Barron Field Air Races Report
Jiro’s Dream Bird, from the film The Wind Rises, was beautifully realized by Rick Pendzick for the Fiction Flyer Mass Launch event at the Barron Field Air Races in Wawayanda, N.Y. Photo by Karin Escalante.
Free Flight Scale
Every once in a great while, the gods of Free Flight (FF) choose to shine hours of happiness upon us. This was the case during the first weekend of October 2025, when the hours became two days of purely joyous conditions for the 26th annual Barron Field Air Races in Wawayanda, New York.
In the weeks leading up to the contest, there was serious concern for limited use of the sod farm’s main field, which spans 1/2 mile x 3/4 mile. The farmers had recently plowed and reseeded 85% of the field, which left little room for a flightline and active retrieval. The only option available was to use the southwest field, which spans 1/3 mile x 2/5 mile and was bordered by 10-foot corn on the west edge. It’s a large enough field but only if the wind leans toward the north and east. Luckily, 95% of the weekend kept the drift in every direction but southwest.
Just as important as the wind direction, the wind velocity was minimal, staying between zero and 4 mph the entire time. We couldn’t believe our good fortune. For the 30 fliers who competed this weekend, it became one of the most memorable contests in many years. In fact, I saw a few who were simply flying just because, with no intention of competing. For many, that’s surely what it’s all about: getting those birds into the blue and letting them soar, with retrieval in yards, not miles.
Numbers were up in nearly all of the FF Scale events, with Flying Aces Club (FAC) Scale being the most popular Scale judged event (11 fliers). Dime Scale was the most competitive Duration event with 14 fliers, and World War II led the way in Mass Launch events with 12 fliers where, regardless of the numbers, each mass launch had three rounds to crown the victor.
Of note here, the Golden Age Racers Mass Launch saw the last three down within 3 seconds of each other, in a bang-bang-bang fashion—classic FAC action!
Power Scale saw a welcomed resurgence, with eight models flown. What a treat it was to see these majestic aircraft cruising around for their maxes. We saw diesels, gassers, and electrics but no CO2 airplanes. I could watch Tom Nallen II’s diesel-powered Cub fly forever—it reached incredible heights after a 50-second motor run then took its own sweet time to return to the turf in gentle circles for nearly the next 3 minutes.
There were a number of triple and near-triple maxes (2-minute flights) by Wally Farrell, Mike Escalante, and newcomer Rich Henning in a few of the Duration events. That’s a lot of flying and chasing, even with the light wind. Fortunately, the flying field was bordered by the main field to the northeast and dry soybeans to the northwest. Even though we couldn’t use carts or bikes on the main field, foot traffic was allowed, giving us another 3/4 mile to chase—although that wasn’t enough for Oliver Sand, who chased his Simplified Scale Hellcat to the limits of the field on the rugged eastern edge as the model went out of sight. Even with this, on his third and final flight, it was only good enough for second place, eight points away from Wally’s Lincoln AP, which had triple maxed.
Towline Glider remained a strong event, with 10 models in the air. Dave Mitchell’s strikingly beautiful Schweizer 2-22, sporting “Glider Rides” under the wing, took the victory with a best flight of 96 seconds.
Give this event a try; you’ll find it surprisingly satisfying. It’s similar to FF Scale Rubber but with the bonus of never breaking a rubber motor. The finesse of towing the model skyward with a winch reel is similar to the pace of reeling in a marlin, only this catch is 100 feet in the air, oftentimes releasing directly overhead as smooth as silk.
What a pleasure it was to watch Vic Nippert, a mentor to many with 70-plus years of FF experience, show us all how it’s done in No-Cal and Jet Catapult. I have this memory of watching Vic look up for long stretches of time, a subtle smile on his face and on those who watched him put another airplane into the blue for an epic flight.
Vance Gilbert put up his Farman on a few occasions, stopping the show each time as his megaship wowed us with its ability to float, tilt, recover, and then cruise for long stretches as it wandered about searching for a fitting place to land. I still can’t believe what we all witnessed. It was virtually the late Bill Hannan’s little Boxy Bipe design being pushed to the wingspan limits and succeeding beautifully.
Wally was the grand champion once again, pulling in a chest full of victories, which had, at the time that this was written, given him more than 900 first-place honors. This is truly an incredible accomplishment, showing his skill, determination, and commitment, but all the while, he has been willing to share his vast knowledge of the hobby. He’s an example of what I like most about the FAC. We’re a community, with no secrets, and always willing to help out the next guy. Cheers to all.
Dream, ponder, build, and inspire, but most of all … fly.
SOURCES
- National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
- freeflight.org
- FAC
- flyingacesclub.com
- Tom Hallman’s MaxFliArt YouTube Channel
- youtube.com/@maxfliart
- “2025 Flying Contest Highlights From Wawayanda”
YouTube - youtu.be/QySZYf9Bz9Y
