Carden Edge 540 air show demonstration
Bob Vigne (tromboneman77@hotmail.com) submitted several photos for “Viewfinder” that he took at the 2015 Keesler Air Force Base Air Show and Open House, held March 28-29 in Biloxi, Mississippi, but this shot was our favorite. Bob wrote:
“Have you ever watched an RC airplane take off from a full-scale runway at a United States Air Force Base? That’s exactly what happened at the 2015 Keesler Air Force Base Air Show and Open House. It’s all thanks to Mississippi Coast Radio Control Club (MCRCC) member Kenny Chandler, who heard an announcement that Keesler was looking for air show demonstrations. This gave him the idea and started the six-month process of having an RC flight demonstration at the air show.
“One of his first tasks was to contact a local favorite pilot, Mike Sauls, to see if he would be interested in flying a demonstration. Mike was immediately interested. After many phone calls and meetings, the RC flight demonstration was approved.
“The RC flight was scheduled to be the first flight of the day and was used to draw the crowd to the flightline. It was a 15-minute flight choreographed to music. The airplane was a 43% Carden Edge 540, powered by a DA-150, [and] swinging a 32 x 11 propeller.
“Once in the air, many thought it was a full-scale aircraft. After watching a high negative-G maneuver, a full-scale pilot was concerned for the pilot’s safety. It wasn’t until he heard the announcer talk about the RC aircraft that he was able to breathe again. Streamers on the wingtips highlighted the movements and were released halfway through the flight.
“[There were] 155,000 spectators [who] attended the air show. Exhibits on display were by Mike, MCRCC, the AMA educational trailer, and the local hobby shop as well. This was an excellent way to introduce people to our great hobby.
“A special thanks goes out to everyone who helped make this event possible.”
Bob used a Nikon D7000 with a 300mm lens in aperture priority mode to take the photos, with an f-stop of f/10 and an ISO of 640 at 1⁄1600 second.
Email your high-resolution “Viewfinder” photo and a short note telling the airplane or helicopter story to jays@modelaircraft.org.
