Neat Fair 2005 - 2006/01

IF YOUR IDEA of a fun vacation is to go
fly model airplanes, congratulations!
There’s a place where you can join
hundreds of other model-aviation fanatics:
an event called the Northeast Electric
Aircraft Technology, or NEAT, Fair.
I call it a vacation because the spot
selected for this electric-only event is deep
in the wooded terrain of the Catskill
Mountains in New York state. September is
the perfect time to visit because the summer
heat is past and the area has toned down
from all the hustle and bustle (if there is
such a thing in that part of the country) of
vacationers wandering through from around
the globe.
Through the efforts of CD Tom Hunt
and the tremendous volunteer support from
the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
(SEFLI) model airplane club, this year’s
NEAT Fair, held September 17-19, was a
landmark event. More than 225 pilots
registered, bringing models of every size
and shape from across the United States,
Canada, and even overseas.
The format for the weekend was
primarily fun-fly, but the CD Extraordinaire
covertly sought out the finest Scale model
and the best sport model for the “end-ofevent”
honors of Best in Scale and Best in
Sport. Among these honorees was a pilot
who logged the most flights. All of the
award winners were recognized in the “In
the Air” section in the December 2005 MA.
There was one other contest, the first of
its kind I’ll bet, that pertained to nightflying
and Pylon Racing. But I’ll get into
that shortly.
Many things make the NEAT Fair
special, one of which is that it’s a great
flying event held at a fantasy location in the
picturesque mountains of the northern
Appalachians. Many people would want to
come here for a weekend getaway, so why
not bring an airplane?
The location is actually a campsite
within a wide, open valley through which
the Delaware River winds. The name
“Peaceful Valley” is perfectly fitting for this
beautiful slice of Americana. The
atmosphere is friendly and the
accommodations have that country flair. If
you’re a nature-loving person who loves to
hit the great outdoors, I recommend a visit.
Oh, and while you’re packing those
hiking boots, load up an airplane. This is a
place to get away from it all, including cellphone
service.
Another thing that makes the NEAT Fair
special is that it’s three; no wait, four;
excuse me, five events in one. So when you
come to the NEAT Fair to enjoy flying your
airplane, you can also pitch a tent, listen to
the birds, and take care to attend one or
more of the long list of symposiumsJanuary 2005 37
bursting with talented guest speakers
teaching about many aspects of electric
modeling.
The lectures alone are worth the price of
attendance. We have Sergio Zigras to thank
for rounding up this special part of the
event. From motors to batteries to topsecret
nanoaircraft, there was a great deal to
learn.
And to complement that menu of
knowledge, manufacturers and distributors
exhibited their electric-modeling goods at
the NEAT Fair. It was as if you were in an
outdoor flea market, only with stuff you
really wanted to buy. Tents were lined up
along the quarter-mile stretch of the event
site.
Not only that, but the products displayed
and talked about out under those canopies
were on the flightline all weekend. It’s a
show-and-tell theater that influences
manufacturers to talk the talk and walk the
walk, so to speak. This is where many new
releases are debuted to the modeling public.
Such manufacturers as Hobby Lobby,
Esprit Model, and Northeast Sailplane
Products were active all weekend, flying
the airplanes that are bought and sold on
the hobby-shop shelves. The bonus is that
we got to see their favorite setups because
these models were their own creations, and
they were done right.
On the flip side, the NEAT Fair offers
modelers the opportunity to showcase their
aircraft before the manufacturers. People
such as Ales Pelikan—who owns Model
Motors and produces the extremely popular
AXI motors—made a special trip from the
Czech Republic as a survey and factfinding
venture to see his products used in
the field.
Ales is friendly and eager to hear
comments about his product. The idea is
that the things he learned by coming out to
talk to us will spill over into an even better
product down the road.
So far the NEAT Fair is a fun-fly, a
symposium, a trade show, and an indoor
event. That’s right; electric-powered
models are transforming indoor flying from
a tinkerer’s hobby into an everyday
sportsman’s pastime that is easy and
reliable enough for anyone to enjoy.
Saturday night at the Downsville High
School, less than a half-hour away, a
standing-room-only crowd of spectators
packed the gymnasium to witness highperformance
and minimal-performance
aircraft and helicopters.
Gordon Johnson directs this event at
every NEAT Fair. High technology never
looked so simple. Who would have thought
that RC aircraft could weigh less than an
ounce?
The NEAT Fair was also an air show.
Each day the noon demonstration flying
was scheduled. It was scheduled to be an
hour-long show, but Tom Hunt found that
his vessel of talented attendees was
overflowing and had to extend the
demonstration time to almost two hours.
An event such as this attracts major
A Mickey Nowell Jr. G3PO autogiro scratch-built from plans and modified to use E-Sky
collective-pitch mechanics. David Ramsey piloted the 30-inch-span model.
Laddie Mikulasko had no trouble flying his Canadair CL-415 firefighter from the grass. It
is well powered with MTM Outrunner motors and 9 x 6 propellers.
Steve Stratt originally powered his exquisite, decades-old, 30-inch-wingspan Albatros D.II
with a glow engine. An AXI Outrunner motor has given it new life.
Photos by the author
David Elias assembled this museum-quality 3 Sea Bees RC-20 Antoinette VII ARF.
With an AXI motor for power, Dave Baron performed the test hop.
Joseph Dellcetri prepares to launch his scratch-built Rita
sailplane. With a 4-meter wingspan, it weighs only 5 pounds.
Chuck Doud, Chris Klick, and Rick Lane with their 40-inch
flying wings from RiteWing RC. They use Mega 4 motors and
four-cell Li-Poly packs.
Benny Chi instructs his 3-year-old
son Justin. They fly an AXI motorpowered
Hobbico Hobbistar 60 with
regularity.
Joe Malinchak’s diminutive Hellcat flies with
a Plantraco radio and power system. The
construction is mostly foam.
38 MODEL AVIATION
players from within the hobby. Expert
pilots and builders were featured
during this special time to highlight
their talent and hopefully inspire those
watching to pursue their hobby
interests to the next level.
Last on the activity list was the
“official” night-flying event, which to
my knowledge remained un-named. I
call it official because night-flying
went on regardless.
From my rented cabin near the end
of the runway I could see shimmering
LEDs and Glowire dancing about sky
into the wee hours of the night. Then
come morning, obviously fresh off
charge, these models flew again at
dawn by pilots who I could swear were
still in their pajamas.
Official night-flying was a single
event in which rules dictated that only
aircraft weighing less than 8 ounces
total were allowed to compete. The
competition involved a racecourse. Did
I mention that it was at night?
Along the track outline were
Twelve-year-old Joseph Slezak prepares to fly
a scratch-built Chicken made from Dow
BlueCor foam.
Joe Beshar (L) and Dave Baron before a demonstration flight of Joe’s giant B-17.
Dave purchased the model roughly 10 years ago and still loves flying it.
Gene Sellers (L) holds Bob Hunt’s CL Genesis as Bob waits for the signal to begin
his demo flight. He plans to fly this model in the 2006 CL World Champs.
Laddie Mikulasko’s original Fire Dragonfly, which was released later as an ARF by
VQ Models. It uses a geared Speed 400 motor and has a 44-inch wingspan.
David Payne hand-launches his Vessa L-39
Albatros electric ducted-fan model. It uses a
Mega Motors 400, a two-turn brushless motor,
and a 3300 mAh Li-Poly battery.
Dave Lockhart drives his 56-inch-span MK Matlas
down the flightline knife edge. Power is a Hacker
B50/11S in a 6.7:1 gearbox on a 4S4P battery.
helium-filled balloons, which effectively
made it into an obstacle course. Not to worry;
the balloons were illuminated with tiny light
sticks. Did I mention that the shape of the
racetrack was a figure eight?
In addition, this is not just a race; it’s also
a game of dodgeball. If the pilot hits or
releases one of the balls (balloons), bonus
points are awarded. The object of the race,
game, or whatever you want to call it is to fly
the course and complete 10 laps within a fourminute
time frame, all the while trying to bust
balloons. During this time the pilot must also
avoid the other three competitors who are
trying to complete the same task.
If you can think of a name for this contest,
be sure to let Tom Hunt know; it’s his baby.
If that painted a picture for you, you could
image being in stitches laughing the whole
time during the contest. The event was
contested by 12 pilots in two rounds. I suspect
the winner was victorious not just because of
skill but by the process of elimination, in that
he was the last one standing (still flying) at the
end.
Bravo! This is one night-fly I’d come back
to see.
Friday night was the NEAT Fair banquet, but
I don’t count that as an event since it deals
with food. There wasn’t a single airplane
there, but some nice hobby-related prizes
were given away that included a JR radio and
some Li-Poly batteries that would be nice to
have.
Out of respect I must comment that the
food was excellent, as were the guests at the
banquet.
What I found most significant about the
NEAT Fair was the modelers it attracted.
They were everyday people like you and me,
out having a good time.
It seems that electric power excites the
tinkerer and invites modelers to dream-build
that special project. The ARF converts were
exceedingly popular. It was encouraging to
see all the revamped and scratch-built
creations crafted by modelers with
rejuvenated interest caused by the advantages
of electric power.
I spent a great deal of time at the NEAT
Fair just hanging around the flightline. This
gave me an opportunity to give pilots the
limelight and showcase their models in action.
I didn’t see everything, so if you search other
leading publications and the Internet you’ll
probably get the full impact of this event. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
40 MODEL AVIATION
Some of the smallest operating RC
helicopters in the world, designed and
built by Peter Muren of Norway who
ventures to the NEAT Fair every year.
A nickel is shown for size comparison.
An even smaller version is in the
background. These helicopters can
easily be flown in a living room or den.
For more information go to Peter’s
Web site: www.proxflyer.com.
US Airways Captain Joe Malinchak’s
tiny Piper L-4 weighs 1.4 ounces. It
earned the highest Scale points at the
2004 NIRAC Indoor Championship
held in Waterford, Michigan. The L-4
uses the Dynamic Web Enterprises
RFFS-100 micro RC system and two
magnetic actuators.
Art Villand’s “big” micro biplane weighs
1.5 ounces plus the weight of the
battery. Normally a two-cell, 135 mAh
Li-Poly pack does the job. A micro
brushless outrunner motor from Bob
Selman Designs (www.bsdmicrorc.com)
supplies power along with a Castle
Creations ESC. Two Falcon 1.7-gram
submicroservos provide rudder and
elevator control.
Matt Keennon’s two tiny Scale models.
On the left is his Ryan STA, at 3.5 grams
total weight. On the right is his S.E.5 at
only 2.5 grams total weight. Both are
controlled by muscle wire thermal-type
actuators. The S.E.5 is powered by a
single 20 mAh Li-Poly cell and can fly for
four minutes on a charge.
Art’s bipe in flight at the Downsville
High School gym.
A fleet of foam microsize, electricpowered
pylon racers by Bob Selman
Designs. They are powered by 7mm
pager motors. It is hoped that NIRAC
will run this event at its 2006
Championship, to be held in the Fort
Worth, Texas, area.
BY BOB ABERLE
NEAT Indoor Fly-In Highlights

IF YOUR IDEA of a fun vacation is to go
fly model airplanes, congratulations!
There’s a place where you can join
hundreds of other model-aviation fanatics:
an event called the Northeast Electric
Aircraft Technology, or NEAT, Fair.
I call it a vacation because the spot
selected for this electric-only event is deep
in the wooded terrain of the Catskill
Mountains in New York state. September is
the perfect time to visit because the summer
heat is past and the area has toned down
from all the hustle and bustle (if there is
such a thing in that part of the country) of
vacationers wandering through from around
the globe.
Through the efforts of CD Tom Hunt
and the tremendous volunteer support from
the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island
(SEFLI) model airplane club, this year’s
NEAT Fair, held September 17-19, was a
landmark event. More than 225 pilots
registered, bringing models of every size
and shape from across the United States,
Canada, and even overseas.
The format for the weekend was
primarily fun-fly, but the CD Extraordinaire
covertly sought out the finest Scale model
and the best sport model for the “end-ofevent”
honors of Best in Scale and Best in
Sport. Among these honorees was a pilot
who logged the most flights. All of the
award winners were recognized in the “In
the Air” section in the December 2005 MA.
There was one other contest, the first of
its kind I’ll bet, that pertained to nightflying
and Pylon Racing. But I’ll get into
that shortly.
Many things make the NEAT Fair
special, one of which is that it’s a great
flying event held at a fantasy location in the
picturesque mountains of the northern
Appalachians. Many people would want to
come here for a weekend getaway, so why
not bring an airplane?
The location is actually a campsite
within a wide, open valley through which
the Delaware River winds. The name
“Peaceful Valley” is perfectly fitting for this
beautiful slice of Americana. The
atmosphere is friendly and the
accommodations have that country flair. If
you’re a nature-loving person who loves to
hit the great outdoors, I recommend a visit.
Oh, and while you’re packing those
hiking boots, load up an airplane. This is a
place to get away from it all, including cellphone
service.
Another thing that makes the NEAT Fair
special is that it’s three; no wait, four;
excuse me, five events in one. So when you
come to the NEAT Fair to enjoy flying your
airplane, you can also pitch a tent, listen to
the birds, and take care to attend one or
more of the long list of symposiumsJanuary 2005 37
bursting with talented guest speakers
teaching about many aspects of electric
modeling.
The lectures alone are worth the price of
attendance. We have Sergio Zigras to thank
for rounding up this special part of the
event. From motors to batteries to topsecret
nanoaircraft, there was a great deal to
learn.
And to complement that menu of
knowledge, manufacturers and distributors
exhibited their electric-modeling goods at
the NEAT Fair. It was as if you were in an
outdoor flea market, only with stuff you
really wanted to buy. Tents were lined up
along the quarter-mile stretch of the event
site.
Not only that, but the products displayed
and talked about out under those canopies
were on the flightline all weekend. It’s a
show-and-tell theater that influences
manufacturers to talk the talk and walk the
walk, so to speak. This is where many new
releases are debuted to the modeling public.
Such manufacturers as Hobby Lobby,
Esprit Model, and Northeast Sailplane
Products were active all weekend, flying
the airplanes that are bought and sold on
the hobby-shop shelves. The bonus is that
we got to see their favorite setups because
these models were their own creations, and
they were done right.
On the flip side, the NEAT Fair offers
modelers the opportunity to showcase their
aircraft before the manufacturers. People
such as Ales Pelikan—who owns Model
Motors and produces the extremely popular
AXI motors—made a special trip from the
Czech Republic as a survey and factfinding
venture to see his products used in
the field.
Ales is friendly and eager to hear
comments about his product. The idea is
that the things he learned by coming out to
talk to us will spill over into an even better
product down the road.
So far the NEAT Fair is a fun-fly, a
symposium, a trade show, and an indoor
event. That’s right; electric-powered
models are transforming indoor flying from
a tinkerer’s hobby into an everyday
sportsman’s pastime that is easy and
reliable enough for anyone to enjoy.
Saturday night at the Downsville High
School, less than a half-hour away, a
standing-room-only crowd of spectators
packed the gymnasium to witness highperformance
and minimal-performance
aircraft and helicopters.
Gordon Johnson directs this event at
every NEAT Fair. High technology never
looked so simple. Who would have thought
that RC aircraft could weigh less than an
ounce?
The NEAT Fair was also an air show.
Each day the noon demonstration flying
was scheduled. It was scheduled to be an
hour-long show, but Tom Hunt found that
his vessel of talented attendees was
overflowing and had to extend the
demonstration time to almost two hours.
An event such as this attracts major
A Mickey Nowell Jr. G3PO autogiro scratch-built from plans and modified to use E-Sky
collective-pitch mechanics. David Ramsey piloted the 30-inch-span model.
Laddie Mikulasko had no trouble flying his Canadair CL-415 firefighter from the grass. It
is well powered with MTM Outrunner motors and 9 x 6 propellers.
Steve Stratt originally powered his exquisite, decades-old, 30-inch-wingspan Albatros D.II
with a glow engine. An AXI Outrunner motor has given it new life.
Photos by the author
David Elias assembled this museum-quality 3 Sea Bees RC-20 Antoinette VII ARF.
With an AXI motor for power, Dave Baron performed the test hop.
Joseph Dellcetri prepares to launch his scratch-built Rita
sailplane. With a 4-meter wingspan, it weighs only 5 pounds.
Chuck Doud, Chris Klick, and Rick Lane with their 40-inch
flying wings from RiteWing RC. They use Mega 4 motors and
four-cell Li-Poly packs.
Benny Chi instructs his 3-year-old
son Justin. They fly an AXI motorpowered
Hobbico Hobbistar 60 with
regularity.
Joe Malinchak’s diminutive Hellcat flies with
a Plantraco radio and power system. The
construction is mostly foam.
38 MODEL AVIATION
players from within the hobby. Expert
pilots and builders were featured
during this special time to highlight
their talent and hopefully inspire those
watching to pursue their hobby
interests to the next level.
Last on the activity list was the
“official” night-flying event, which to
my knowledge remained un-named. I
call it official because night-flying
went on regardless.
From my rented cabin near the end
of the runway I could see shimmering
LEDs and Glowire dancing about sky
into the wee hours of the night. Then
come morning, obviously fresh off
charge, these models flew again at
dawn by pilots who I could swear were
still in their pajamas.
Official night-flying was a single
event in which rules dictated that only
aircraft weighing less than 8 ounces
total were allowed to compete. The
competition involved a racecourse. Did
I mention that it was at night?
Along the track outline were
Twelve-year-old Joseph Slezak prepares to fly
a scratch-built Chicken made from Dow
BlueCor foam.
Joe Beshar (L) and Dave Baron before a demonstration flight of Joe’s giant B-17.
Dave purchased the model roughly 10 years ago and still loves flying it.
Gene Sellers (L) holds Bob Hunt’s CL Genesis as Bob waits for the signal to begin
his demo flight. He plans to fly this model in the 2006 CL World Champs.
Laddie Mikulasko’s original Fire Dragonfly, which was released later as an ARF by
VQ Models. It uses a geared Speed 400 motor and has a 44-inch wingspan.
David Payne hand-launches his Vessa L-39
Albatros electric ducted-fan model. It uses a
Mega Motors 400, a two-turn brushless motor,
and a 3300 mAh Li-Poly battery.
Dave Lockhart drives his 56-inch-span MK Matlas
down the flightline knife edge. Power is a Hacker
B50/11S in a 6.7:1 gearbox on a 4S4P battery.
helium-filled balloons, which effectively
made it into an obstacle course. Not to worry;
the balloons were illuminated with tiny light
sticks. Did I mention that the shape of the
racetrack was a figure eight?
In addition, this is not just a race; it’s also
a game of dodgeball. If the pilot hits or
releases one of the balls (balloons), bonus
points are awarded. The object of the race,
game, or whatever you want to call it is to fly
the course and complete 10 laps within a fourminute
time frame, all the while trying to bust
balloons. During this time the pilot must also
avoid the other three competitors who are
trying to complete the same task.
If you can think of a name for this contest,
be sure to let Tom Hunt know; it’s his baby.
If that painted a picture for you, you could
image being in stitches laughing the whole
time during the contest. The event was
contested by 12 pilots in two rounds. I suspect
the winner was victorious not just because of
skill but by the process of elimination, in that
he was the last one standing (still flying) at the
end.
Bravo! This is one night-fly I’d come back
to see.
Friday night was the NEAT Fair banquet, but
I don’t count that as an event since it deals
with food. There wasn’t a single airplane
there, but some nice hobby-related prizes
were given away that included a JR radio and
some Li-Poly batteries that would be nice to
have.
Out of respect I must comment that the
food was excellent, as were the guests at the
banquet.
What I found most significant about the
NEAT Fair was the modelers it attracted.
They were everyday people like you and me,
out having a good time.
It seems that electric power excites the
tinkerer and invites modelers to dream-build
that special project. The ARF converts were
exceedingly popular. It was encouraging to
see all the revamped and scratch-built
creations crafted by modelers with
rejuvenated interest caused by the advantages
of electric power.
I spent a great deal of time at the NEAT
Fair just hanging around the flightline. This
gave me an opportunity to give pilots the
limelight and showcase their models in action.
I didn’t see everything, so if you search other
leading publications and the Internet you’ll
probably get the full impact of this event. MA
Michael Ramsey
[email protected]
40 MODEL AVIATION
Some of the smallest operating RC
helicopters in the world, designed and
built by Peter Muren of Norway who
ventures to the NEAT Fair every year.
A nickel is shown for size comparison.
An even smaller version is in the
background. These helicopters can
easily be flown in a living room or den.
For more information go to Peter’s
Web site: www.proxflyer.com.
US Airways Captain Joe Malinchak’s
tiny Piper L-4 weighs 1.4 ounces. It
earned the highest Scale points at the
2004 NIRAC Indoor Championship
held in Waterford, Michigan. The L-4
uses the Dynamic Web Enterprises
RFFS-100 micro RC system and two
magnetic actuators.
Art Villand’s “big” micro biplane weighs
1.5 ounces plus the weight of the
battery. Normally a two-cell, 135 mAh
Li-Poly pack does the job. A micro
brushless outrunner motor from Bob
Selman Designs (www.bsdmicrorc.com)
supplies power along with a Castle
Creations ESC. Two Falcon 1.7-gram
submicroservos provide rudder and
elevator control.
Matt Keennon’s two tiny Scale models.
On the left is his Ryan STA, at 3.5 grams
total weight. On the right is his S.E.5 at
only 2.5 grams total weight. Both are
controlled by muscle wire thermal-type
actuators. The S.E.5 is powered by a
single 20 mAh Li-Poly cell and can fly for
four minutes on a charge.
Art’s bipe in flight at the Downsville
High School gym.
A fleet of foam microsize, electricpowered
pylon racers by Bob Selman
Designs. They are powered by 7mm
pager motors. It is hoped that NIRAC
will run this event at its 2006
Championship, to be held in the Fort
Worth, Texas, area.
BY BOB ABERLE
NEAT Indoor Fly-In Highlights