RC Slope Soaring

Author: Greg Schutte

Edition: Model Aviation - 2025/12
Page Numbers: 72, 73, 74

Greg Schutte with fellow pilots at the Midwest Slope Challenge

THE YEAR’S JOURNEY

AS THE YEAR ENDS, focusing on one singular idea to write about has been a real struggle. This year has been full of ideas and many adventures, and some of these ideas are finally being realized.

One idea is to put my building supplies into a portable configuration so that I can build anywhere. Another is visiting and flying at new sites in different states. I was lucky enough to fly at multiple sites in multiple states on the same day this year. I’ve also met new friends from all over the country and am finally just spending time with my family.

My job requires that I travel a lot. I spend more than a hundred days a year in a hotel room—now I stay in one hotel for weeks at a time. This used to really deter me from building. I would switch over to building Indoor Free Flight models. I could carry all of the stuff I needed to build those in a small tote.

When I moved, I put all of my items to build in a large tote. I ended up building my Zagi and F-86 from what I had in it. This gave me the idea to keep it all in the tote and travel with it. It is bulkier, but that’s what luggage carts are for. The looks I get are interesting when I walk out of the elevator at the hotel to go outside to sand or paint an airplane fuselage or wing!

I try to participate in the yearly build that the California pilots put on. I have a nice Bearcat to build this winter in the hotel. I’m also working on some new airplanes for next year’s Midwest Slope Challenge.

Traveling also brings the adventure of finding new places to fly. My Alula and Sparrow really make it fun to find a potential site and just try it out. The goofy looks and the many questions that I get asked by curious bystanders

Turtle Rock above a sports complex in Irvine, California — Turtle Rock, in Irvine CA, looks like a good reason for the author to visit his daughter at college.

sometimes make it hard to fly. They are always amazed at the airplanes themselves and have never really seen them before. I try and answer the questions as best I can, but sometimes it seems that I’m answering more questions than flying. “For the record, they are not drones and they don’t have cameras on them” is the answer to the question that I most commonly get.

While I travel a lot with my job, I also try to travel for fun. Going to the Midwest Slope Challenge in Lucas, Kansas, was a complete blast. The pilots I met were all cool. I even saw some cool airplanes. On my way home from Kansas, I stopped and

flew in three different states on the same day. Later in the year, I spent some time in North Dakota and flew at some of the old

spots that I hadn’t visited in a couple of years (I used to travel a lot to fly paragliders and hang gliders). My landing gear isn’t

An Alula flying over a Wyoming grassland — The Alula got some airtime in Wyoming on the author’s way back to Idaho.

Greg’s Sparrow flying over Lake Sakakawea — Greg’s Sparrow rips over Lake Sakakawea at the viewing point in Newtown ND.

working as well as it used to, though, so I might need to travel more for RC Slope Soaring. Learning to fly full-scale gliders is hopefully in my future.

Hanging out with my family is always the number-one priority when I get home. The kids usually maul me when my pickup stops in the driveway. I have a large family, so there is always someone with whom I can spend time.

One of my daughters is attending Concordia University in Irvine, California. There is a slope hill really close to there that I’m going to have to fly. I looked it up and it’s called Turtle Rock.

My son is now a senior in high school. I taught him to fly RC airplanes and speed wings years ago, and it’s always fun to fly with him. My uncle, Bob Gillespie, is also always up for any airplane adventure.

My brother-in-law, Tim Kauffman, can talk almost as much as me when it comes to airplanes. Going to numerous air shows is always on our summer list of things to do. He is an avid photographer and has some awesome pictures. Airshows are a good place to find inspiration for new Slope Soaring airplane projects.

I could keep talking about this past year, but pictures are worth thousands of words. Yep, this year was good for me, and I look forward to the future.