District IV
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland,
North Carolina, Virginia
Brainbuster’s 80th Anniversary
Bob Sowder, District IV associate vice president, shared the following about the Brainbuster’s Free Flight Club’s 80th anniversary:
The rich history of the Brainbuster’s Free Flight Club, located in Newport News, Virginia, began in 1942 when the club was formed. This club is celebrating its 80th year, marked by an impressive past and an eye to the future of the Free Flight (FF) sport.
President Dean Giacopassi said that the club takes pride in the history of current and past members. These individuals include Abram Van Dover, who served countless years as the club president and newsletter editor; Bob Champine, who became the third civilian to break the sound barrier; and others who were recruited by NACA, NASA’s predecessor, to develop World War II aircraft.
On the eve of WW II, NACA, also located in Newport News, needed pattern makers to build large propellers to drive high-speed wind tunnels for the development of warplanes. Aeronautical engineers were in short supply, so NACA initiated civil service jobs to anyone who had built, flown, and formally competed with model airplanes. These young modelers, many from the Brainbuster’s Free Flight Club, built massive propellers out of spruce, 45 feet in length, that were balanced and accurate to within 0.01 inch.
Today, Brainbuster’s has approximately 40 members. It is an extremely active club that holds regular meetings and Indoor and Outdoor rubber-powered FF events. The club also works with high school students in the Technology Student Association and Science Olympiad programs. Dedicated and forward-thinking members of Brainbuster’s, along with the DC Maxecuters and Carolina Free Flight Association, work together and see these educational programs as a link to the future of model aviation.
Brainbuster’s has a new Indoor site at Highland Springs High School in Richmond, Virginia. The school’s new gym has a 30-foot ceiling, which makes it a great place to fly—and learn to fly—rubber-powered Indoor models. Participants from Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, as well as area high school students, come together for Indoor flying sessions there.
Brainbuster’s, in association with the National Free Flight Society (NFFS), will return to one of the most acclaimed Eastern US Indoor flying sites on July 1-3, 2022. East Tennessee State University’s Mini Dome will be the site of the three-day Abram Van Dover Memorial Indoor Contest. Additional information can be found on the Brainbuster’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/brainbusterffc) and AMA’s Event Calendar (www.modelaircraft.org/event-calendar).
If you have never seen the art, skill, and beauty of flying an Indoor model airplane, I urge you to have a look at the many resources that are available to get started, including the NFFS website, at www.freeflight.org.
