Keystone Indoor Electric Festival - 2011/04

Giant domes
offer the
most fun
for
small models
48 MODEL AVIATION
Keystone Indoor
Electric Festival
by Jeff Troy
Dave Lockhart, a Masters-class RC Aerobatics and F3P pilot, performs a
demonstration with his ultralightweight 3-D airplane from Donuts Models.
INDOOR GATHERINGS for electricpowered
airplanes and helicopters have
become extremely popular in recent years,
and one of the most magnetic of these new
events is the Keystone Indoor Electric Fly
(KIEF) in Muncy, Pennsylvania. Hosted by
the Muncy Indoor Flyers and held in one of
the largest air-supported sports domes in the
US, KIEF is nothing short of outstanding.
The Generations Sports Complex (GSC)
Dome, which is located just outside of
Williamsport, Pennsylvania—“Home of the
Little League”—is 600 feet wide and 200
feet deep. One look inside is enough to
bring a wide smile to any electric model
pilot’s face.
The dome’s vast width has dividers on
both ends, to separate the central
“racetrack” section from the aerobatics
section on the left and the micro-flying area
on the right. A bonus is the dome’s 75-foot,
unobstructed ceiling, which ensures that
every type of aircraft can demonstrate its
full potential in a relatively limitless setting.
KIEF made its successful debut in 2008,
followed by a sharp increase in attendance
and sponsorship in 2009. The 2010
production ran from Friday through
Sunday, October 15-17, and drew almost
170 pilots, more than 700 electric-powered
models, almost a dozen vendors, and a
collection of entertaining special events to
complement the weekend’s flying and pique
visitors’ interest.
The AMA lent its support to KIEF
through Park Pilot and Model Aviation
magazines, and attendees included AMA
President Dave Mathewson and his wife,
Ginger; District III Vice President Bob
Brown and his wife, Joanne; District II Vice
President Gary Fitch; and Phillip Adams,
who is a Park Pilot contributing writer.
I was there too, and I had a great time
logging more carefree flight time in those
three days than I had been able to enjoy all
summer.
Indoor electric models might be somewhat
smaller than the typical nitro-powered
models that are flown outdoors, but there
was a surprisingly wide variety of aircraft at
KIEF. The weight limit for airplanes at the
event is 16 ounces with battery, and motor
size is limited; the CD must approve
anything larger than a Speed 300.
Helicopters max out at the 450 class.
04sig2.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/22/11 11:07 AM Page 48
April 2011 49
Left: Muncy Indoor Flyers Vice President Ron Angle flew his
four-motor Gaui 330X from Empire RC. The orange ball
indicates the front of the stable machine.
Below: The “Cargo Crew” in action is a thing of beauty. These
airplanes are larger than most indoor models. They’re lightly
loaded, and their pilots fly them with precise coordination.
Above: Nick Maxwell put on several
awe-inspiring demonstrations with
his Rave 450 flybarless helicopter
from CJ Youngblood Enterprises.
Left: Measuring 600 feet wide by 200 feet deep and 75 feet high,
the Generations Sports Complex Dome in Muncy, Pennsylvania,
is one of the largest air-supported domes in the country.
Right: Nick Maxwell super-tuned Bob
Brown’s Heli-Max Novus 125 CP by
fiddling with the radio programming
and installing the larger motor pinion.
It’s a hot mini!
04sig2.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/22/11 11:09 AM Page 49
50 MODEL AVIATION
Left: Martin Newell’s all-foam North American B-25 Mitchell
stole the show in the micro area. All it needs are some round
cowls.
Left: The tiny B-25 bomber flies
on an eight-channel 900 MHz
FHSS RC system with a receiver
that measures approximately 1/4
inch square.
Ten-year-old Joseph Szczur was a
highlight of the flying demonstrations.
With his dad, Don, shooting video, Joseph
flew his Yak-54 in perfect syncopation
with prerecorded music.
If Martin Newell’s stunning B-25 wasn’t quite enough for
you, take a good look at the swing-wing mechanism on his
Grumman Tomcat.
Above: The KIEF Combat “last man standing” was Stephen
Sripol, who won the cash pool. Combat is a highly anticipated
event at KIEF. Close to a dozen models were flown in the
demolition derby-style event.
Right: Ken Carchietta flew his magnificent Dunne D.VIII, which
spans 48 inches and weighs a mere 12.5 ounces. He built the
model entirely from scratch and flies it with a 2712-12 110-watt
brushless outrunner motor, 3S 800 mAh Li-Poly battery pack, and
Spektrum AR6100 receiver.
All features of Martin’s
model s—including
those on his Grumman
F-14 Tomcat—are fully
operational on the
ground and in flight.
Ken Carchietta’s (Staten Island, NY) display table was brimming
with first-class aircraft, including this Fokker E.III Eindecker.
Photos by the author
04sig2.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 3/1/11 11:40 AM Page 50
AirLandSea Hobbies
BSD Micro RC
BlastRC
Dualsky
LightFlite
Luke’s RC Planes
RC Micro World
SKS Video Productions
Tech-Bond
Trains and Lanes Hobbies
Zeke’s Park Scale Models
April 2011 51
Horizon Hobby and Luke’s RC Planes
sponsored Force RC Helicopter Combat,
which 10-year-old Michael Martin
(Lebanon PA) won hands-down.
Cindy Malinchak, Marsha Minnella, and
Nikki Pedro took care of registration
and almost every other on-the-spot
organizational task.
GSC Dome Manager Randy Grieg made
sure that his facility was in top shape for
KIEF, with comfortable temperatures, good
lighting, well-stocked concessions, and
squeaky-clean restrooms.
Park Pilot Editor Jeff Troy and contributing writer Phillip Adams
took a nice collection of fun-scale and aerobatic slow flyers to the
Muncy Indoor Flyers’ event.
Brothers Peter and Stephen Sripol and Sam Foskuhl have become
popular, permanent fixtures at many indoor events for electricpowered
models. The trio’s specialty is formation flying with
matching, home-brew cargo airplanes.
Joe Malinchak is the master of realism in
micromodeling with lightweight foam. His
Boeing Stearman PT-17 was one of the
more than a dozen impressive scale
airplanes that graced his display area and the
indoor skies at KIEF.
Saturday seminars included topics ranging from the 10th anniversary of
Microtech Seminars with Sergio Zigras (PA) to a mix of history, theory,
models, and stories about canards with Del Ogren (IL). Speakers arrived
from every corner of the US, and Petter Muren traveled from Norway.
KIEF Sponsors
04sig2.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/22/11 11:10 AM Page 51
York, flew a magnificent collection of
scale aircraft, the most notable of which
was his swept-wing Dunne D.VIII.
Spanning 48 inches, this unusual scratchbuilt
biplane was covered with lightweight
tissue.
Ken also flew a remarkably detailed
Fokker Eindecker, proving that fine
craftsmanship in small electric-powered
models is alive and well.
Modelers traveled from across the US
and as far away as Europe to take part in
the three-day weekend of flying fun.
Brothers Stephen and Peter Sripol and
their friend, Sam Foskuhl, came in from
Dayton, Ohio.
I like to call them the “Cargo Crew,”
and their performances are not to be
missed. Flying scratch-built cargo
airplanes that Peter, the older brother,
designs, the group performs precision
formation demonstrations, complete with
intermediate aerobatic maneuvers,
parachute drops, and RC-car ground
deliveries.
The micro section was jumpin’, and
scale modeling was never better
represented than it was by Martin Newell
and his fine collection of scratch-built
military aircraft. His North American B-25
Mitchell was a show stealer.
Although it spanned less than a foot,
the full-featured bomber flew with
ailerons, elevator, twin motors, rudder,
flaps, retractable landing gear, navigation
lights, and bomb release. The tiny replica
had a steerable nose gear and even had
coupled wheel brakes that trigger with full
down-elevator command.
Martin’s Grumman F-14 Tomcat is
another impressive piece of work. Powered
by a pusher setup with a brushless
outrunner motor, this model features fullhouse
controls and a fully operational, inflight
swing wing.
The central section of the GSC Dome
featured open flying, racetrack style.
“Racetrack” suggests that all traffic takes
off and lands from left to right, and that
flight is performed in what amounts to a
rectangular box. Limited aerobatics in the
central area is okay, although extended 3-
D flying should be done in the dedicated 3-
D area to the left of the racetrack.
The racetrack was filled with
interesting models and entertaining flight
demonstrations. One totally awe-inspiring
exhibition was by Joseph Szczur, who is
the 10-year-old son of noted RC
Aerobatics pilot Don Szczur.
The Yak-54 is Joseph’s favorite
airplane, and he flew his foamie version
for the crowd in true E-TOC (Electric
Tournament of Champions) style,
synchronizing his maneuvers to
prerecorded music and putting on a
demonstration that had every pilot and
spectator in the dome riveted.
It takes many good people to make an
event such as KIEF a success, and much of
the credit goes to Muncy Indoor Flyers
President Tony Minnella and his wife,
Marsha; Vice President Ron Angle; CD
Mark Vukmanovich; Cindy Malinchak;
Nikki Pedro; and GSC Dome Manager
Randy Grieg. Those fine people, as well as
the many Muncy Indoor Flyers volunteers,
worked tirelessly to ensure that every pilot,
vendor, and spectator had a fabulous,
trouble-free, enjoyable weekend.
Helicopters are a big part of flying at
this gathering. The 3-D area of the dome
was divided between airplanes along the
top side of the flightline and helicopters
along the bottom of the line.
Nick Maxwell, helicopter expert and
full-time staff member at CJ Youngblood
Enterprises, performed a number of mindblowing
flight demonstrations with his
Next-D Rave 450 flybarless machine. He
even added an impromptu performance
with Bob Brown’s Heli-Max Novus 125
CP.
Special events at KIEF included
helicopter combat with the new Force RC
machines from Horizon Hobby. Sponsored
by Horizon and Luke and Sue Simion of
Luke’s RC Planes, the winner was 10-
year-old Michael Martin of Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, who mercilessly shot down
every would-be attacker in his sights.
Another riotous KIEF special event was
demolition combat, in which each
registered flier put up a $10 bill and the
pilot of the last model flying won the pot.
Stephen Sripol of the Cargo Crew took the
money.
Saturday afternoon featured a collection
of informative seminars, with presenters
from the US and one speaker from
Norway. These presentations were
concurrent with open flying in the
racetrack, so no downtime was
experienced on the flightline while some
attendees reaped the benefits of the
discussions.
Also featured was a lights-out “night
fly” from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday
and a fun-filled carrier landing contest on
the club’s mock aircraft carrier, the USS
KIEF. The latter was flown exclusively
with ParkZone Vapors and Night Vapors
and was sponsored by Zeke’s Park Scale
Models. Sunday morning featured an F3P
competition in the micro area from 9 to 10.
KIEF is great fun, and I strongly
recommend putting this event on your
must-attend list for 2011. The GSC Dome
is an amazing flying site, and the Muncy
Indoor Flyers does a great job of keeping
you entertained—and airborne. MA
Jeff Troy
[email protected]

Giant domes
offer the
most fun
for
small models
48 MODEL AVIATION
Keystone Indoor
Electric Festival
by Jeff Troy
Dave Lockhart, a Masters-class RC Aerobatics and F3P pilot, performs a
demonstration with his ultralightweight 3-D airplane from Donuts Models.
INDOOR GATHERINGS for electricpowered
airplanes and helicopters have
become extremely popular in recent years,
and one of the most magnetic of these new
events is the Keystone Indoor Electric Fly
(KIEF) in Muncy, Pennsylvania. Hosted by
the Muncy Indoor Flyers and held in one of
the largest air-supported sports domes in the
US, KIEF is nothing short of outstanding.
The Generations Sports Complex (GSC)
Dome, which is located just outside of
Williamsport, Pennsylvania—“Home of the
Little League”—is 600 feet wide and 200
feet deep. One look inside is enough to
bring a wide smile to any electric model
pilot’s face.
The dome’s vast width has dividers on
both ends, to separate the central
“racetrack” section from the aerobatics
section on the left and the micro-flying area
on the right. A bonus is the dome’s 75-foot,
unobstructed ceiling, which ensures that
every type of aircraft can demonstrate its
full potential in a relatively limitless setting.
KIEF made its successful debut in 2008,
followed by a sharp increase in attendance
and sponsorship in 2009. The 2010
production ran from Friday through
Sunday, October 15-17, and drew almost
170 pilots, more than 700 electric-powered
models, almost a dozen vendors, and a
collection of entertaining special events to
complement the weekend’s flying and pique
visitors’ interest.
The AMA lent its support to KIEF
through Park Pilot and Model Aviation
magazines, and attendees included AMA
President Dave Mathewson and his wife,
Ginger; District III Vice President Bob
Brown and his wife, Joanne; District II Vice
President Gary Fitch; and Phillip Adams,
who is a Park Pilot contributing writer.
I was there too, and I had a great time
logging more carefree flight time in those
three days than I had been able to enjoy all
summer.
Indoor electric models might be somewhat
smaller than the typical nitro-powered
models that are flown outdoors, but there
was a surprisingly wide variety of aircraft at
KIEF. The weight limit for airplanes at the
event is 16 ounces with battery, and motor
size is limited; the CD must approve
anything larger than a Speed 300.
Helicopters max out at the 450 class.
04sig2.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/22/11 11:07 AM Page 48
April 2011 49
Left: Muncy Indoor Flyers Vice President Ron Angle flew his
four-motor Gaui 330X from Empire RC. The orange ball
indicates the front of the stable machine.
Below: The “Cargo Crew” in action is a thing of beauty. These
airplanes are larger than most indoor models. They’re lightly
loaded, and their pilots fly them with precise coordination.
Above: Nick Maxwell put on several
awe-inspiring demonstrations with
his Rave 450 flybarless helicopter
from CJ Youngblood Enterprises.
Left: Measuring 600 feet wide by 200 feet deep and 75 feet high,
the Generations Sports Complex Dome in Muncy, Pennsylvania,
is one of the largest air-supported domes in the country.
Right: Nick Maxwell super-tuned Bob
Brown’s Heli-Max Novus 125 CP by
fiddling with the radio programming
and installing the larger motor pinion.
It’s a hot mini!
04sig2.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/22/11 11:09 AM Page 49
50 MODEL AVIATION
Left: Martin Newell’s all-foam North American B-25 Mitchell
stole the show in the micro area. All it needs are some round
cowls.
Left: The tiny B-25 bomber flies
on an eight-channel 900 MHz
FHSS RC system with a receiver
that measures approximately 1/4
inch square.
Ten-year-old Joseph Szczur was a
highlight of the flying demonstrations.
With his dad, Don, shooting video, Joseph
flew his Yak-54 in perfect syncopation
with prerecorded music.
If Martin Newell’s stunning B-25 wasn’t quite enough for
you, take a good look at the swing-wing mechanism on his
Grumman Tomcat.
Above: The KIEF Combat “last man standing” was Stephen
Sripol, who won the cash pool. Combat is a highly anticipated
event at KIEF. Close to a dozen models were flown in the
demolition derby-style event.
Right: Ken Carchietta flew his magnificent Dunne D.VIII, which
spans 48 inches and weighs a mere 12.5 ounces. He built the
model entirely from scratch and flies it with a 2712-12 110-watt
brushless outrunner motor, 3S 800 mAh Li-Poly battery pack, and
Spektrum AR6100 receiver.
All features of Martin’s
model s—including
those on his Grumman
F-14 Tomcat—are fully
operational on the
ground and in flight.
Ken Carchietta’s (Staten Island, NY) display table was brimming
with first-class aircraft, including this Fokker E.III Eindecker.
Photos by the author
04sig2.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 3/1/11 11:40 AM Page 50
AirLandSea Hobbies
BSD Micro RC
BlastRC
Dualsky
LightFlite
Luke’s RC Planes
RC Micro World
SKS Video Productions
Tech-Bond
Trains and Lanes Hobbies
Zeke’s Park Scale Models
April 2011 51
Horizon Hobby and Luke’s RC Planes
sponsored Force RC Helicopter Combat,
which 10-year-old Michael Martin
(Lebanon PA) won hands-down.
Cindy Malinchak, Marsha Minnella, and
Nikki Pedro took care of registration
and almost every other on-the-spot
organizational task.
GSC Dome Manager Randy Grieg made
sure that his facility was in top shape for
KIEF, with comfortable temperatures, good
lighting, well-stocked concessions, and
squeaky-clean restrooms.
Park Pilot Editor Jeff Troy and contributing writer Phillip Adams
took a nice collection of fun-scale and aerobatic slow flyers to the
Muncy Indoor Flyers’ event.
Brothers Peter and Stephen Sripol and Sam Foskuhl have become
popular, permanent fixtures at many indoor events for electricpowered
models. The trio’s specialty is formation flying with
matching, home-brew cargo airplanes.
Joe Malinchak is the master of realism in
micromodeling with lightweight foam. His
Boeing Stearman PT-17 was one of the
more than a dozen impressive scale
airplanes that graced his display area and the
indoor skies at KIEF.
Saturday seminars included topics ranging from the 10th anniversary of
Microtech Seminars with Sergio Zigras (PA) to a mix of history, theory,
models, and stories about canards with Del Ogren (IL). Speakers arrived
from every corner of the US, and Petter Muren traveled from Norway.
KIEF Sponsors
04sig2.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/22/11 11:10 AM Page 51
York, flew a magnificent collection of
scale aircraft, the most notable of which
was his swept-wing Dunne D.VIII.
Spanning 48 inches, this unusual scratchbuilt
biplane was covered with lightweight
tissue.
Ken also flew a remarkably detailed
Fokker Eindecker, proving that fine
craftsmanship in small electric-powered
models is alive and well.
Modelers traveled from across the US
and as far away as Europe to take part in
the three-day weekend of flying fun.
Brothers Stephen and Peter Sripol and
their friend, Sam Foskuhl, came in from
Dayton, Ohio.
I like to call them the “Cargo Crew,”
and their performances are not to be
missed. Flying scratch-built cargo
airplanes that Peter, the older brother,
designs, the group performs precision
formation demonstrations, complete with
intermediate aerobatic maneuvers,
parachute drops, and RC-car ground
deliveries.
The micro section was jumpin’, and
scale modeling was never better
represented than it was by Martin Newell
and his fine collection of scratch-built
military aircraft. His North American B-25
Mitchell was a show stealer.
Although it spanned less than a foot,
the full-featured bomber flew with
ailerons, elevator, twin motors, rudder,
flaps, retractable landing gear, navigation
lights, and bomb release. The tiny replica
had a steerable nose gear and even had
coupled wheel brakes that trigger with full
down-elevator command.
Martin’s Grumman F-14 Tomcat is
another impressive piece of work. Powered
by a pusher setup with a brushless
outrunner motor, this model features fullhouse
controls and a fully operational, inflight
swing wing.
The central section of the GSC Dome
featured open flying, racetrack style.
“Racetrack” suggests that all traffic takes
off and lands from left to right, and that
flight is performed in what amounts to a
rectangular box. Limited aerobatics in the
central area is okay, although extended 3-
D flying should be done in the dedicated 3-
D area to the left of the racetrack.
The racetrack was filled with
interesting models and entertaining flight
demonstrations. One totally awe-inspiring
exhibition was by Joseph Szczur, who is
the 10-year-old son of noted RC
Aerobatics pilot Don Szczur.
The Yak-54 is Joseph’s favorite
airplane, and he flew his foamie version
for the crowd in true E-TOC (Electric
Tournament of Champions) style,
synchronizing his maneuvers to
prerecorded music and putting on a
demonstration that had every pilot and
spectator in the dome riveted.
It takes many good people to make an
event such as KIEF a success, and much of
the credit goes to Muncy Indoor Flyers
President Tony Minnella and his wife,
Marsha; Vice President Ron Angle; CD
Mark Vukmanovich; Cindy Malinchak;
Nikki Pedro; and GSC Dome Manager
Randy Grieg. Those fine people, as well as
the many Muncy Indoor Flyers volunteers,
worked tirelessly to ensure that every pilot,
vendor, and spectator had a fabulous,
trouble-free, enjoyable weekend.
Helicopters are a big part of flying at
this gathering. The 3-D area of the dome
was divided between airplanes along the
top side of the flightline and helicopters
along the bottom of the line.
Nick Maxwell, helicopter expert and
full-time staff member at CJ Youngblood
Enterprises, performed a number of mindblowing
flight demonstrations with his
Next-D Rave 450 flybarless machine. He
even added an impromptu performance
with Bob Brown’s Heli-Max Novus 125
CP.
Special events at KIEF included
helicopter combat with the new Force RC
machines from Horizon Hobby. Sponsored
by Horizon and Luke and Sue Simion of
Luke’s RC Planes, the winner was 10-
year-old Michael Martin of Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, who mercilessly shot down
every would-be attacker in his sights.
Another riotous KIEF special event was
demolition combat, in which each
registered flier put up a $10 bill and the
pilot of the last model flying won the pot.
Stephen Sripol of the Cargo Crew took the
money.
Saturday afternoon featured a collection
of informative seminars, with presenters
from the US and one speaker from
Norway. These presentations were
concurrent with open flying in the
racetrack, so no downtime was
experienced on the flightline while some
attendees reaped the benefits of the
discussions.
Also featured was a lights-out “night
fly” from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday
and a fun-filled carrier landing contest on
the club’s mock aircraft carrier, the USS
KIEF. The latter was flown exclusively
with ParkZone Vapors and Night Vapors
and was sponsored by Zeke’s Park Scale
Models. Sunday morning featured an F3P
competition in the micro area from 9 to 10.
KIEF is great fun, and I strongly
recommend putting this event on your
must-attend list for 2011. The GSC Dome
is an amazing flying site, and the Muncy
Indoor Flyers does a great job of keeping
you entertained—and airborne. MA
Jeff Troy
[email protected]