Hobby Works staff participated in two different airshows on June 8th and 9th, 2002.  The first was the inaugural Warbird Fly-In at Free State R/C Club's Konterra Field in Laurel, Maryland; the second was the County Appreciation Day at DC-RC's Walt Good Field in Germantown.

Dale and Bob setting up at Konterra.

On Saturday, at Konterra, warbirds (military aircraft from WWI through WWII) were the theme, and there were many of them.  One of our favorites was Harry Sejour's Hangar 9 P51D ARF, which he purchased from Kevin at our Laurel store.  Harry painted the tail and nose red to match the color scheme of the aircraft of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black group of fighter pilots who had the distinction of never losing a single bomber they escorted.  In addition to his decorations, Harry also installed flaps (the kit includes retracts) and says that while the plane lands very well without them, it floats ever-so-gently to earth with them.  He also didn't like the idea of putting the rudder and elevator servos in the tail, so he "put them on the CG where they belong!"  Harry is a member of the host club, Free State R/C.

Harry Sejour shows off his P51D.

One of the "guests" at Konterra was General Douglas MacArthur himself, who -- unlike our customers and R/C model magazine reviewers -- doesn't think very highly of the livery of the GWS Zero!

The stars of both events were the DC/RC show team, who thrilled the audience with their giant planes.  These big planes (mostly ¼ scale) fly about the same speed as the more common 5-6 ft. R/C aircraft, and therefore are incredibly realistic.  Most of the time, it is impossible to tell that you are seeing a model 300 feet away rather than the real thing at ¼ mile!

Andy Kane and his awesome SBD!                                     Doug Harper with his beautiful Zero.

On Sunday, we went to Germantown, Maryland for the DC-RC's County Appreciation Day.  Montgomery County installed a 600 foot paved runway in a stream valley park for the Club's use, and DC-RC wanted to thank the County and its citizens for their generosity.  A note:  this partnership would not have been possible if DC-RC were not an AMA-chartered club; the County was not prepared to assume the liability risk of R/C aircraft without AMA insurance, and that is one reason why DC-RC is renowned for its strict safety policies.  The field is named after Dr. Walt Good, a founding member of the Club best known for building and flying the first R/C model airplane in 1937.  That plane - named "Guff" - now resides in the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Courtney, Bob and James at Walt Good field.

One of Hobby Works' Rockville store's regular customers, Francis Person, is famous for his various electric and diesel-powered airplanes, several of which he flew on Sunday.  While we don't stock the kits, Francis notes that almost everything in the planes, from hardware to radios, was purchased at Hobby Works.  Thanks Francis!

   Francis Person with one of his diesels.                      More of Francis' diesel & electric fleet!

One of the more interesting aircraft was Bill Savage's Great Planes 60 Stik, piloted by "Baron Von Nasty."  The Baron is in fact a picture of the late George Pickerel of the DC/RC Show Team.

Doug Harper, Louis Goldbert, Bill Savage and Baron Von Nasty.

Finally, one of the stars of the show was Tony Mazielo's jet Bobcat (Bob Violett models), which was powered by a real miniature turbojet!  This model has to be seen (and heard) to be believed.  It is capable of 200 mph, and gives new meaning to the word "impressive."

We at Hobby Works really enjoyed attending both of these airshows, and encourage our R/C aircraft customers to join these fine clubs, both of which have formal training programs for new pilots.  Thanks again.

See you at the field!

Copyright (c)2002, Hobby Works; Photos by Bob Aberman