Scale Squadron Fly-In
by Randy Wilbur
The Scale Squadron of Southern California hosted the fourth annual Scale Fly-In the weekend of June 5–6, 2010, at the Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club field in Chino, California. The event has become a memorial to honor one of the club’s founding fathers, Jerry Ortego. Last summer 87 pilots from three states attended and flew more than 160 scale models during the weekend.
Event overview
- Venue: Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club field, Chino, California
- Dates: Fourth annual event — June 5–6, 2010
- Attendance: 87 pilots from three states; more than 160 scale models flown
- Memorial: Event honors founding member Jerry Ortego
Weekend schedule and activities
- Friday
- Zap Tap Room Friday-night mixer for registered pilots, crews, and guests.
- Saturday morning
- Breakfast at the field, pilot registration, safety checks, and pilots’ meeting.
- Flying began after the national anthem, with two entry points and five flight boxes in use.
- Saturday noon
- Demonstration by the Southwest Armor Group (an RC tank club from Southern California) featuring prop buildings and vehicles on the opposite side of the flying field.
- Simultaneous World War II model flyby created action on the ground and in the air.
- After the demonstration, pilots moved their aircraft to the middle of the runway and the public was invited onto the field to see the airplanes up close, meet owners, and vote for favorite models.
- Afternoon–dusk
- Pilots resumed flying until dusk.
Evening events
- Barbecue for pilots and families held in a Chino Airport hangar owned by three club members.
- The hangar houses full-scale aircraft including a P-51 Mustang, an AT-6 Texan, and an N3N Primary Trainer.
- The P-51 was started up for attendees to hear.
Awards
- Fifteen awards were presented, including Best Military and People’s Choice.
- The Commander’s Award, presented to the pilot who best exemplifies the spirit of the event, went to Tim Cardin.
- Tim received a plaque and a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 kit that honoree Jerry Ortego had kitted. Jerry’s wife, Phyllis Ortego, was present for the awards presentation. Tim, a Scale Squadron member, promptly built and finished the kit in Jerry’s competition colors.
Looking ahead — 2011 Scale Fly-In
- Dates: June 4–5, 2011, at the same Chino location.
- Improvements: The pit area will be doubled to accommodate more participants and eliminate the need for pilots to set up aircraft off-site.
- Saturday evening banquet will again be hosted in the Chino Airport hangar and will feature an auction of various new large-scale models and radios.
This event is becoming a major attraction on the West Coast. Make plans now to attend and see outstanding scale models in flight.
Randy Wilbur [email protected]
Sources
- Scale Squadron of Southern California — www.scalesquadron.com
- South West Armor Group — www.southwestarmorgroup.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
