Micro-Flying
2022 NEAT FAIR
By Joe Malinchak | joemal@echoes.net
THE 2022 Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology (NEAT) Fair was held on September 16-19, 2022, in Downsville, New York, and it was a memorable one. I had several great projects planned for the event, but I only completed two new models: my CO₂-powered Cartoon Scale L-4 Cub and a Cartoon Scale Super Cub.
However, this event is not just about building and flying airplanes. It’s like attending a big family reunion. You get to spend time with your good friends, watch some beautiful models fly, and see what others are building and flying. What a great time!
The look of the event has changed throughout the years. When I first started attending, you had to show up early and claim a spot for your E-Z UP canopy. Now the flightline consists of large, rented tents placed from one end to the other. Each tent represents pilots who have joined together as a group to stake their claim on the field!
Vapor Games
One of the highlights of the NEAT Fair for me is the Vapor Games. Every year, the Jersey Coast Sport Fliers (JCSF) holds the event on the Thursday night of NEAT in the big-top tent. The Vapor Games are a fun, spirited contest, and the JCSF crew did a wonderful job of organizing and running the event.
The Vapor Games features two separate competitions, with a flyoff of the winners of each contest. The first event has pilots individually fly through hoops that are suspended from the ceiling of the tent. They have a minute to rack up as many points as possible for each hoop that they fly through.
Spencer Weigand won this event flying his Mini Vapor.
Next up was the carrier landing contest. Each contestant had a minute to make as many full-stop landings on the carrier deck as possible. Spencer also won this event, flying his Mini Vapor with great precision, and won the title of the Vapor Games champion.
Devin McGrath placed second flying a Vapor. I flew my new Cartoon Scale Super Cub that I made out of blue foam. The model flew well and helped me place third in the competition.
This event is great fun, and I am already looking forward to flying at next year’s Vapor Games!
Indoor Night at NEAT
My wife, Cindy, and I held Indoor Night at NEAT at the Downsville Central School gymnasium on September 16-17. The weather was so good at the main NEAT Fair event that our spectator count was low, but I think all of the pilots who participated had a great time.
I had a few requests to do a livestream on my YouTube channel. This was my first time doing a livestream, so it didn’t go as smoothly as I had planned. I was trying to use my GoPro camera, but I couldn’t get it to work. I did, however, get my phone camera to work, and you can see an hour or so of each day’s event, as well as some highlights, on my YouTube channel, which is listed under my name.
We had some impressive models flying this year, such as Ross Clements’ CO₂-powered biplane. The model featured a powerful, throttled CO₂ motor. Ross let me try the model out, and I had a ball doing touch-and-gos with it! I also flew my CO₂-powered Cartoon Scale L-4 Cub. Gordon Johnson flew several of his great Cartoon Scale designs, as well as his micro F3P model.
Mike Cripps and his wife, Sandy, always bring some beautiful, scale, micro models with them. I was impressed with Mike’s 19-inch wingspan Messerschmitt Me 209 V1 prewar German racer. The model features laser-cut balsa construction and Solarfilm Lite covering. He also put in some nice flights with his 5.3-inch wingspan, 1/100-scale F-22 Raptor. Sandy had her amazing submicro, molded carbon-fiber Cootie Rogallo, which flew well! Jin Woo Choe returned this year with a nice variety of great-flying, beautiful scale models.
The NEAT Fair, as well as the Indoor Night at NEAT event, are worth attending if you are looking for some good modeling fun. I always see something and learn something new.
SOURCES:
NEAT Fair
www.neatfair.org
Joe Malinchak’s YouTube channel
www.youtube.com/user/joemal214/featured
