Radio Control Helicopters - 2011/04

110 MODEL AVIATION
2010 Orlando Helicopter Blowout
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Helicopters Mark Fadely
J.C. Zankl (Phoenix AZ) performs for the crowd at the 2010
Midwest Sundowners’ fun-fly. This is a great first-of-the-season
event to attend in the Midwest.
Mitch Marozas flew in the XFC last year, and he brings his highintensity
flying style to every event he attends. He flew his T-Rex
700 with violent precision at last year’s Midwest Sundowners
gathering.
Mike Fortin (L) announces a flight by Matt Botos and his assistant,
Amy Botos. Matt and Amy make a great team and have competed
worldwide.
Kyle Stacy and Bert Kammerer put on tandem flights that rocked
the crowd of hundreds during the Orlando Heli Blowout.
HELLO, HELICOPTER PEOPLE. It’s good to see that you
have found your way back to MA’s world of rotary again.
Occasionally I ask readers to send in material, questions, or
other information. This month Andy Griffith makes his second
appearance in the helicopter column with a great write-up.
He is active on forums and attends many events. This past
December Andy took in the Orlando Blowout, and following is his
colorful report about the gathering.
“While our friends to the north had already seen winter’s first
snowfall, the helicopter flying in Florida was as hot as it’s been all
year. The Orlando Radio Control Helicopter Society (TORCHS),
in cooperation with the Radio Control Association of Central
Florida (RCACF), hosted the 2010 Orlando Helicopter Blowout
from December 10th through the 12th 2010.
“RCACF gave over the club’s flying site and provided staffing
for the event while CD Carey Shurley and Pilot Coordinator Bert
Kammerer made most of the arrangements. The RCACF field is
located in Apopka, Florida, just a few minutes outside of Orlando.
“The 2010 Blowout closed a busy event schedule in the
southeast that starts right back up again January 15 in Statesboro,
Georgia, for the Clintstone Birthday Bash.
“RCACF has a great field with covered pits, a paved runway,
and plenty of open area, but the event is growing so quickly that
rumor has it TORCHS is looking at locations for the 2011 event
that can accommodate more pilots, RVs, and spectator parking.
“Event organizers learned from the 2009 event and closed off
parking in the pits to pilots only and opened a separate parking
area just for spectators. Spectator parking alone accounted for over
200 vehicles.
“The 2010 Blowout has grown steadily each year and this, its
third year, was no exception. The final registration count was a
whopping 228 pilots. Preregistration worked well as only one pilot
who preregistered failed to show up at the event. Estimates place
total attendance in the range of 700-plus people at the height of the
event during the afternoon demos on Saturday.
“The flightline was packed during the demos and a long list of
sponsored pilots made the Blowout a worthwhile trip for spectators
and fellow pilots alike. The only helicopter event that I’m aware of
in the US that surpasses these numbers is the IRCHA Jamboree at
AMA Headquarters in Muncie [Indiana] in August of each year.
“What makes the Orlando Helicopter Blowout such a success?
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April 2011 111
Lana Ng (Jacksonville FL) watched her dad, Richard, fly his Logo 600
at the Orlando event. It’s a get-together that everyone can enjoy.
Tim Jones’s tricked-out Beast is an electric 90-size helicopter that
boasts up to 14 horsepower.
The first and most obvious attraction (that doesn’t have mouse
ears) is the weather.
“While it wasn’t perfect Florida weather, Kyle and Ray Stacy
departed Rochester, New York, leaving snow flurries and singledigit
temperatures in their wake. When given a choice between
cold and snow, or daytime highs in the 60s, it’s not hard to
imagine why a lot of our fellow pilots from the north made the
trip.
“Another factor is the attraction of a long list of well-known
pilots. Not everyone can make the trip to IRCHA each year so the
chance to drive a few hours to talk to these folks and watch them
fly in person is a huge draw.
“Even with the high-quality videos available online these days,
it still doesn’t compare to seeing these guys in person. Plus,
watching them on YouTube doesn’t give you a chance to hang out
and talk with them.
“The last key ingredient was the impressive prize pool. Even
with a mediocre economy, many retailers and manufacturers
stepped up and provided a whole tent full of pilot prizes and raffle
items.
“Shirts, hats, and even blades were being given out throughout
the day by emcee Mike Fortin to spectators and pilots alike. A lot
of people left with goodies of some sort on Saturday. The prize
pool for this year’s Blowout was in excess of 15 thousand dollars.
“The list of sponsored pilots who were on hand was impressive
as well (my apologies in advance to anyone I might have missed).
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“The first was our host Bert Kammerer,
though due to his responsibilities was only
able to fly a few times on Saturday. Bert
flew a great tandem demo with Kyle Stacy
set to high-energy music that thrilled the
entire flightline.
“Matt Botos was on hand accompanied
by his lovely wife, Amy. Matt flew a great
demo with his Synergy N9 that featured
three more Synergys joining the chase for a
game of follow the leader.
“Nick Maxwell was doing auto rotations
onto a card table that was placed out on the
flightline. My first thought was that he was
going to try to fly under the table and that I
might need to relocate to a safer place to
take pictures.
“Tom-Erik Rolfson came all the way
from Norway and put the new Thunder
Tiger Raptor X50 through its paces several
times throughout the day as Team Thunder
Tiger was well represented. Another
Thunder Tiger pilot who flew very well
was 10-year-old Alon Barak from Israel.
“Other pilots of note included Team
Outrage Pilot Lucas Riva who came all the
way from Switzerland and was joined by
fellow team member Andrea Pousi who
came in from Italy. Leon Luke and Colin
Bell from Canada, Kyle Dahl fresh off a
win at the 2010 XFC [Extreme Flight
Championships], Joe Kaulbach from
Germany, Mitch Marozas, Andy
Panoncillo, and many others were there.
“With over two hundred pilots it would
normally be hard to single someone out but
I got to spend a few minutes with Tim
Jones from Simi Valley, California, and
talk about his amazing electric helicopter.
Tim does R&D [research and development]
for Castle Creations and his helicopter
serves as a test bed for their prototype
motors and speed controllers.
“His helicopter, nicknamed ‘the Beast,’
started out life as a T-Rex 700 but the stock
airframe couldn’t absorb all of the power
they were pumping into it so he custom
made a set of beefier (an understatement)
gears and frames. A consumer T-Rex 700
seems to pack a pretty good punch at
around 4 horsepower.
“Tim’s prototype machine sustains 6.5
hp and peaks in the neighborhood of 14 hp!
Power gets to the Align rotor head via a
Castle 160HV speed controller and 12S
65C Thunder Power batteries.
“If you’re visiting the Florida area there
are events with great people and great
flying all year round. In addition to
Orlando, Jacksonville, Daytona,
Melbourne, Mulberry, Port Charlotte,
Tampa, and Gainesville all host events and
more are added every year. Throw in the
events in Dalton, Statesboro, and
Andersonville, Georgia, and you can go to
almost two helicopter events a month
within a couple of hours drive.
“Attending events even as a spectator is
a great way to see incredible flying and get
a wealth of setup and flying help and
advice. Hope to see you at one soon!”
Thanks a lot for the great report, Andy.
It’s nice to know that there is a good event
to attend when the weather turns ugly up
north.
We will be enjoying our first outdoor
event here in the Midwest in April. The
Midwest Sundowners R/C Flying Club is
holding its popular fun-fly in Hobart,
Indiana, this year on Saturday April 23.
Hobart is located roughly an hour from
Chicago, Illinois, and the flying field is
wide open and excellent. The address is
471 North County Rd. 650 West.
Pilots from around the area flock to this
fun get-together to shake off the rust of not
flying outdoors for a while. I hope to see
you there. One of the best things you can
do to enhance your RC helicopter
experience is attend a fun-fly.
Until next month, keep the rotors turning. MA
Sources:
TORCHS
www.torchs.org
Midwest Sundowners R/C Flying Club
www.midwestsundowners.com
International Radio Controlled Helicopter
Association
www.ircha.org
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