Orlando Helicopter Blowout
Heli event gives back to the community
by Andrew Griffith [email protected]
You might think that the biggest attraction in Florida in December would involve a roller coaster or a beach. Although those are certainly worthwhile activities, if you're into RC helicopters, the place to be is the Orlando Helicopter Blowout!
If your spouse or kids aren't into helicopters, no problem. Roller coasters and beaches are only a short drive away, while you get to enjoy the warm Florida weather surrounded by world-class pilots and some of the best people the hobby has to offer.
The 2011 Orlando Helicopter Blowout took place December 9–11 in Winter Garden, Florida. If you read my coverage of the 2010 Orlando Helicopter Blowout in Mark Fadely's April 2011 "RC Helicopters" column, you already know that the Orlando gathering is becoming one of the helicopter events to attend. This is not only the premier event in the Southeast, but one of the best in the entire country—and I've attended many events.
Event history and venue
Now in its fifth year, the previous events were hosted and run by two local clubs: The Orlando Radio Control Helicopter Society (TORCHS) and the Remote Control Association of Central Florida (RCACF). RCACF had been hosting the event, which was growing yearly, at its flying field in Apopka, Florida, near Orlando. Despite the best efforts of the host clubs, with the large number of pilots and campers and the amazing spectator turnout, the RCACF field felt cramped. In 2011 the organizers moved the Orlando Helicopter Blowout to TORCHS' home field in nearby Winter Garden, Florida.
To the best of my knowledge, the Orlando Helicopter Blowout is the second largest dedicated helicopter fly-in in the country, second only to the International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association (IRCHA) Jamboree, which hosted more than 900 pilots last year. The 2011 Orlando event attracted an astonishing 281 registered pilots, including some of the biggest names in the hobby.
Organization and volunteers
An event the size of the Orlando Helicopter Blowout is no small undertaking and requires a serious commitment from the host club. Volunteers are needed to run the registration booth, manage parking, make sure vendor areas are ready, and, most importantly, maintain a safe flightline. TORCHS appeared to have an "all hands on deck" effort from its members, because everything ran smoothly the entire time I was there. TORCHS members, including Dave Jeffery, David Blain, Jeff Jolley, and Mark Watkins, deserve credit for spending most of their weekend ensuring things ran smoothly.
A team is only as good as its leadership, and the Orlando Helicopter Blowout is run by three great people. TORCHS club treasurer Carey Shurley is the Contest Director (CD) and does more work before, during, and after the event than he will ever be given credit for. Club president James Cistola seemed to be everywhere I looked all weekend—probably because he was always on his Segway. Bert Kammerer, the pilot coordinator for the event, is a world-class pilot and an all-around good guy. With 281 pilots and a long list of sponsors and vendors, Bert had his hands full and still managed to put on several stunning demos with the new SAB Heli Division Goblin 700. As a fellow CD, I took notes—the Orlando Helicopter Blowout is a case study on how to successfully run a large fly-in.
Demo pilots and spectators
The noon demos usually steal the show at a large event, and there was an impressive list of demo pilots in Orlando. Aside from Bert, and in no particular order, demo pilots included:
- Bobby Watts
- Nick Maxwell
- Kyle Dahl
- Mitch Marozas
- Kyle Stacy
- Colin Bell
- Allan Austria
- Jeff Green
- Tim Jones
- Curtis Youngblood (the original 3-D pilot)
- Jeremy Strickland (from Jacksonville, FL, who flew his first-ever demo flight with the Miniature Aircraft Whiplash)
The Saturday afternoon demos attracted a large, enthusiastic crowd. No official spectator count was taken, but CD Carey Shurley estimated that at the height of the event more than 1,000 people were present.
With Darrell "Big D" Bell doing the commentary, the demo pilots got fast, low, and dirty. In a few cases, a couple of helicopters got really dirty. Many of the crashes were of the frame-crushing, main-shaft-bent-in-an-L-shape variety. Andy Panoncillo took home a plaque during the drawing and award presentation for the most spectacular crash of the weekend.
One quality that separates a good pilot from a great pilot is how they handle things when flights go bad. You get the feeling when watching these guys that they are never out of control of their machines. Demo pilots generally push the boundaries and, if something goes wrong, they will intentionally dump their machines in the dirt rather than try to save them and risk hurting someone.
Prizes and winners
Great door prizes are another staple of the Orlando Helicopter Blowout, and 2011 was no exception. The value of the prize pool nearly totaled a whopping $15,000. The grand prize, from Synergy and Experience RC, was a Synergy E6 and a Futaba 8FG radio system, bundled with a Castle Creations Ice ESC, Rail Blades, and Thunder Power 65C batteries. The model was already built, set up, and ready to fly. It was so ready to fly that after Raja Bortcosh won it, Matt Botos gave it a shakedown flight in front of Raja and the crowd.
Another major prize was the AvantGarde E6 kit, which came complete with a Castle Creations ESC, Nexus servos, a HeliCommand HC3-SX, Radix Blades, and a Scorpion motor. Several people took home helicopter kits, and many came away with blades, shirts, and other neat swag.
Other prizes and winners included:
- Outrage RC Velocity N2 helicopter: Robert Tate
- Century Helicopters Radikal G20 gas-powered helicopter: Angel Rojas
- Hobbico Thunder Tiger Titan X50 helicopter: Hugo and David Blanco
- Helibug T‑Rex gas conversion kit: Hugo and David Blanco
- Align RC USA T‑Rex 600e helicopter (donated by Assurance RC): Manny Rodriguez
- Miniature Aircraft USA Whiplash helicopter (donated by Heli Wholesaler): Michael Chancey
- Gift certificate for SAB Heli Division's soon-to-be-released Goblin 700 helicopter: Evangelos Simoglou
Night flying and special effects
The fun wasn't over when the sun went down. If you have watched any of the videos of night flying at IRCHA but haven't experienced it, the videos don't do it justice. After the noon demos, I didn't think I would see anything else that really "wowed" me, but as darkness fell the atmosphere became electric.
Demos started with small 3-D routines using programmable blades that scrolled messages to the crowd. Curtis Youngblood took center stage and flew his night helicopter farther and faster than I have ever seen; he was doing laps around the light poles at the far end of the field.
Bert Kammerer and Bobby Watts raised the stakes even further. Their routine included high-energy music, Digital Aerial Light Controlling Onboard Module (DALCON) system-equipped helicopters, and two propane-powered flame throwers belching columns of fire 20 feet high into the night. Bert told me they had applied for pyrotechnics as well but couldn't get a permit from the fire marshal because of the dry conditions.
The Chimp Systems DALCON synchronized the lighting system on both helicopters to the soundtrack. Bobby and Bert synchronized the flying, and someone else synchronized the flame throwers. The spectacle was worthy of a headline act in Las Vegas.
Final thoughts
Great weather (Ray and Kyle Stacy left snow behind), great flying, and great people—what more could you ask for? Don't miss the 2012 Orlando Helicopter Blowout, scheduled for December 7–9.
—Andrew Griffith
SOURCES: TORCHS www.torchs.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
