I HAD JUST returned from my second
year attending the Joe Nall Giant Scale
Fly-In and was busy editing photos from
the trip when the phone rang. It was Jay
Smith, assistant editor of MA, asking me
if I wanted to attend the 2010 National
Electric Fly-In (NEFI), to be held June
25-27, and cover it for the magazine. He
told me that he couldn’t because he was
the event CD.
My first thought was, “Sure!” Then I
realized that I had used all the vacation
time I had until July.
“I’ll have to think about it and get
back to ya,” I told Jay. Lucky for me, the
young lady I work with was willing to
trade some days so I could attend the flyin.
I called Jay back and told him I would
be there.
I was excited to go to NEFI when the
time came. I grew up in New Haven,
Indiana, but I haven’t called Indiana home
since 1989 and had been back only twice
in the last 10 years—both times in the
winter.
I called my parents, my sister, and my
aunt, who all live less than a three-hour
drive from Muncie, and I invited them to
bring the grandkids. I was doing my part
to help them catch the aeromodeling bug.
I had been to AMA Headquarters only
once, not long after it had opened in the
mid-1990s, and, again, it was wintertime,
so there wasn’t much to see. My, how
things have changed—for the better!
The first thing I noticed as I pulled in
on Thursday evening was the beautiful
AMA Headquarters building. It is separate
from the National Model Aviation
Museum, unlike the last time I visited.
The next thing that struck me was how
big and beautiful the International
Aeromodeling Center property is—more
than 1,000 acres of lush, thick grass, dotted
with the few necessary buildings, parking
areas, CL pads (including a fenced area for
Speed events), and the little house on the
hill that serves as Event Headquarters
during the Nats. Site 3, where NEFI was to
be held, was in the middle of it all.
Sandy Frank of the Munsee Skychiefs
conceived NEFI four years ago, to bring
electric-power RC pilots/hobbyists
together for a weekend of casual flying and
fun. This year the AMA was handed the
reins, and it ran with it. CD Jay Smith, co-
CD Michael Ramsey, and other AMA
staffers and volunteers put forth a great
deal of effort to make this a premier event
for aeromodelers.
This year’s NEFI was also a charity
event for two great causes: the Animal
Rescue Fund (A.R.F.) of Muncie and the
AMA’s own museum. Take the hint here;
if you want to get in good with your
community, hold an event to benefit a
local charity.
A.R.F. is a no-kill animal rescue
association that provides shelter, medical
care, love, and hope to abandoned, abused,
or neglected animals, until they are placed
in permanent homes. This group makes
every effort, through public awareness,
education, and community involvement, to
prevent animal cruelty, suffering, neglect,
and overpopulation, and to eliminate
euthanasia as a form of “animal control.”
A.R.F. relies on donations of time, money,
and supplies to continue its efforts.
A great deal had changed since my
first, and only, visit to the National Model
Aviation Museum, which also benefited
from NEFI. The facility’s exhibits cover
aeromodeling from the early days of
simple hand-launched gliders to today’s
miniature turbine-powered jets and large
models that NASA uses for research and
development. Several aircraft on display
mark the beginnings of some of the
technology we take for granted today.
At the field, tents were up at Site 3 for
pilot registration, vendors, flight training,
spectators, and a special guest. The paved
crosswind runway was a treat for many,
and grass-field areas were available
(groomed and ungroomed) for those who
preferred a softer surface.
AMA’s first Ambassador—Robert
“Hoot” Gibson—was on-site all weekend
to meet and greet, sign autographs, and
participate in daily flying, which included
the full-contact combat event.
Vendors’ row featured everything a
modeler could want or need for the
weekend. There were motors, batteries,
propellers, LEDs, kits, and ARFs (the
flying kind). Many of the companies
donated items to the raffle that went on
throughout the weekend and participated in
the noontime demos on Friday and
Saturday.
One vendor who caught my eye was
Marc Stermer of Rabid Models and his
profile scale warbird foamies. Many of
those designs were of World War II-era
aircraft, and they looked as realistic up
close (which is surprising for a flat foamie)
as they did in the air.
I think the best thing I saw was the
“Flight Experience” center under the main
tent, where three Phoenix flight simulators
ran all weekend. They were available for
the uninitiated (and experienced modelers)
to learn what flying models is all about.
Volunteers who staffed the simulators
spent time with the participants until they
were proficient enough to make a few
circuits without crashing. At that point, the
beginners would have their hands stamped
and be sent to a separate flightline, where
they were paired with an instructor. Then
they got to fly a real model (the E-flite
Apprentice 15E) on a buddy box.
I saw people at the simulators and on
buddy boxes all weekend. That’s a great
way to help people “catch the bug.”
Open flying was the norm. There were
daily noontime demos by Avery Poole
with Precision Aerobatics, Marc Stermer
of Rabid Models, and Bill Stevens of
Stevens Aeromodel. Keith Shaw flew his
beautiful Bugatti racer, and Dave Grife had
52 MODEL AVIATION
10sig2_00MSTRPG.QXD 8/20/10 12:00 PM Page 52
his de Havilland Mosquito and “Ike” racer.
A few special events had also been
planned. There was a ParkZone Radian
sailplane contest on Friday and Saturday,
in which six to eight participants took part
over a small hill at Site 5. I was hoping to
fly in one of those, but I missed both while
photographing the events at Site 3.
On Saturday there were two additional
contests, one of which was Warbird Pylon
Racing. Most entrants flew ParkZone
models that were (supposed to be) limited
to 1350 mAh batteries.
Then there was “The Main Event”: fullcontact
combat with the AMA
Ambassador. Five-time space shuttle
commander, former fighter pilot, and
active RC modeler Robert “Hoot” Gibson
flew an airplane that was donated by GWS
Props and customized with graphics by
Fast Grafix.
It was a foregone conclusion that Hoot
would be the main target during the
competition; even he knew it. What
surprised many, including himself, was
that he managed to keep his model in the
air almost to the end.
Perhaps that was because of his
superior skill as a Miramar TOPGUN
alum, or maybe it was the fact that there
was a breeze and depth perception is
nearly impossible when flying RC
airplanes. It was most likely his superior
skill.
54 MODEL AVIATION
!"# $%&'( )*+#" ,'- .*/'01%&# 23- 45446 7,8 999-:;//0+*"<&%=;>':->%1
!"#
!"#
$%&' ())*+,-'./'0)(1*-(1'2,))'34--%5647'847'697466)%'
54--%56*4-:',-;'*-6%7-,)':%7+4',71:<'=,59*-%;',)(1*-(1'
>,))'?4*-6:'@74+*;%','8())'7,-A%'48'146*4-B'@%71*66*-A'488C,D*:'
4@%7,6*4-<'E-*F(%':@7*-A')4,;%;B':6%%)':)%%+%'94);:'@),6%;'
:6%%)'>,))'G71)H'*-'@),5%'H%6'%,:*)H'7%)%,:%;'847'59,-A%:'
,-;'G-,)',;?(:61%-6<'IC!J'697%,;%;' 6%%)'>,))'*-5)(;%;<
Set Up Faster & Fly Smoother...
Have a Ball.
!""#$%&'("!)#&!)'
*%""'+,&&-./,01
$!$%
&&
!"#$%$&!''
!"#$%&$'()$*%+)$",-(.
&!(!*$/%0,123)%45
!"#$% &'($! )*$+%,-.#' /.0"-12%3+"4%5+*6%7189$1
#&+8($%:;$$+'
(-1($1% &'($!'
<".(1"+% &'($!'%<"!=".$.('
!"#$!%&'!()'*+,'
-%.%$!/'0)!1'!()'
"2345.26
!"I
!"K
In the end, the winner was the guy
whose aircraft had enough battery
capacity to stay airborne. Everyone else’s
slowly lost power and fell out of the sky.
Also making appearances during the
weekend were the Muncie Police
Department and Ball State University
Police K-9 Units, demonstrating how
their dogs are trained to search for illegal
contraband and take down fleeing
criminals using their strong jaws. (Note
to self: Don’t become a criminal.)
On Saturday evening all pilots and
volunteers were treated to an all-you-caneat
pizza and breadsticks dinner that the
AMA provided. That was followed by a
slideshow presentation by Hoot,
chronicling his life as an aeromodeler
and how it coincided with his career as a
naval aviator and space shuttle
commander.
At one point during his talk, Hoot
recalled having to learn Russian for a trip
to Space Station Mir. To his surprise, and
the amusement of many, one of the
modelers at the presentation understood
Hoot’s Russian. He admitted that it was
rusty.
That was an entertaining story. Hoot
is a great role model for younger
generations to admire.
Just because the sun went down didn’t
mean that the action stopped at NEFI.
When the moon (a full moon, by the
way) began to rise, night-flying began.
AfterDark LED Products donated a
lighting kit as a prize for the fan-voted
favorite model at the night-fly. (Maybe
the winner should have had the airplane
with the fewest lights.) Resourceful pilots
who didn’t have lights on their aircraft
used vehicle headlights to illuminate an
area in which they could fly.
On Sunday morning a few pilots were
out and about getting in some flights, but
most were breaking down their camps
and preparing for the drive home. For
me, that was a long drive back to Mobile,
Alabama.
The weekend had turned out great,
despite a stronger wind than was hoped
for on Saturday. And there was a threat
of rain that, thankfully, never
materialized.
The official count was 88 registered pilots
for this edition of NEFI, and I predict that
next year will see double that amount, if
not more. I had so much fun that I’m
already looking forward to it.
I hope to see you at the next NEFI,
which is scheduled for June 24-26,
2011. MA
T.J. Rohyans
[email protected]
Sources:
National Electric Fly-In
www.modelaircraft.org/events/NEFI.aspx
RCGroups NEFI thread:
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.p
hp?t=1228598&page=28#post15448217
10sig2_00MSTRPG.QXD 8/20/10 12:01 PM Page 54
