Lucky NEAT Number 7
An e-only e-vent that is e-xceptionally e-entertaining and e-ducational
by Michael Ramsey
When anyone refers to model airplanes as "toys," I can't help but be a little offended. Wind-up, buzzy-noise-making, cartoon-shaped, Flash Gordon, children's chew things with wings—those are toys. Okay, I like the chew things with wings too, but my flying model airplanes are not "toys"; they are respected experiments of leisure that incorporate both science and entertainment. And they're neat.
For two years I had been looking forward to returning to the Peaceful Valley of the lower Catskill Mountains of New York State—specifically the town of Shinhopple. Besides reporting on a special event, this was a chance to finally participate as a pilot with the goal of traveling with an electric-powered helicopter in the car and plans to pick up a few new prize airplanes at the affair.
The NEAT (Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology) Fair was held September 12–14, and while I drove to and from the event from my hotel each day, I reflected on my roots in electric modeling and the history of the gathering. It was 10 years ago when fellow modelers and I stood on the runway's edge at Queen City Municipal Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in awe of how far electric modeling had come and how great it had become. And things were destined only to get better.
Each year the NEAT Fair hosts a separate area of activities centering around microsize and indoor-capable RC electric-powered model aircraft. On the Friday of the Fair, a series of technical seminars is scheduled and presented in the large Bergen County (New Jersey) electric club's tent. Roughly 60 modelers attended the sessions in 2008, which featured talks by John Worth, Joe Malinchak, Nick Leichty, Rick Ruijsink, and others. Every year you can find the schedule and subjects of these seminars on the main NEAT Fair Web site. For more details, contact Sergio Zigras, who organizes the seminars.
On the Saturday of the NEAT Fair each year, we switch venues from the Peaceful Valley Campground to Downsville High School, approximately a 10- to 20-minute drive away.
We felt a serious loss when it was announced that the famed KRC (Keystone Radio Control Club) Electric Fun Fly would no longer take place. But thanks to the loyal area modelers who nurtured that event, the NEAT Fair was developed to be everything that electric modeling represents and everything that participants want in a three-day (almost four now) fun-fly.
Tom Hunt and his band of merry people from the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island club organize and run a get-together that focuses on the modelers' primary needs. For the last seven years the event has thrived by making the talented and novice alike feel comfortable enough to graciously share what the future of modeling will bring.
In the past this location in the Catskill Mountains has typically borne the punishment of freak weather and the occasional earth-blanketing flood (remember the 2004 edition?). Hurricane season had a banner year in 2008, but, lucky for us, NEAT Fair number 7 was merely threatened with storms and received only a sprinkle from time to time.
The NEAT Fair production is not a single-facet effort by any means. With vendors' support, veteran modelers and beginners are blessed with almost everything—or at least the possibility of getting almost everything—the industry offers. This comes to attendees in the form of merchandise for sale, demonstrations of successful products, and a full complement of experts to give assistance.
Although the weather doesn't always cooperate (I call it "adventurous") for this event, there's no chance of getting bored. True to the event title, the "Fair" includes seminars covering popular areas of technology that are all about electric-powered flying and being a safe and successful modeler.
Participant tents that sit two rows deep in most places line the quarter-mile flying site. A stroll down the safety fence–protected flightline is like browsing through a live hobby shop catalog. Almost every type of model is represented, from fixed wing to helicopter, ultramicro to megagiant; the watts flow profusely.
Because this technology seems to bring out the geek in all of us, there's no shortage of storytelling. I walked down the grass path on the way to stand in line for a flight station and learned more about the scale airplane I had just purchased than I ever could have hoped to learn from a history book; I was both charmed by and energized about our aeromodeling hobby.
The event is three days long (well, two-and-a-half since the controlled flightline closes after the demos on Sunday), but the Thursday before is called "setup day." It's a great time to watch, because the vendors and demonstration teams are usually polishing their acts and generally goofing off. During the event, they're technically working and on their best behavior.
One thing the NEAT Fair has that the KRC fly-in didn't is a place for people to camp on-site. The event is located in the middle of a campground, so the facilities are nearly ideal. Since the majority of participants don't have to schlep themselves back and forth from a hotel, they can participate in the Dawn Patrol (where the men are men and wear the stylish bathrobes to prove it). And when it gets dark, the night owls and extraterrestrials come out to put on a light show.
During the regular daytime hours, and in between the occasional raindrop, the flying was nonstop. The helicopter-only area was at the east end of the field; 200 mph spinning blades and Slow Stiks don't mix. At center stage was the primary flight area, for any fixed-wing model that was larger than a park flyer (autogiros were permitted there too).
The eight flight stations were full the entire weekend, and there was typically a 20-pilot-long line waiting for the next available space. These waits were actually enjoyable; we would catch up with friends and make new ones.
On the west end of the field was the park flyer area, where anything (including autogiros) weighing less than 33 ounces was safe from the strafe of a speeding Zagi or EDF (electric ducted fan) model. The pilots who mostly inhabit this area are humble but also at the forefront of micro aviation. The winds were light for most of the weekend, so this area was just as active as the others.
From noon until 10 p.m. on Saturday, those who wanted perfect air had the opportunity to fly at the high school gym in Downsville. See the sidebar for Bob Aberle's report on that activity.
The 2008 NEAT Fair set a record for attendance, with more than 300 pilots and a recorded 2,000 spectators. That's not bad for a "toy airplane" event in the middle of nowhere. Indeed, electric-power modeling and fun-fly events have gotten better.
The dates for the 2009 NEAT Fair are September 18–20, which is a week later than normal. Make sure your reservations at any of the area hotels, motels, or campsites are for the correct weekend. Pilot preregistration and vendor registration will begin in May 2009.
Michael Ramsey [email protected]
Sources
- NEAT Fair — www.neatfair.org
- SEFLI — www.sefli.org
- Tom Hunt (2009 NEAT Fair event director) — [email protected]
Raffle Benefactors and Sponsors
- FlightPower USA
- Airtronics
- Hobby Lobby
- Hitec/Multiplex
- Medusa Research
- West Mountain Radio
- Horizon Hobby
- Northeast Sailplane Products
- Lazertoyz
- Mud Duck Aviation
- Millennium R/C
- Lukes RC Planes
- TrueRC
- Park Scale Models
- ICARE Sailplanes and Electrics
- Thunder Power
- Ray Juschkus
- Tom Hunt
Vendors
- Aero Craft Ltd.
- AirLandSeaHobbies.com
- American Pioneer Hobbies, Inc.
- Axon Racing Systems
- BSD Micro R/C, LLC
- Castle Creations
- Central Hobbies
- Dimension Engineering
- Ductedfans.com/JepeUSA
- FlightPower USA, Inc.
- FMA Direct
- GoBrushless.com
- Hitec RCD/Multiplex
- Hobby Lobby
- Horizon Hobby, Inc.
- J&R Hobby Hardware
- JustGoFly.com
- Lazertoyz
- LightFlite.com
- Lukes RC Planes
- Medusa Research, Inc.
- Millennium R/C
- Mountain Models
- Mud Duck Aviation
- Northeast Sailplane Products
- Park Scale Models
- Polk's Hobby
- Radical RC
- RC Micro World
- R/C Toys Inc./TanicPacks.com
- Shulman Aviation
- SKS Video Productions
- SLK Electronics
- Stevens AeroModel
- Tech-Bond Solutions
- TrueRC
- Urban R/C Products (VampowerPro.com)
- West Mountain Radio
- Z's R/C Hobbies
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
