Central Tarheel
HOT AIR BALLOONS in modeling? You are quite right. The last time we checked, there were no categories listed under Free Flight, Control Line, or Radio Control for hot air balloons. Why, then, is this article in a modeling magazine? Public relations is the answer. For four days in May this year (the 11th through 13th), a major happening occurred at the Burlington Municipal Airport, Burlington, NC in the form of the Central Tarheel Balloon Race. Why we tell you about this is because of the participation of the Burlington Alamance Radio Kontrol Society. The primary sponsor was the Alamance Chamber of Commerce, ably represented by Arnold Arrowood. The racing was under the auspices of the National Balloon Racing Assn., represented at Burlington by William Meadows, president, and James Meadows, vice-president.
Blue Max II
IF YOU'RE LOOKING for the right airplane to compete in the fun-fly events around your area, the Blue Max II is it. This plane is very maneuverable at high and low speeds, and it is also stable at the same time. It goes exactly where you point it, nowhere else. The Blue Max was designed two years ago when I decided to replace my K&B .40-powered Little Stik with a plane that would be more precise on the controls, especially at slow speeds. This new plane also had to have enough drag to make it slow down quickly when the throttle was pulled back, enabling it to land quickly. It had to be light-weight with enough power to be able to go straight up indefinitely from takeoff.
Busy Bee
FREE FLIGHT IS ALIVE and well! It may need a little sprucing up here and there, but nothing in aeromodeling can match the thrill of witnessing your latest project wheeling overhead, whether in light lift or in a genuine monster thermal. Watching the model speck out on that solid max flight amply justifies those frenzied hours of designing, building, and testing. Today's smaller flying sites have spawned several new events, among them the very successful P-30 Rubber class, Walt Mooney's West Coast Bostonian for 14-gram models, and any number of Scale and semiscale events promoted by the Flying Aces Club. Many newcomers to the Free Flight community have entered through these classes.
