Giant Scale and full-scale aircraft combined
Hal Singer (Lodi, California; email: webmaster@tokayrcmodelers.com) took this photo during the 2015 Castle Giant Scale Fly-In located near Merced, California. The fly-in, held Memorial Day weekend, took place at an old air force base that is now used as a civilian airport.
Hal explained that it’s a huge RC event with great attendance and many vendors. For 19 years, it was a premier International Miniature Aircraft Association Giant Scale event and now continues as a Giant Scale fun-fly, drawing participants from many surrounding states, as well as a large turnout of spectators.
Hal wrote:
“While watching the RC pilots put on their show, I noticed everyone quickly landing. Then the announcer told everyone to look to the east. Imagine our surprise when this gorgeous P-51 Mustang made a full-throttle low pass down the runway! It was quite the crowd-pleaser with the thunder of the engine and the speed. The pilot then proceeded to make other passes in both directions, then a slow flight to allow for photos to be taken.
“While I’m watching all [of] this, I was regretting that I hadn’t brought my Nikon digital camera—I just had my cellphone camera. Then, much to my surprise, after the Mustang landed, it taxied directly in front of me, resulting in this great cellphone photograph. Indeed, my lucky day!
“If you look in the upper right side of the photo, you will see an RC flier hovering his 40% Extra. What a combination.”
Do you have an airplane, helicopter, or multirotor photo that you are proud of, or a model aviation-related photo with a great story behind it? Email your high-resolution “Viewfinder” photo and a short note about it to jennifer@modelaircraft.org, or submit it online at www.ModelAviation.com/viewfinder.
