Peaceful flying mornings on the lake
Dave Cyr ([email protected]), Cumberland, Maine, submitted this photo of his floatplane taken at Lower Kimball Pond, located in western Maine near Fryeburg. He wrote:
“We’ve vacationed there for six years and have flown there for all that time. Last year I thought I had broken my record with 27 flights. With 43 flights this year, that may be hard to beat, but I will give it my darndest.
“The mornings are cool with lake fog and dead quiet. I usually wait until 9 a.m. to fly and give the neighbor camps a chance to wake up. They will always grab their coffees and sit to watch me fly. There’s a westerly breeze for one-notch flap takeoffs. It’s an absolutely fun and easy plane to fly on land, water, and snow.
“The plane is a Flyzone Beaver that I painted differently. Other members have the same plane and I wanted to distinguish mine from theirs. I used Montana Cans spray paint and primer. Also, the plane has a MrRCSound unit with the sound of a Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engine.
“The decals are from Callie Graphics.
“I’ve also recently painted the new E-flite Carbon Z Cub, equipped with sound and decals. I’ve got a ‘few’ planes, but my best flying planes are the Flyzone Beaver and the E-flite Carbon Z Cub.”
Pilot and club
A member of the Greater Portland, Maine, Propsnappers, Dave has been flying for five years. He purchased the Beaver at Ray and Robin’s Hobby Center in Falmouth, Maine, owned by Ray LaBonte, who is also an AMA District I associate vice president under Andy Argenio.
Camera details
Dave noted that the photo was taken with his cellphone. “The camera I used—and you’ll get a kick out of this—was just a simple Samsung S4 smartphone held very tight in my hands so that I wouldn’t drop it in the water.”
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Shutter speed: 1/182 second
- ISO: 50
Submit your photo
Email your high-resolution “Viewfinder” photo and a short note telling the airplane or helicopter story to [email protected], or visit www.modelaviation.com/viewfinder.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
