AirVenture: Through the eyes of an RC pilot
I grew up around full-scale aircraft. My uncle was a pilot and had a hangar on his property. My folks sometimes dropped me off at his place in the country and we rode motorcycles, played guitars, and flew around the countryside. My activities as a kid with my grandpa revolved around woodworking, guitar-picking festivals, and air shows. At one of these air shows, I saw my first Pitts biplane. That was the first airplane that I fell in love with. It is still my favorite full-scale aircraft.
Although I had heard of the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, I didn’t really know anything about it. Jim Bourke, the owner of RCGroups and Flying Giants, invited the RCGroups forum editors and me to hang out and experience AirVenture.
Jim flew to the event in the RCGroups/FlyingGiants Extra 330LX. None of us had laid hands on that airplane, so we were excited to see it. We loaded up my big, black truck and made the drive to Wisconsin!
On the way, we passed a vast number of wind turbines. We also had an up-close and personal experience with a crop-duster airplane. I thought these incidents all boded well for our trip.
Oh My Gosh, Oshkosh!
You might think that you know what you are getting yourself into when you head to an event such as this. You can compare it to Joe Nall Week, held at the Triple Tree Aerodrome in South Carolina. I know that Joe Nall is the largest RC event out there, so I had that in mind.
Well, friends, AirVenture is Joe Nall Week times 1,000! There were fields full of ultralights, vintage airplanes, and my favorite, a field full of warbirds! Add to that the scores of aircraft that people flew to the event. It was airplane nirvana!
Warbirds!
At one point, we were in “Fighter Town.” I know that for some generations of RC pilots, the fire was lit by World War II warbirds. The P-51 Mustang is probably the most-sold RC warbird. What I don’t think I really had before my day at AirVenture was the experience of seeing one up close and personal. It’s like seeing a 1968 Mustang (car).
While I was marveling at the Old Crow P-51 Mustang that was in front of me, I heard an engine fire up. The flight demonstration was about to begin, so these war machines were manned and headed to the runway.
One by one the P-51s rolled out, and then a P-40, and so on. I think I finally understood what this RC warbird thing was all about! At one point, there were so many warbird formations in the air that everywhere I looked, there were at least eight airplanes overhead.
Patty Wagstaff, Bob Hoover, and Harrison Ford
I then got to meet one of my full-scale aerobatics heroes, Patty Wagstaff. I even ate lunch next to Bob Hoover (if you
don’t know who he is, look him up). And Harrison Ford putted right in front of us in his de Havilland Beaver, flying the two-millionth Young Eagle flight!
The most mind-blowing thing we saw was an F-18 Super Hornet doing flybys and high-G turns right over the runway. I had never seen a jet of this size up close. It was so big and loud, and seemed to go beyond what was physically possible. I threw my arms in the air and yelled, “Wow!”
We were at the far end of the runway, away from the crowd, when an F-18 Super Hornet was in the air. When it landed, I realized it would taxi right in front of us! I got out my camera and had Matt Gunn and Jason Cole wave.
The cockpit was open and the aircraft was rolling right in front of us. I wasn’t getting the shot that I wanted, so I started wagging my leg in the air while I held the camera! Matt Gunn grabbed a photo of the radar intercept officer talking to the pilot, who was looking at me and laughing! I made that Super Hornet pilot laugh, which made my day!
RC at AirVenture
I managed to find many RC companies representing the hobby at the event. Horizon Hobby was in two locations. AMA had an RC flying area that we checked out on Friday. Chris Thomas from the MultiGP drone racing league was on hand because representatives from the Bladed Fury MultiGP chapter were holding FPV drone races.
From Full-Scale to RC
As a kid, I always thought that I would be a full-scale pilot when I grew up, but as time, location, and family took over, it never happened. I believe that is why I jumped into RC. Full-scale dreams are what fuel a lot of RC pilots, but I also know full-scale pilots who prefer RC.
From warbirds, to vintage aircraft, and even ultralights, those big airplanes are the relatives of what we fly at our RC fields. Even structurally, they are almost identical. Going to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh brought into focus my love of full-scale as a child and how it has lived on in my love of RC.
SOURCES:
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
www.eaa.org/en/airventure
RCGroups
www.rcgroups.com
FlyingGiants
www.flyinggiants.com
