Drop in by the R/C Wings Hobby Supplies store to see their lasted R/C models, both ARF and RTF. For the more adventures, R/C flyers, recent kits are amazing as well. The store is less than half a mile from the Block-House 4-way stop, heading towards Mahone Bay.    

    The club is also affiliated with the Model Aircraft Association of Canada (MAAC), a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering and overseeing through promotional events and self-regulation material the orderly and safe development of R/C flying throughout Canada. It also administers a mandatory liability insurance plan for its members in addition to disseminating information on R/C flying safety rules and best practices.   

    Once every summer, the South Shore R/C Flying Club holds a fun fly event open to the public at the airfield where expert and beginner R/C pilots alike show their latest model aircraft creations and skills. The event is also a social one with many club members bringing their families and friends. It also attracts participants and visitors from afar which makes it really a regional flying event.    

    Given the number of participants, it is quite common to be able to watch a number of R/C aircraft doing their song and dance in what seems to be a narrow spot over the airfield, but generally at different altitudes. Sometimes pilots confer amongst themselves before sharing the skies above the airfield, and other times they simply go by implied rules of collision avoidance and courtesy.   

    Some of these model aircraft are not all that easy to fly due mainly to their high response capability (or control sensitivity) and/or lightness, thereby making for some pretty interesting landings to watch, especially when the wind kicks up turbulence on final approach.   

    Dead-stick (engine out) landings do happen at such fun flys and, depending on where the public’s attention is focused on, these landings will generate a fair amount of interest from onlookers with the occasional applause when the powerless R/C airplane makes a safe, graceful and strangely quiet glide back to the grass strip. For some pilots, engine-out landings seem like routine; in the case of others with less experience, one can feel tension in the air as the stricken airplane limps back to the field with barely enough altitude to spare. The more expensive the R/C airplane, the greater the concern for the aircraft’s owner and the sense of relief when all ends well.   

    High-performance stunt planes have a high power-to-weight ratio and can perform manoeuvers conventional aerobatic airplane pilots can only dream of.  Same with some advanced R/C helicopters.    

    Public and non-public zones are clearly marked in conformity with MAAC rules, the cosy club-house is spiffied up for good looks, lawn chairs are spread around and last but not least, a mouth-watering canteen service is set up by club volunteers. Money made from the canteen goes back into the club’s piggy-bank for the general upkeep of the club’s facilities and other sundry expenses.   

    This year’s event was held in perfect flying conditions under blue skies and mostly manageable winds. As in the past, there were some spectacular aerobatics, R/C model aircraft of all sizes, shapes and colours. In recent years, electric-powered R/C models are making inroads into this kind of fun fly, as the market for these quieter units is rapidly increasing.   

    Photos below are so recent, they are all I can post at this stage. Comments on the annual Fun-Fly will evolve with time. There is so much to observe, more than meets the eye.   

R/c Wings Logo

  

 See link to regional R/C Wings store and R/C promoter under “Useful Links.”    

 

Rotary Wings R/C aircraft: These are delicate yet fascinating machines. There are more moving parts to adjust and balance on advanced models than you can shake a stick at. The skills required to fly these advanced models take more time to develop and hone than in the case of r/c airplanes. 

Hovering in ground effect just before flight

  

From stable hover to

gentle forward movement checking out:

a) Control response and sensitivity

b) Engine readiness

c) Gyro- assisted stability, etc.

Initial hover is usually performed in ground effect for two reasons: 1) helicopters are less stable in ground effect and this provides a better opportunity to test gyro-assisted stability and the pilot’s proficiency with the machine before transitioning to in-flight movement.

From stable hover to forward tilt to gain speed.

  

Gain forward speed and some height. 

Throttle back some, relax and enjoy flying around or…

Go into full aerobatics, r/c helicopter model permitting. 

The R/C Fun-Fly was held in Blockhouse (Nova Scotia), near Mahone Bay, on Saturday, July 11, 2009.

Snoopy come home!

  

Here comes Snoopy the flyer.    

Good landing, Snoopy! What's that funny grin on your face? Too many flies in your teeth on the way down?

  

Great weather. Wind a little challenging above tree-level for beginner pilots and slow-flyer aircraft.    

At ground level, R/C models were landing and taking off both into or with the lower light winds.  Goes to show the difference in wind within a 50′ height difference.    

The craftsmanship and flying skills were astounding!    

Scale-like Cessna 182, most likely ARF out of the box.

  

In comes a mighty one

  

Closer yet. What is he up to?

  

Now you are talkin' !

  

Shooting straight up like a rocket

  

Low-altitude knife-edge pass

  

Yer good old "Kadett" trainer

  

Oops! "Kadet" trainer making a dead-stick landing...

  

... and made a perfect touch-down in one piece!

  

A beginner pilot's ideal electric-powered airplane

  

 

 

Aviation careers are often born with this kind of beaming smile

Well, what about this photo as a way to demonstrate convincingly to adult pilots, parents, educators, aviation promoters the immense joy that taking the controls of a small aircraft can bring to a youngster, even if for a few precious minutes in safe and stable flight conditions?

Need I comment on that young guy’s smile? Needless to say, flying attracts both male and female young flyers. Some are lucky enough to live near a youth-friendly flying club where an instructor will take them for a “short” ride with a little hands-on experience. What’s short by adults’ standards can feel like being lost in time – but not in space – for the youngster at the controls.

Other youngsters have a relative or a family friend who is a careful and youth-minded pilot and will gladly take them up for an initiation ride.

And then, there are organizations, mostly non-profit, dedicated to giving youngsters a taste of holding the flight controls of a small airplane by taking them for a sight-seeing tour or actually training them to fly solo in gliders, for instance.

Fortunately for me and other youngsters of my age, the Aéro-Club Royal de Belgique had such a program at the Saint-Hubert aerodrome in southern Belgium (see Google Earth photo on the “About” page of this blog).

Other than licensed relatives and friends or local youth-friendly flying clubs, there are more non-profit organizations in various parts of the world than I can list here. One organization worth mentioning in particular because of the sheer span of its youth program are the Young Eagles sponsored by the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association). In addition, the Airline Pilots’ Association, International (ALPA) has put together a website invitingly called Cleared to Dream, with loads of information, personal tales and advice aimed at people planning to become airline pilots.

Also, flight simulator programs available for use on home computers go a long way to entice youngsters to go from their computer joystick to the real world of flying.

Young R/C pilot with model powered glider

In the wonderful realm of remote controlled aircraft, I have seen son-father, grandfather-granddaughter teams launching in the spring an R/C aircraft they spent the whole winter building or assembling together. This type of activity makes for special family bonds in addition to new bonds with the world of aviation. So much can be learned about the principles of flight and aircraft design from R/C flight!

After flying ‘real’ airplanes from 1969 to 2000, I switched to R/C flying. I can assure you that the joy of flying an R/C plane for the first time was comparable to the one I experienced when I first soloed on a glider in Saint-Hubert (Belgium).

Very first powered glider I flew in in 1969 (still fying in 2001)

Either way, the first time at the controls is pure magic.

Maybe Darwin was wrong after all. The human race has evolved from the avian species.

P.S.: Please note that certain licensing requirements may apply to the pilot-in-command of an aircraft who hands over temporary control of the aircraft in flight to an unlicensed person.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your future Captain speaking..."