PRO BRO NASHBRO 2006
By Jim Graham
The Profile Brotherhood
The Profile Brotherhood, or Pro Bro, is a group of pilots whose lifeblood is 3-D and profile models. The online Pro Bro forum, where this group typically communicates, now has more than 4,000 members and over 200,000 posts.
To understand the Pro Bro, you have to attend one of the group's fly-ins. Most people who go once are hooked. In 2006 alone there were more than 24 such events across the U.S., as well as in Australia and Mexico. These pilots live, eat, and sleep 3-D.
This group is really about the people and the shared devotion to 3-D flying. As one member, "Pro Bro Tailtwister," put it: "There are a few truly gifted individuals that are genius-level people that love 3-D and profiles. These guys push the rest of us to be better, and I intend to get every drop of knowledge from them I can. I give back by helping newer guys with the same questions I used to have."
"When you mix this group up, add glow fuel and lithium to the recipe, incredible things happen ... there is no feeling like it."
One thing I hear repeatedly from Pro Bros is that until they discovered 3-D and profile models, the hobby was getting boring for them. I know some people find profiles unattractive, but many of those same skeptics come to love them after just one flight. Pro Bros are more function-over-form types, and if you fly a profile aircraft you will start to see them as beautiful.
One thing you will notice while attending a Pro Bro event is that these are some of the best 3-D pilots in the country. You won't find them at contests; these are fliers who like to fly the way they want, when they want. Many Pro Bros are also respected members of their local aeromodeling communities, serving as club presidents, vice presidents, and safety officers. The average age of a Pro Bro member is 31 to 45 years—a young crowd that is all about having a good time flying models with good people.
You will hear many different reasons why people are members of the Pro Bro, but the last part of the name is the real reason: "brotherhood." I have repeatedly seen Pro Bros helping other brothers they have never met, not only in the hobby but outside of the hobby.
When time allows, visit www.theprofilebrotherhood.com and browse through the posts to get an idea of how these pilots support one another.
NashBro (Nashville Pro Bro) Fly-In
For the last four years I have hosted the NashBro fly-in for the Pro Bro. Every year the event improves. To describe the 2006 NashBro I have seven words for you: "The best Pro Bro of all time."
Imagine a four-day RC event that has no competitions, no time frames, no demonstrations, no raffle, no landing fee, and no whining. I asked the Pro Bro members what they wanted to do at the first Nashville Pro Bro event, and they all said they wanted to fly—a lot!
It seemed that the less there was on the schedule, the more the Bros liked it, so I began whittling away everything that is done at a standard fly-in. Now there is only one real event: the mass hover. It’s a sight to behold. The first mass hover occurred at the first NashBro; the event director ran up and down the pits shouting, "Mass hover at 12:04!" and a tradition was born.
The Pro Bros start flying at 8 a.m. and don’t stop until 10 p.m. It is hard-core 3-D action that makes most people stop and stare. For the Bros it is a time to fly, swap stories, and hang out with other Pro Bros.
Our event is held in a little town outside of Nashville called Leipers Fork. We fly on a private 224-acre field that can’t be built on for the next 100 years. The only thing nicer than the town of Leipers Fork is the people of Leipers Fork. With the help of those such as Aubrey Preston, Deb Warnick, and Bryce and Liz Custer, we were able to put on an event that was free to the pilots and to the many families and spectators who stopped by to see the show.
Before I could commit to the 2006 event, I had to meet with the Williamson County Board of Zoning Appeals. This was a daunting task, and I didn’t know if it was going to allow the event. When I finished speaking, the person in charge of Williamson County tourism stepped up to support the event. The president of the Leipers Fork business council did the same, and then, to all of our surprise, two county commissioners addressed the board in support of the fly-in, based on the success of last year’s event.
The townspeople donated lights that allowed us to fly until 10 p.m. every night. A neighbor to the field mowed the flightline twice in four days, and everyone in town treated us like royalty. I can’t describe the feeling of being supported by a whole town.
Event Highlights
- A mass hover tradition that draws pilots and spectators alike.
- Flying from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m., featuring intense 3-D action.
- A full-scale Pitts biplane aerobatic display by a friend of the event.
- Local media coverage: two television stations ran stories and the local paper published a feature.
- A high-speed car chase on the field that ended in my "arrest."
How about that car chase? I was running from "Johnny Law" in a 1968 Dodge Charger, a la The Dukes of Hazzard, and was "cuffed and stuffed" by Leipers Fork’s finest. The money raised to get me out of "jail" was given to a local pilot who had a motorcycle accident. The Bros even pitched in bail money, which went to charity.
Besides flying, the Bros enjoy building and covering profile models and sharing techniques and knowledge. There is nothing like pulling your chair up to a nice, warm bonfire after a long day of flying.
All agreed that NashBro 2006 was the best 3-D bash yet. We had Pro Bros travel from across the U.S. to fly and hang out with like-minded 3-D RC pilots. The question everyone asked was: how are we going to top it next year?
More Media
To see videos of the full-scale Pitts airshow, the mass hover, the police chase, and more, go to: www.rcgroups.com/brostock-2006-410/
Jim T. Graham [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
