonstration show. Open to aircraft that fl y the racetrack
pattern, this is also the place to see the Scale masterpieces
taking to the sky.
Basic aerobatics are allowed as long as you keep with
the fl ow of air traffi c. Also, aircraft on this fl ightline must
meet International Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA)
standards.
A familiar face on this line is Jim Malek, the fl ight boss. Jim
is easy to spot walking the line, wearing his drill sergeant’s
hat. He does a great job ensuring pilots communicate with
one another, and won’t hesitate to enforce the rules to
ensure everyone’s safety.
While on the subject of safety, the main
fl ightline also has a warning system installed
at each pilot station. If a pilot loses control
of his or her aircraft, his or her spotter can
quickly sound the alarm letting those in
attendance know an aircraft may be in
distress.
3-D Flightline
The 3-D line is open to any fl ier, but
the style of fl ying leans toward extreme aerobatics, high-alpha
stalled fl ight, and off-the-hook fl ying.
The week started slightly wet with intermittent rain showers
and downpours, but with occasional dry spells to open up the
fl ightline. The road got muddy, making the trek to the 3-D line
an adventure!
All week, pilots pushed
themselves and their
airplanes to the outside edge
of performance, with the
occasional misstep over the
edge.
One of the fun attractions
is the pond, and there is a
pilot station set up for those
who want to tempt fate over the water. The goal for many is
the coveted rudder dip in the water, with the dreaded swim in
the pond as the sometimes inevitable result.
Although the goal was to keep the fl ightline open as much
as possible, there still was time to have a few great fl ight
demos and the fun of the One Trick Contest. Wednesday
afternoon was the fi rst demonstration. Most of the noon
demos were held at the main fl ightline.
Later in the afternoon at the 3-D line, some of the best
aerobatics pilots in the country came out for short demos to
show what 3-D has to offer. All of the pilots pushed hard. Jase
Dussia pushed too much with his
rolling harrier landing—oh, for two
more inches of clearance! The crowd
loved the action and the pilots had a
ball!
The plan was for another demonstration on Thursday, but
storms moved through, shutting down the fl ightlines. Not to
worry; the storms cleared out and it was a great afternoon of
fl ying.
Thursday night brought us some live music from The Out
of Towners band. Many attendees had fun and plenty got up
and danced to the music while electric fl ying was going on at
the pilots’ stations.
Each night of the week, fl ying continued well into the
night with various night-fl ying setups—from small foamies all
the way to 120cc airframes! During the band’s set breaks on
Thursday, we enjoyed several special night-fl ying demos.
The most spectacular was Nick Maxwell’s night heli demo,
culminating in a fantastic blade stop. Unfortunately, the restart
was not so good! Nick took it in
stride with a smile on his face and
the crowd had a great time!
The parties and fellowship
continued late into the night,
making new friends and rekindling old friendships from Joe
Nalls of the past.
Friday brought more open fl ying and the second annual
One Trick contest later in the afternoon. The crowd was
thick and there was excitement in the air. The One Trick
contest sends the pilots up to perform their best aerobatics
tricks for a panel of judges.
Arron Bates won the contest with a fantastic blender to a
snap, then to a crash! Landing was not in the rules. Several
companies donated great prizes for the winner, including a
couple of airframes. Arron—being a sponsored pilot—stepped
up and donated the prizes to some excited kids in the crowd.
Next time you are at Joe Nall, make the trek down to the
3-D line. Visit, fl y, and have fun.
Control Line
Some of the best CL
Aerobatics pilots came to
fl y, enjoy themselves, and
put on demonstrations.
Included in
that group
were former
World Team
member Derek
Barry, William
Davis, Dale
Barry, Allen
Brickhaus, Tom
Morris, Joe
Adamusko, and Craig Gunder. Many
RCers also dropped by with their CL
airplanes and enjoyed the open fl ying.
Mark Weiss shared the following:
“A fl eet of models was prepared for
the event for two main purposes: one,
to demonstrate radio Control Line. Two
CL planes were modifi ed to fl y around
a tether and be controlled from outside
the circle by radio, using elevator and
throttle control. This was a real crowd
pleaser and was Pat’s [Hartness] idea for
me to develop and bring. Pat took the
transmitter and put on a very nice fl ight
on his own.
“Secondly, I wanted attendees to
be able to fl y a CL plane and feel that
special sensation. That became more
popular than I had thought. In addition
to many, many demonstration
fl ights, attendees logged 241
training fl ights.
“A close friend, Bruce Jennings,
was in the circle for the fi rst three
days and then I took the rest of the
folks for the next four days. Every
one of them told me how much
they appreciated the opportunity
and enjoyed fl ying by wire. Here is
an approximate breakdown:
• 40% told me they had not picked
up a handle in 25-50 years.
• 20% said that their
fathers or
grandfathers used
to fl y CL, but
they had
not.
• 20%
were RC
fl iers wanting to see
what it was like and
had never done it
before.
• 20% were
children and spouses who fl ew a model
for the fi rst time
“The ages of trainees ranged from
2 up to 86 (Jerry Smith). Some of
the best-known RC folks took the
handle during the week. The comment
that seemed to sum it all up came
from Mac Hodges, Mr. B-29 and X-1
showman.
“After he landed the little CL plane
on Friday morning, he turned to his
two friends and passionately said,
‘Now that was pure fun!’ I also had the
pleasure to giving NASCAR/F1 driver
Juan Pablo Montoya his fi rst CL fl ight.
“Without support, this would have
been an even more daunting challenge.
The following companies really helped:
Stevens AeroModel, Thunder Power
RC, Sonic-Tronics, Bob Smith Industries, P3 Models, Brodak
Manufacturing, SP Lube: S&W, Byron, Sullivan Products,
Fox Manufacturing, Horizon
Hobby, and Radical RC.
“The AMA was a tremendous
partner with their assistance, as was
my home RC club, the Delaware
RC Club, home of Warbirds Over
Delaware.
“Of course, none of this would
have happened without Pat
Hartness and his wonderful crew
at Triple Tree. They treated all of us
like VIPs and prepared a CL area
that was just wonderful.”
Electric Flightline
Located between the main flightline and the 3-D
flightline, the electric group had a large number of pilots and
the support of Precision Aerobatics and After Dark, which
set up there.
Throughout the event, a wide cross-section of aircraft was
flown—from micros to large Pattern and 3-D aircraft.
Night flying was encouraged. Thanks to Tom from After
Dark whose well-lit and colorful
tent could be seen by everyone.
Water Flying
Few modelers get the
opportunity to fly off a picturesque
50-acre lake. The ParkZone ICON
was the most commonly flown
aircraft on the lake this year.
The most impressive aircraft to
grace the lake was the 60% L-4
Cub flown by Robert Komro. The
Bill Hemple ARF is powered by a
3W275 and made countless flights at the event.
Thanks to its large size and scale flight characteristics, many
in attendance did a double take to ensure it wasn’t a full-scale
aircraft.
Several model boaters also enjoyed the lake, and the Chris-
Craft built and driven by Tom Drake was fantastic. The
1/3-scale boat is powered with a water-cooled G26 engine. Tom
generously provided me the opportunity to drive his Scale
masterpiece, which was a blast.
The lake always draws a good crowd of pilots and spectators,
and this year was no exception. This group was eager to allow
others to try their boats and aircraft.
Helicopter Flightline
Castle sponsored the heli fl ightline for the third successive
year. This worked out great because it allowed Clint Akins
and Steve Rogers to attend the entire week to help out. This
was the second year at the new heli site, and Mike Gregory
and others did a fantastic job prepping the area for helicopter
fl ying.
This year saw more growth and interest in the heli line.
More Scale helicopters were fl own and it is always a pleasure
to be able to hang out with these pilots and watch their
beautiful aircraft fl y.
Notable Scale pilots who attended this year included Peter
Wales, Darrell Sprayberry, Joe Howard, Sandy Jaffe, and Bob
Burgo. These pilots brought some nice helis to share with
everyone, and they entertained questions all week.
It is not uncommon to run into professional pilots such as
Matt Botos (owner and designer of Synergy Helicopters), Jared
Granzow, Henry Caldwell, Marcus Kim, or John Adams from
Horizon Hobby.
The heli pilots enjoy this event because they can visit the
other fl ightlines during the day and then return to the heli
fl ightline to lay down some smack.
Although every year at the Joe Nall is special, the nostalgia of
an event that has spanned 30 years was exciting. Pat Hartness
has a beautiful facility that he happily allows us all to enjoy,
and the Joe Nall staff embodies its motto: “Fun, Fellowship,
and Hospitality.” Anyone who hasn’t attended at least once is
missing out!
I would like to thank Jerry Smith, Clint Akins, Robert Vest,
Curtis Cozier, and Mark Weiss for their assistance in putting
together this article.