Paul Bradley

If you have seen many movies released in recent years, you
have seen the handiwork of some amazing model makers. I
would imagine that those whose business it is to fabricate
miniature replicas for the movie industry would be so tired of
doing it all day that they would have little interest in
aeromodeling.

You never knew what you would see at the
SMALL fly-in. L-R: Steve Staples, Kevin Wilfong,
and Dan Berry perform a mass launch with Cox
Skycopters from Park Fleming. They were a
treat to watch, grabbing for altitude and then
settling gently back to the ground
As is Pat, Keith Sparks is an established
RCer who participated in FF this year.
Standing next to each other, Keith flew his
unique rubber-powered Aeronca Chief. I
describe it as “unique,” because Keith turned
the tables on everyone by reversing the
conversion of the Pat Tritle kit that was
designed for electric RC to rubber-powered
FF.
The Chief flew beautifully—perhaps too
beautifully. It caught some lift and made a
long flight that ended in the top of a tall tree
with dense leaves.
Eric Clutton, also known as Dr. Diesel,
walked around the event with his pet
parakeet, Willie, on his finger or his hat.
When Willie was taking a break, you would
find Eric and Joe Wagner collaborating on
running an engine or swapping notes.
On the topic of Joe Wagner, I need to
mention his friend, Brian Sodt, who provides
transportation for Joe to the event. This year,
Brian brought his 81/2-year-old son, Nathan,
who had a personal SMALL fly-in
experience.
Nathan received flight instruction from
Kevin Wilfong on Joe’s CL Flite Streak and
from Eddie Williams using Eddie’s RC
model. I hope the hook has been firmly set in
Nathan for him to become a lifelong modeler.