“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan
I’m honored to meet many wonderful members while traveling on behalf of the AMA. Saul Levin and I struck up a conversation at the recent UAS4STEM event at the Patuxent Aeromodelers RC Club in Maryland. Our talk led to the Joe Nall event, and he started telling me a story that I thought had to be shared. Saul was kind enough to offer the story in writing. Enjoy.
There is always something to learn in this wonderful world of RC. This is especially true when we build an airplane. This is what the Joe Nall Valkyrie community build was really all about. The eight-year project was about more than just building an airplane. It was about allowing everyone to have an opportunity to learn something new and to stir their interest in aviation.
While working on this amazing aircraft, we had all kinds of people come by. There were children and young adults, older people (some of whom had never even built an airplane), and we even had master craft building experts who did stellar jobs.
While attending the 2008 Joe Nall fly-in, I still remember the announcement that anyone could come by the main hangar and build a rib for the wing. I remember feeling the excitement of being involved with such a remarkable aircraft. This airplane has a 20-foot wingspan and an approximately 14-foot fuselage. It’s rare that anyone builds an airplane this size from scratch. It’s even more of a rarity that we, as a community, get to actively participate in the building from start to finish.
Mark Davidson, the Joe Nall volunteer who came up with this amazing idea, wanted to give all of the people attending Joe Nall an opportunity to participate, even if they only came by and glued one
piece of balsa. What developed was one of the greatest aircraft builds ever. Friendships were born, interest in building blossomed, and fun and camaraderie ensued.
I had the opportunity to work on the project in 2008, 2014, and 2015. In 2008, the ribs for the wing were built in roughly four days. The wing halves were finished within the first week. After that, a new part of the airplane was built every year during each of the subsequent fly-ins.
When I came back in 2014, I helped finish the last little bits and pieces of the wing, helped mount the wing to the fuselage, and installed the radio. When I left the 2014 fly-in, I was determined to help Mark finish that project the next year. I took a picture of the airplane and put it on my desktop computer at work to remember what needed to be accomplished to get the Valkyrie in the air during the 2015 Joe Nall.
Mark and I agreed that we needed to get more people involved than ever before. We reached out and posted on many RC websites that we were striving to get the Valkyrie completed. RCGroups and Flying Giants were kind enough to post the story of the Valkyrie on their homepages.
This year was very productive in comparison to the previous years. As the week wore on, I could tell that flying the Valkyrie this year was going to become a reality. People came from everywhere. We even had some from the first year come for the 2015 build. Many were there from early morning until late at night every day.
Pat Hartness was instrumental in helping to create the steel wheels. When we balanced the aircraft, it was extremely tail-heavy. Pat went to the on-site metal shop at Triple Tree and took a solid round bar of steel and cut two 6-pound steel wheels that were mounted to the airplane immediately before the first flight. The Valkyrie balanced perfectly! It was time to fly.
Several people carried the airplane to the flightline. I briefed the pilot, Dustin Buescher, a test pilot for
Horizon Hobby, on the radio setup. After eight years, the moment of truth had come. As the airplane began to roll down the runway and pick up speed, the tail rose. Not even two seconds later it was up in the air. Everyone present who was involved with the build stood there and let out the loudest yells of joy imaginable watching the Valkyrie take flight. Hundreds of people of all skill levels came together over eight years to create this amazing aircraft and there it was, gracefully flying through the air. The airplane flew straight and true. To have a model built by hundreds of people fly that well and not need any trim was astounding. As the Valkyrie touched down, I felt a sense of relief and joy. It was home safely and in one piece.
What are the plans for 2016? Well, I’m trying to convince Mark to start a community build of a full-scale aircraft that will be turned into RC. We’ll have to see …
Fly and have fun!
