February 2009 45
Bill Stevens of Stevens AeroModel sells magnificent laser-cut
kits; even this Shaft 25e is elegant in its own way. Best of all, it’s
as fun to build as it is to fly.
Noted indoor scale builder/flier Ken Carchietta’s 30-inch-span 1914
Donnet-Lévêque flying boat uses a 2500 Kv outrunner with a 3S, 500
mAh pack. It weighs 7.75 ounces.
Xavier Mouraux of Canada built this Balsa USA 1/4-scale Nieuport
and painted the fabric with household acrylic. It runs an AXi 53mm
motor and uses an 8S battery system.
Northeast Sailplane Products did a graceful aerotow demonstration using the
scale model shown and a 2-meter sport glider. A Sig Giant Rascal was the tow
airplane.
Above: Dan Greathouse of
Lazertoyz displayed this 17-inchspan
Mini Arrow that is powered
by one of the company’s new 10-
gram brushless outrunner
motors and a three-cell, 300 mAh
pack. The complete kit is $80.
Marty Ludwig flew this Sig King Cobra with an AXi 4130-16 and
an 8S 4000 mAh pack. Motor current is 28 amps. The model is
stock with cooling vents in the bottom.
Photos by the author and Bob Aberle except as noted 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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:52 AM Page 45
48 MODEL AVIATION
Nick Leichty showed this little
Pietenpol that was an electric-powered
Indoor FF Scale model. His Web site is
www.microflierradio.com.
Joe Malinchak’s beautiful scale
Stearman was outstanding in flight. It
spans 7.8 inches and weighs only 5
grams. He built it with printed
Durobatics foam.
Bob Selman Designs
introduced a brush-tobrushless
motor converter
to work with a new 0.6-
gram brushless outrunner
motor.
Martin Newell, a master of microflight,
flew this P-40 with full four-channel
control using his new Rabbit Hip-Hop
receiver.
Each of Martin Newell’s two-channel
Sharks weighs 495 milligrams and has a
wingspan of only 2.75 inches.
Nick Leichty showed this
new proportional-feedback
submicroservo that weighs
0.6 gram and supplies 8
grams of thrust.
Petter Muren of Norway
shared his complete line
of micro helicopters.
You can find them at
www.proxflyer.com.
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 then
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
for 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 (which is
approximately a 10-minute drive from the
campground). School officials now give
us access to their double-size gymnasium
for the purpose of flying our micro
aircraft.
This Saturday segment of indoor flying
is coordinated by Joe and Cindy
Malinchak, who write the bimonthly
“Micro-Flying” column for MA. The
session last year ran from 1 p.m. until 10
p.m. “Open flying” was allowed most of
the time.
From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., we witnessed
special flight exhibitions made by a series
of invited guest experts. Those fliers
included Matt Keennon, Petter Muren,
John Worth, Joe Malinchak, Robert
Guillet, and the entire Horizon Hobby
demo team, to name a few. Many newtechnology
items were presented at the
seminar and demonstrated at the school
gym.
You can find another report on these
activities in the October issue of RC Micro
World, which is a subscription webzine
that John Worth publishes. MA
—Bob Aberle
[email protected]
NEAT Fair E-Xtras
Sources:
Sergio Zigras
[email protected]
Joe and Cindy Malinchak
[email protected]
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
come and how great it had become. And
things were destined only to get better.
Nonetheless, 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 (almost four now)-day fun-fly.
Tom Hunt and his band of merry people
from the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
club in New York organize and run a gettogether
that focuses on the modelers’
primary needs. And 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 singlefacet
effort by any means. With vendors’
support, veteran modelers and beginners are
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:38 AM Page 48
On Saturday September 13, at the start of the noon demo, a special honor—the
AMA’s Distinguished Service Award—was given to Event Director Tom Hunt for all
his efforts to make the NEAT Fair one of the largest e-flys in the world.
In attendance for the presentation was AMA President Dave Mathewson, District
III Vice President Bob Brown, and District II (which includes New York and New
Jersey) Vice President Gary Fitch. The NEAT Fair’s assistant event director, Bob
Aberle, introduced these special guests, and then Gary Fitch presented the plaque to
Tom, whose wife, Eileen, was at his side.
Following are the honors that were given to NEAT Fair participants.
Best Sport Model: Thayer Syme’s own-design 52-inch-span Daddy-O
Best Military Scale Model: Dave Perrone’s 82-inch-span Fokker D.VIII
Best in Civilian Scale Model:
Ron Faanes’ 84-inch-span
Tiger Moth
Largest Model: Bill
Birkett’s 10-foot-span
Curtiss June Bug
Technical Achievement:
Rick Ruijsink’s 3.07-gram
micro, video-equipped
ornithopter
Most Talented Junior:
Riley Kissenberth
Tom Hunt indicated that
Riley was extremely
deserving of the award, but
he did not have the name
of this Junior’s model or a
photo of it. MA
—MA Staff
February 2009 49
Rick Ruijsink was honored with the
Technical Achievement Award for his
tiny 3.07-gram ornithopter that
features an onboard micro TV camera.
Across the 800-foot field, directly next to
the tree line is a 6-foot-tall plywood figure
holding a 6-foot-span model. It gives the RC
pilots perspective of danger.
2008
NEAT
Fair
Awards
Tom Hunt receives the AMA Distinguished Service
Award from AMA District II VP Gary Fitch (R). Next
to Tom is his wife, Eileen, and AMA President Dave
Mathewson on the left. Ray Juschkus photo.
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-power flying and being a
safe and successful modeler.
In addition, participant tents that sit two
rows deep in most places line the 1/4-mile
flying site. A stroll down the safety fenceprotected
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 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, twoand-
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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:39 AM Page 49
from a hotel, as I did, 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, though; 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, which was approximately 20
minutes away. 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/campsites
are for the correct weekend. Pilot
preregistration and vendor registration will
begin in May 2009. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
50 MODEL AVIATION
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 RC, LLC
Castle Creations
Central Hobbies
Dimension Engineering
Ductedfans.com/JepeUSA
FlightPower USA, Inc.
FMA Direct
GoBrushless.com
Hitec RCD/Mulitplex
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
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 44,45,46,47,48,49,50
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 44,45,46,47,48,49,50
February 2009 45
Bill Stevens of Stevens AeroModel sells magnificent laser-cut
kits; even this Shaft 25e is elegant in its own way. Best of all, it’s
as fun to build as it is to fly.
Noted indoor scale builder/flier Ken Carchietta’s 30-inch-span 1914
Donnet-Lévêque flying boat uses a 2500 Kv outrunner with a 3S, 500
mAh pack. It weighs 7.75 ounces.
Xavier Mouraux of Canada built this Balsa USA 1/4-scale Nieuport
and painted the fabric with household acrylic. It runs an AXi 53mm
motor and uses an 8S battery system.
Northeast Sailplane Products did a graceful aerotow demonstration using the
scale model shown and a 2-meter sport glider. A Sig Giant Rascal was the tow
airplane.
Above: Dan Greathouse of
Lazertoyz displayed this 17-inchspan
Mini Arrow that is powered
by one of the company’s new 10-
gram brushless outrunner
motors and a three-cell, 300 mAh
pack. The complete kit is $80.
Marty Ludwig flew this Sig King Cobra with an AXi 4130-16 and
an 8S 4000 mAh pack. Motor current is 28 amps. The model is
stock with cooling vents in the bottom.
Photos by the author and Bob Aberle except as noted 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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:52 AM Page 45
48 MODEL AVIATION
Nick Leichty showed this little
Pietenpol that was an electric-powered
Indoor FF Scale model. His Web site is
www.microflierradio.com.
Joe Malinchak’s beautiful scale
Stearman was outstanding in flight. It
spans 7.8 inches and weighs only 5
grams. He built it with printed
Durobatics foam.
Bob Selman Designs
introduced a brush-tobrushless
motor converter
to work with a new 0.6-
gram brushless outrunner
motor.
Martin Newell, a master of microflight,
flew this P-40 with full four-channel
control using his new Rabbit Hip-Hop
receiver.
Each of Martin Newell’s two-channel
Sharks weighs 495 milligrams and has a
wingspan of only 2.75 inches.
Nick Leichty showed this
new proportional-feedback
submicroservo that weighs
0.6 gram and supplies 8
grams of thrust.
Petter Muren of Norway
shared his complete line
of micro helicopters.
You can find them at
www.proxflyer.com.
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 then
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
for 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 (which is
approximately a 10-minute drive from the
campground). School officials now give
us access to their double-size gymnasium
for the purpose of flying our micro
aircraft.
This Saturday segment of indoor flying
is coordinated by Joe and Cindy
Malinchak, who write the bimonthly
“Micro-Flying” column for MA. The
session last year ran from 1 p.m. until 10
p.m. “Open flying” was allowed most of
the time.
From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., we witnessed
special flight exhibitions made by a series
of invited guest experts. Those fliers
included Matt Keennon, Petter Muren,
John Worth, Joe Malinchak, Robert
Guillet, and the entire Horizon Hobby
demo team, to name a few. Many newtechnology
items were presented at the
seminar and demonstrated at the school
gym.
You can find another report on these
activities in the October issue of RC Micro
World, which is a subscription webzine
that John Worth publishes. MA
—Bob Aberle
[email protected]
NEAT Fair E-Xtras
Sources:
Sergio Zigras
[email protected]
Joe and Cindy Malinchak
[email protected]
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
come and how great it had become. And
things were destined only to get better.
Nonetheless, 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 (almost four now)-day fun-fly.
Tom Hunt and his band of merry people
from the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
club in New York organize and run a gettogether
that focuses on the modelers’
primary needs. And 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 singlefacet
effort by any means. With vendors’
support, veteran modelers and beginners are
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:38 AM Page 48
On Saturday September 13, at the start of the noon demo, a special honor—the
AMA’s Distinguished Service Award—was given to Event Director Tom Hunt for all
his efforts to make the NEAT Fair one of the largest e-flys in the world.
In attendance for the presentation was AMA President Dave Mathewson, District
III Vice President Bob Brown, and District II (which includes New York and New
Jersey) Vice President Gary Fitch. The NEAT Fair’s assistant event director, Bob
Aberle, introduced these special guests, and then Gary Fitch presented the plaque to
Tom, whose wife, Eileen, was at his side.
Following are the honors that were given to NEAT Fair participants.
Best Sport Model: Thayer Syme’s own-design 52-inch-span Daddy-O
Best Military Scale Model: Dave Perrone’s 82-inch-span Fokker D.VIII
Best in Civilian Scale Model:
Ron Faanes’ 84-inch-span
Tiger Moth
Largest Model: Bill
Birkett’s 10-foot-span
Curtiss June Bug
Technical Achievement:
Rick Ruijsink’s 3.07-gram
micro, video-equipped
ornithopter
Most Talented Junior:
Riley Kissenberth
Tom Hunt indicated that
Riley was extremely
deserving of the award, but
he did not have the name
of this Junior’s model or a
photo of it. MA
—MA Staff
February 2009 49
Rick Ruijsink was honored with the
Technical Achievement Award for his
tiny 3.07-gram ornithopter that
features an onboard micro TV camera.
Across the 800-foot field, directly next to
the tree line is a 6-foot-tall plywood figure
holding a 6-foot-span model. It gives the RC
pilots perspective of danger.
2008
NEAT
Fair
Awards
Tom Hunt receives the AMA Distinguished Service
Award from AMA District II VP Gary Fitch (R). Next
to Tom is his wife, Eileen, and AMA President Dave
Mathewson on the left. Ray Juschkus photo.
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-power flying and being a
safe and successful modeler.
In addition, participant tents that sit two
rows deep in most places line the 1/4-mile
flying site. A stroll down the safety fenceprotected
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 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, twoand-
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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:39 AM Page 49
from a hotel, as I did, 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, though; 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, which was approximately 20
minutes away. 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/campsites
are for the correct weekend. Pilot
preregistration and vendor registration will
begin in May 2009. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
50 MODEL AVIATION
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 RC, LLC
Castle Creations
Central Hobbies
Dimension Engineering
Ductedfans.com/JepeUSA
FlightPower USA, Inc.
FMA Direct
GoBrushless.com
Hitec RCD/Mulitplex
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
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 44,45,46,47,48,49,50
February 2009 45
Bill Stevens of Stevens AeroModel sells magnificent laser-cut
kits; even this Shaft 25e is elegant in its own way. Best of all, it’s
as fun to build as it is to fly.
Noted indoor scale builder/flier Ken Carchietta’s 30-inch-span 1914
Donnet-Lévêque flying boat uses a 2500 Kv outrunner with a 3S, 500
mAh pack. It weighs 7.75 ounces.
Xavier Mouraux of Canada built this Balsa USA 1/4-scale Nieuport
and painted the fabric with household acrylic. It runs an AXi 53mm
motor and uses an 8S battery system.
Northeast Sailplane Products did a graceful aerotow demonstration using the
scale model shown and a 2-meter sport glider. A Sig Giant Rascal was the tow
airplane.
Above: Dan Greathouse of
Lazertoyz displayed this 17-inchspan
Mini Arrow that is powered
by one of the company’s new 10-
gram brushless outrunner
motors and a three-cell, 300 mAh
pack. The complete kit is $80.
Marty Ludwig flew this Sig King Cobra with an AXi 4130-16 and
an 8S 4000 mAh pack. Motor current is 28 amps. The model is
stock with cooling vents in the bottom.
Photos by the author and Bob Aberle except as noted 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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:52 AM Page 45
48 MODEL AVIATION
Nick Leichty showed this little
Pietenpol that was an electric-powered
Indoor FF Scale model. His Web site is
www.microflierradio.com.
Joe Malinchak’s beautiful scale
Stearman was outstanding in flight. It
spans 7.8 inches and weighs only 5
grams. He built it with printed
Durobatics foam.
Bob Selman Designs
introduced a brush-tobrushless
motor converter
to work with a new 0.6-
gram brushless outrunner
motor.
Martin Newell, a master of microflight,
flew this P-40 with full four-channel
control using his new Rabbit Hip-Hop
receiver.
Each of Martin Newell’s two-channel
Sharks weighs 495 milligrams and has a
wingspan of only 2.75 inches.
Nick Leichty showed this
new proportional-feedback
submicroservo that weighs
0.6 gram and supplies 8
grams of thrust.
Petter Muren of Norway
shared his complete line
of micro helicopters.
You can find them at
www.proxflyer.com.
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 then
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
for 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 (which is
approximately a 10-minute drive from the
campground). School officials now give
us access to their double-size gymnasium
for the purpose of flying our micro
aircraft.
This Saturday segment of indoor flying
is coordinated by Joe and Cindy
Malinchak, who write the bimonthly
“Micro-Flying” column for MA. The
session last year ran from 1 p.m. until 10
p.m. “Open flying” was allowed most of
the time.
From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., we witnessed
special flight exhibitions made by a series
of invited guest experts. Those fliers
included Matt Keennon, Petter Muren,
John Worth, Joe Malinchak, Robert
Guillet, and the entire Horizon Hobby
demo team, to name a few. Many newtechnology
items were presented at the
seminar and demonstrated at the school
gym.
You can find another report on these
activities in the October issue of RC Micro
World, which is a subscription webzine
that John Worth publishes. MA
—Bob Aberle
[email protected]
NEAT Fair E-Xtras
Sources:
Sergio Zigras
[email protected]
Joe and Cindy Malinchak
[email protected]
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
come and how great it had become. And
things were destined only to get better.
Nonetheless, 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 (almost four now)-day fun-fly.
Tom Hunt and his band of merry people
from the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
club in New York organize and run a gettogether
that focuses on the modelers’
primary needs. And 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 singlefacet
effort by any means. With vendors’
support, veteran modelers and beginners are
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:38 AM Page 48
On Saturday September 13, at the start of the noon demo, a special honor—the
AMA’s Distinguished Service Award—was given to Event Director Tom Hunt for all
his efforts to make the NEAT Fair one of the largest e-flys in the world.
In attendance for the presentation was AMA President Dave Mathewson, District
III Vice President Bob Brown, and District II (which includes New York and New
Jersey) Vice President Gary Fitch. The NEAT Fair’s assistant event director, Bob
Aberle, introduced these special guests, and then Gary Fitch presented the plaque to
Tom, whose wife, Eileen, was at his side.
Following are the honors that were given to NEAT Fair participants.
Best Sport Model: Thayer Syme’s own-design 52-inch-span Daddy-O
Best Military Scale Model: Dave Perrone’s 82-inch-span Fokker D.VIII
Best in Civilian Scale Model:
Ron Faanes’ 84-inch-span
Tiger Moth
Largest Model: Bill
Birkett’s 10-foot-span
Curtiss June Bug
Technical Achievement:
Rick Ruijsink’s 3.07-gram
micro, video-equipped
ornithopter
Most Talented Junior:
Riley Kissenberth
Tom Hunt indicated that
Riley was extremely
deserving of the award, but
he did not have the name
of this Junior’s model or a
photo of it. MA
—MA Staff
February 2009 49
Rick Ruijsink was honored with the
Technical Achievement Award for his
tiny 3.07-gram ornithopter that
features an onboard micro TV camera.
Across the 800-foot field, directly next to
the tree line is a 6-foot-tall plywood figure
holding a 6-foot-span model. It gives the RC
pilots perspective of danger.
2008
NEAT
Fair
Awards
Tom Hunt receives the AMA Distinguished Service
Award from AMA District II VP Gary Fitch (R). Next
to Tom is his wife, Eileen, and AMA President Dave
Mathewson on the left. Ray Juschkus photo.
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-power flying and being a
safe and successful modeler.
In addition, participant tents that sit two
rows deep in most places line the 1/4-mile
flying site. A stroll down the safety fenceprotected
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 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, twoand-
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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:39 AM Page 49
from a hotel, as I did, 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, though; 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, which was approximately 20
minutes away. 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/campsites
are for the correct weekend. Pilot
preregistration and vendor registration will
begin in May 2009. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
50 MODEL AVIATION
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 RC, LLC
Castle Creations
Central Hobbies
Dimension Engineering
Ductedfans.com/JepeUSA
FlightPower USA, Inc.
FMA Direct
GoBrushless.com
Hitec RCD/Mulitplex
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
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 44,45,46,47,48,49,50
February 2009 45
Bill Stevens of Stevens AeroModel sells magnificent laser-cut
kits; even this Shaft 25e is elegant in its own way. Best of all, it’s
as fun to build as it is to fly.
Noted indoor scale builder/flier Ken Carchietta’s 30-inch-span 1914
Donnet-Lévêque flying boat uses a 2500 Kv outrunner with a 3S, 500
mAh pack. It weighs 7.75 ounces.
Xavier Mouraux of Canada built this Balsa USA 1/4-scale Nieuport
and painted the fabric with household acrylic. It runs an AXi 53mm
motor and uses an 8S battery system.
Northeast Sailplane Products did a graceful aerotow demonstration using the
scale model shown and a 2-meter sport glider. A Sig Giant Rascal was the tow
airplane.
Above: Dan Greathouse of
Lazertoyz displayed this 17-inchspan
Mini Arrow that is powered
by one of the company’s new 10-
gram brushless outrunner
motors and a three-cell, 300 mAh
pack. The complete kit is $80.
Marty Ludwig flew this Sig King Cobra with an AXi 4130-16 and
an 8S 4000 mAh pack. Motor current is 28 amps. The model is
stock with cooling vents in the bottom.
Photos by the author and Bob Aberle except as noted 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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:52 AM Page 45
48 MODEL AVIATION
Nick Leichty showed this little
Pietenpol that was an electric-powered
Indoor FF Scale model. His Web site is
www.microflierradio.com.
Joe Malinchak’s beautiful scale
Stearman was outstanding in flight. It
spans 7.8 inches and weighs only 5
grams. He built it with printed
Durobatics foam.
Bob Selman Designs
introduced a brush-tobrushless
motor converter
to work with a new 0.6-
gram brushless outrunner
motor.
Martin Newell, a master of microflight,
flew this P-40 with full four-channel
control using his new Rabbit Hip-Hop
receiver.
Each of Martin Newell’s two-channel
Sharks weighs 495 milligrams and has a
wingspan of only 2.75 inches.
Nick Leichty showed this
new proportional-feedback
submicroservo that weighs
0.6 gram and supplies 8
grams of thrust.
Petter Muren of Norway
shared his complete line
of micro helicopters.
You can find them at
www.proxflyer.com.
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 then
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
for 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 (which is
approximately a 10-minute drive from the
campground). School officials now give
us access to their double-size gymnasium
for the purpose of flying our micro
aircraft.
This Saturday segment of indoor flying
is coordinated by Joe and Cindy
Malinchak, who write the bimonthly
“Micro-Flying” column for MA. The
session last year ran from 1 p.m. until 10
p.m. “Open flying” was allowed most of
the time.
From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., we witnessed
special flight exhibitions made by a series
of invited guest experts. Those fliers
included Matt Keennon, Petter Muren,
John Worth, Joe Malinchak, Robert
Guillet, and the entire Horizon Hobby
demo team, to name a few. Many newtechnology
items were presented at the
seminar and demonstrated at the school
gym.
You can find another report on these
activities in the October issue of RC Micro
World, which is a subscription webzine
that John Worth publishes. MA
—Bob Aberle
[email protected]
NEAT Fair E-Xtras
Sources:
Sergio Zigras
[email protected]
Joe and Cindy Malinchak
[email protected]
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
come and how great it had become. And
things were destined only to get better.
Nonetheless, 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 (almost four now)-day fun-fly.
Tom Hunt and his band of merry people
from the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
club in New York organize and run a gettogether
that focuses on the modelers’
primary needs. And 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 singlefacet
effort by any means. With vendors’
support, veteran modelers and beginners are
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:38 AM Page 48
On Saturday September 13, at the start of the noon demo, a special honor—the
AMA’s Distinguished Service Award—was given to Event Director Tom Hunt for all
his efforts to make the NEAT Fair one of the largest e-flys in the world.
In attendance for the presentation was AMA President Dave Mathewson, District
III Vice President Bob Brown, and District II (which includes New York and New
Jersey) Vice President Gary Fitch. The NEAT Fair’s assistant event director, Bob
Aberle, introduced these special guests, and then Gary Fitch presented the plaque to
Tom, whose wife, Eileen, was at his side.
Following are the honors that were given to NEAT Fair participants.
Best Sport Model: Thayer Syme’s own-design 52-inch-span Daddy-O
Best Military Scale Model: Dave Perrone’s 82-inch-span Fokker D.VIII
Best in Civilian Scale Model:
Ron Faanes’ 84-inch-span
Tiger Moth
Largest Model: Bill
Birkett’s 10-foot-span
Curtiss June Bug
Technical Achievement:
Rick Ruijsink’s 3.07-gram
micro, video-equipped
ornithopter
Most Talented Junior:
Riley Kissenberth
Tom Hunt indicated that
Riley was extremely
deserving of the award, but
he did not have the name
of this Junior’s model or a
photo of it. MA
—MA Staff
February 2009 49
Rick Ruijsink was honored with the
Technical Achievement Award for his
tiny 3.07-gram ornithopter that
features an onboard micro TV camera.
Across the 800-foot field, directly next to
the tree line is a 6-foot-tall plywood figure
holding a 6-foot-span model. It gives the RC
pilots perspective of danger.
2008
NEAT
Fair
Awards
Tom Hunt receives the AMA Distinguished Service
Award from AMA District II VP Gary Fitch (R). Next
to Tom is his wife, Eileen, and AMA President Dave
Mathewson on the left. Ray Juschkus photo.
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-power flying and being a
safe and successful modeler.
In addition, participant tents that sit two
rows deep in most places line the 1/4-mile
flying site. A stroll down the safety fenceprotected
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 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, twoand-
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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:39 AM Page 49
from a hotel, as I did, 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, though; 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, which was approximately 20
minutes away. 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/campsites
are for the correct weekend. Pilot
preregistration and vendor registration will
begin in May 2009. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
50 MODEL AVIATION
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 RC, LLC
Castle Creations
Central Hobbies
Dimension Engineering
Ductedfans.com/JepeUSA
FlightPower USA, Inc.
FMA Direct
GoBrushless.com
Hitec RCD/Mulitplex
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
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 44,45,46,47,48,49,50
February 2009 45
Bill Stevens of Stevens AeroModel sells magnificent laser-cut
kits; even this Shaft 25e is elegant in its own way. Best of all, it’s
as fun to build as it is to fly.
Noted indoor scale builder/flier Ken Carchietta’s 30-inch-span 1914
Donnet-Lévêque flying boat uses a 2500 Kv outrunner with a 3S, 500
mAh pack. It weighs 7.75 ounces.
Xavier Mouraux of Canada built this Balsa USA 1/4-scale Nieuport
and painted the fabric with household acrylic. It runs an AXi 53mm
motor and uses an 8S battery system.
Northeast Sailplane Products did a graceful aerotow demonstration using the
scale model shown and a 2-meter sport glider. A Sig Giant Rascal was the tow
airplane.
Above: Dan Greathouse of
Lazertoyz displayed this 17-inchspan
Mini Arrow that is powered
by one of the company’s new 10-
gram brushless outrunner
motors and a three-cell, 300 mAh
pack. The complete kit is $80.
Marty Ludwig flew this Sig King Cobra with an AXi 4130-16 and
an 8S 4000 mAh pack. Motor current is 28 amps. The model is
stock with cooling vents in the bottom.
Photos by the author and Bob Aberle except as noted 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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:52 AM Page 45
48 MODEL AVIATION
Nick Leichty showed this little
Pietenpol that was an electric-powered
Indoor FF Scale model. His Web site is
www.microflierradio.com.
Joe Malinchak’s beautiful scale
Stearman was outstanding in flight. It
spans 7.8 inches and weighs only 5
grams. He built it with printed
Durobatics foam.
Bob Selman Designs
introduced a brush-tobrushless
motor converter
to work with a new 0.6-
gram brushless outrunner
motor.
Martin Newell, a master of microflight,
flew this P-40 with full four-channel
control using his new Rabbit Hip-Hop
receiver.
Each of Martin Newell’s two-channel
Sharks weighs 495 milligrams and has a
wingspan of only 2.75 inches.
Nick Leichty showed this
new proportional-feedback
submicroservo that weighs
0.6 gram and supplies 8
grams of thrust.
Petter Muren of Norway
shared his complete line
of micro helicopters.
You can find them at
www.proxflyer.com.
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 then
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
for 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 (which is
approximately a 10-minute drive from the
campground). School officials now give
us access to their double-size gymnasium
for the purpose of flying our micro
aircraft.
This Saturday segment of indoor flying
is coordinated by Joe and Cindy
Malinchak, who write the bimonthly
“Micro-Flying” column for MA. The
session last year ran from 1 p.m. until 10
p.m. “Open flying” was allowed most of
the time.
From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., we witnessed
special flight exhibitions made by a series
of invited guest experts. Those fliers
included Matt Keennon, Petter Muren,
John Worth, Joe Malinchak, Robert
Guillet, and the entire Horizon Hobby
demo team, to name a few. Many newtechnology
items were presented at the
seminar and demonstrated at the school
gym.
You can find another report on these
activities in the October issue of RC Micro
World, which is a subscription webzine
that John Worth publishes. MA
—Bob Aberle
[email protected]
NEAT Fair E-Xtras
Sources:
Sergio Zigras
[email protected]
Joe and Cindy Malinchak
[email protected]
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
come and how great it had become. And
things were destined only to get better.
Nonetheless, 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 (almost four now)-day fun-fly.
Tom Hunt and his band of merry people
from the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
club in New York organize and run a gettogether
that focuses on the modelers’
primary needs. And 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 singlefacet
effort by any means. With vendors’
support, veteran modelers and beginners are
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:38 AM Page 48
On Saturday September 13, at the start of the noon demo, a special honor—the
AMA’s Distinguished Service Award—was given to Event Director Tom Hunt for all
his efforts to make the NEAT Fair one of the largest e-flys in the world.
In attendance for the presentation was AMA President Dave Mathewson, District
III Vice President Bob Brown, and District II (which includes New York and New
Jersey) Vice President Gary Fitch. The NEAT Fair’s assistant event director, Bob
Aberle, introduced these special guests, and then Gary Fitch presented the plaque to
Tom, whose wife, Eileen, was at his side.
Following are the honors that were given to NEAT Fair participants.
Best Sport Model: Thayer Syme’s own-design 52-inch-span Daddy-O
Best Military Scale Model: Dave Perrone’s 82-inch-span Fokker D.VIII
Best in Civilian Scale Model:
Ron Faanes’ 84-inch-span
Tiger Moth
Largest Model: Bill
Birkett’s 10-foot-span
Curtiss June Bug
Technical Achievement:
Rick Ruijsink’s 3.07-gram
micro, video-equipped
ornithopter
Most Talented Junior:
Riley Kissenberth
Tom Hunt indicated that
Riley was extremely
deserving of the award, but
he did not have the name
of this Junior’s model or a
photo of it. MA
—MA Staff
February 2009 49
Rick Ruijsink was honored with the
Technical Achievement Award for his
tiny 3.07-gram ornithopter that
features an onboard micro TV camera.
Across the 800-foot field, directly next to
the tree line is a 6-foot-tall plywood figure
holding a 6-foot-span model. It gives the RC
pilots perspective of danger.
2008
NEAT
Fair
Awards
Tom Hunt receives the AMA Distinguished Service
Award from AMA District II VP Gary Fitch (R). Next
to Tom is his wife, Eileen, and AMA President Dave
Mathewson on the left. Ray Juschkus photo.
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-power flying and being a
safe and successful modeler.
In addition, participant tents that sit two
rows deep in most places line the 1/4-mile
flying site. A stroll down the safety fenceprotected
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 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, twoand-
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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:39 AM Page 49
from a hotel, as I did, 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, though; 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, which was approximately 20
minutes away. 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/campsites
are for the correct weekend. Pilot
preregistration and vendor registration will
begin in May 2009. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
50 MODEL AVIATION
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 RC, LLC
Castle Creations
Central Hobbies
Dimension Engineering
Ductedfans.com/JepeUSA
FlightPower USA, Inc.
FMA Direct
GoBrushless.com
Hitec RCD/Mulitplex
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
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 44,45,46,47,48,49,50
February 2009 45
Bill Stevens of Stevens AeroModel sells magnificent laser-cut
kits; even this Shaft 25e is elegant in its own way. Best of all, it’s
as fun to build as it is to fly.
Noted indoor scale builder/flier Ken Carchietta’s 30-inch-span 1914
Donnet-Lévêque flying boat uses a 2500 Kv outrunner with a 3S, 500
mAh pack. It weighs 7.75 ounces.
Xavier Mouraux of Canada built this Balsa USA 1/4-scale Nieuport
and painted the fabric with household acrylic. It runs an AXi 53mm
motor and uses an 8S battery system.
Northeast Sailplane Products did a graceful aerotow demonstration using the
scale model shown and a 2-meter sport glider. A Sig Giant Rascal was the tow
airplane.
Above: Dan Greathouse of
Lazertoyz displayed this 17-inchspan
Mini Arrow that is powered
by one of the company’s new 10-
gram brushless outrunner
motors and a three-cell, 300 mAh
pack. The complete kit is $80.
Marty Ludwig flew this Sig King Cobra with an AXi 4130-16 and
an 8S 4000 mAh pack. Motor current is 28 amps. The model is
stock with cooling vents in the bottom.
Photos by the author and Bob Aberle except as noted 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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:52 AM Page 45
48 MODEL AVIATION
Nick Leichty showed this little
Pietenpol that was an electric-powered
Indoor FF Scale model. His Web site is
www.microflierradio.com.
Joe Malinchak’s beautiful scale
Stearman was outstanding in flight. It
spans 7.8 inches and weighs only 5
grams. He built it with printed
Durobatics foam.
Bob Selman Designs
introduced a brush-tobrushless
motor converter
to work with a new 0.6-
gram brushless outrunner
motor.
Martin Newell, a master of microflight,
flew this P-40 with full four-channel
control using his new Rabbit Hip-Hop
receiver.
Each of Martin Newell’s two-channel
Sharks weighs 495 milligrams and has a
wingspan of only 2.75 inches.
Nick Leichty showed this
new proportional-feedback
submicroservo that weighs
0.6 gram and supplies 8
grams of thrust.
Petter Muren of Norway
shared his complete line
of micro helicopters.
You can find them at
www.proxflyer.com.
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 then
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
for 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 (which is
approximately a 10-minute drive from the
campground). School officials now give
us access to their double-size gymnasium
for the purpose of flying our micro
aircraft.
This Saturday segment of indoor flying
is coordinated by Joe and Cindy
Malinchak, who write the bimonthly
“Micro-Flying” column for MA. The
session last year ran from 1 p.m. until 10
p.m. “Open flying” was allowed most of
the time.
From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., we witnessed
special flight exhibitions made by a series
of invited guest experts. Those fliers
included Matt Keennon, Petter Muren,
John Worth, Joe Malinchak, Robert
Guillet, and the entire Horizon Hobby
demo team, to name a few. Many newtechnology
items were presented at the
seminar and demonstrated at the school
gym.
You can find another report on these
activities in the October issue of RC Micro
World, which is a subscription webzine
that John Worth publishes. MA
—Bob Aberle
[email protected]
NEAT Fair E-Xtras
Sources:
Sergio Zigras
[email protected]
Joe and Cindy Malinchak
[email protected]
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
come and how great it had become. And
things were destined only to get better.
Nonetheless, 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 (almost four now)-day fun-fly.
Tom Hunt and his band of merry people
from the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
club in New York organize and run a gettogether
that focuses on the modelers’
primary needs. And 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 singlefacet
effort by any means. With vendors’
support, veteran modelers and beginners are
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:38 AM Page 48
On Saturday September 13, at the start of the noon demo, a special honor—the
AMA’s Distinguished Service Award—was given to Event Director Tom Hunt for all
his efforts to make the NEAT Fair one of the largest e-flys in the world.
In attendance for the presentation was AMA President Dave Mathewson, District
III Vice President Bob Brown, and District II (which includes New York and New
Jersey) Vice President Gary Fitch. The NEAT Fair’s assistant event director, Bob
Aberle, introduced these special guests, and then Gary Fitch presented the plaque to
Tom, whose wife, Eileen, was at his side.
Following are the honors that were given to NEAT Fair participants.
Best Sport Model: Thayer Syme’s own-design 52-inch-span Daddy-O
Best Military Scale Model: Dave Perrone’s 82-inch-span Fokker D.VIII
Best in Civilian Scale Model:
Ron Faanes’ 84-inch-span
Tiger Moth
Largest Model: Bill
Birkett’s 10-foot-span
Curtiss June Bug
Technical Achievement:
Rick Ruijsink’s 3.07-gram
micro, video-equipped
ornithopter
Most Talented Junior:
Riley Kissenberth
Tom Hunt indicated that
Riley was extremely
deserving of the award, but
he did not have the name
of this Junior’s model or a
photo of it. MA
—MA Staff
February 2009 49
Rick Ruijsink was honored with the
Technical Achievement Award for his
tiny 3.07-gram ornithopter that
features an onboard micro TV camera.
Across the 800-foot field, directly next to
the tree line is a 6-foot-tall plywood figure
holding a 6-foot-span model. It gives the RC
pilots perspective of danger.
2008
NEAT
Fair
Awards
Tom Hunt receives the AMA Distinguished Service
Award from AMA District II VP Gary Fitch (R). Next
to Tom is his wife, Eileen, and AMA President Dave
Mathewson on the left. Ray Juschkus photo.
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-power flying and being a
safe and successful modeler.
In addition, participant tents that sit two
rows deep in most places line the 1/4-mile
flying site. A stroll down the safety fenceprotected
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 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, twoand-
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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:39 AM Page 49
from a hotel, as I did, 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, though; 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, which was approximately 20
minutes away. 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/campsites
are for the correct weekend. Pilot
preregistration and vendor registration will
begin in May 2009. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
50 MODEL AVIATION
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 RC, LLC
Castle Creations
Central Hobbies
Dimension Engineering
Ductedfans.com/JepeUSA
FlightPower USA, Inc.
FMA Direct
GoBrushless.com
Hitec RCD/Mulitplex
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
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 44,45,46,47,48,49,50
February 2009 45
Bill Stevens of Stevens AeroModel sells magnificent laser-cut
kits; even this Shaft 25e is elegant in its own way. Best of all, it’s
as fun to build as it is to fly.
Noted indoor scale builder/flier Ken Carchietta’s 30-inch-span 1914
Donnet-Lévêque flying boat uses a 2500 Kv outrunner with a 3S, 500
mAh pack. It weighs 7.75 ounces.
Xavier Mouraux of Canada built this Balsa USA 1/4-scale Nieuport
and painted the fabric with household acrylic. It runs an AXi 53mm
motor and uses an 8S battery system.
Northeast Sailplane Products did a graceful aerotow demonstration using the
scale model shown and a 2-meter sport glider. A Sig Giant Rascal was the tow
airplane.
Above: Dan Greathouse of
Lazertoyz displayed this 17-inchspan
Mini Arrow that is powered
by one of the company’s new 10-
gram brushless outrunner
motors and a three-cell, 300 mAh
pack. The complete kit is $80.
Marty Ludwig flew this Sig King Cobra with an AXi 4130-16 and
an 8S 4000 mAh pack. Motor current is 28 amps. The model is
stock with cooling vents in the bottom.
Photos by the author and Bob Aberle except as noted 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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:52 AM Page 45
48 MODEL AVIATION
Nick Leichty showed this little
Pietenpol that was an electric-powered
Indoor FF Scale model. His Web site is
www.microflierradio.com.
Joe Malinchak’s beautiful scale
Stearman was outstanding in flight. It
spans 7.8 inches and weighs only 5
grams. He built it with printed
Durobatics foam.
Bob Selman Designs
introduced a brush-tobrushless
motor converter
to work with a new 0.6-
gram brushless outrunner
motor.
Martin Newell, a master of microflight,
flew this P-40 with full four-channel
control using his new Rabbit Hip-Hop
receiver.
Each of Martin Newell’s two-channel
Sharks weighs 495 milligrams and has a
wingspan of only 2.75 inches.
Nick Leichty showed this
new proportional-feedback
submicroservo that weighs
0.6 gram and supplies 8
grams of thrust.
Petter Muren of Norway
shared his complete line
of micro helicopters.
You can find them at
www.proxflyer.com.
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 then
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
for 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 (which is
approximately a 10-minute drive from the
campground). School officials now give
us access to their double-size gymnasium
for the purpose of flying our micro
aircraft.
This Saturday segment of indoor flying
is coordinated by Joe and Cindy
Malinchak, who write the bimonthly
“Micro-Flying” column for MA. The
session last year ran from 1 p.m. until 10
p.m. “Open flying” was allowed most of
the time.
From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., we witnessed
special flight exhibitions made by a series
of invited guest experts. Those fliers
included Matt Keennon, Petter Muren,
John Worth, Joe Malinchak, Robert
Guillet, and the entire Horizon Hobby
demo team, to name a few. Many newtechnology
items were presented at the
seminar and demonstrated at the school
gym.
You can find another report on these
activities in the October issue of RC Micro
World, which is a subscription webzine
that John Worth publishes. MA
—Bob Aberle
[email protected]
NEAT Fair E-Xtras
Sources:
Sergio Zigras
[email protected]
Joe and Cindy Malinchak
[email protected]
RC Micro World
www.cloud9rc.com
come and how great it had become. And
things were destined only to get better.
Nonetheless, 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 (almost four now)-day fun-fly.
Tom Hunt and his band of merry people
from the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
club in New York organize and run a gettogether
that focuses on the modelers’
primary needs. And 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 singlefacet
effort by any means. With vendors’
support, veteran modelers and beginners are
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:38 AM Page 48
On Saturday September 13, at the start of the noon demo, a special honor—the
AMA’s Distinguished Service Award—was given to Event Director Tom Hunt for all
his efforts to make the NEAT Fair one of the largest e-flys in the world.
In attendance for the presentation was AMA President Dave Mathewson, District
III Vice President Bob Brown, and District II (which includes New York and New
Jersey) Vice President Gary Fitch. The NEAT Fair’s assistant event director, Bob
Aberle, introduced these special guests, and then Gary Fitch presented the plaque to
Tom, whose wife, Eileen, was at his side.
Following are the honors that were given to NEAT Fair participants.
Best Sport Model: Thayer Syme’s own-design 52-inch-span Daddy-O
Best Military Scale Model: Dave Perrone’s 82-inch-span Fokker D.VIII
Best in Civilian Scale Model:
Ron Faanes’ 84-inch-span
Tiger Moth
Largest Model: Bill
Birkett’s 10-foot-span
Curtiss June Bug
Technical Achievement:
Rick Ruijsink’s 3.07-gram
micro, video-equipped
ornithopter
Most Talented Junior:
Riley Kissenberth
Tom Hunt indicated that
Riley was extremely
deserving of the award, but
he did not have the name
of this Junior’s model or a
photo of it. MA
—MA Staff
February 2009 49
Rick Ruijsink was honored with the
Technical Achievement Award for his
tiny 3.07-gram ornithopter that
features an onboard micro TV camera.
Across the 800-foot field, directly next to
the tree line is a 6-foot-tall plywood figure
holding a 6-foot-span model. It gives the RC
pilots perspective of danger.
2008
NEAT
Fair
Awards
Tom Hunt receives the AMA Distinguished Service
Award from AMA District II VP Gary Fitch (R). Next
to Tom is his wife, Eileen, and AMA President Dave
Mathewson on the left. Ray Juschkus photo.
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-power flying and being a
safe and successful modeler.
In addition, participant tents that sit two
rows deep in most places line the 1/4-mile
flying site. A stroll down the safety fenceprotected
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 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, twoand-
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
02sig2.QXD 12/22/08 11:39 AM Page 49
from a hotel, as I did, 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, though; 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, which was approximately 20
minutes away. 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/campsites
are for the correct weekend. Pilot
preregistration and vendor registration will
begin in May 2009. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
50 MODEL AVIATION
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 RC, LLC
Castle Creations
Central Hobbies
Dimension Engineering
Ductedfans.com/JepeUSA
FlightPower USA, Inc.
FMA Direct
GoBrushless.com
Hitec RCD/Mulitplex
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
