On a cloudy, cool, windy Saturday afternoon, several members of the Lake Country RC Flying Club met at their flying field at Lake Murray. With the wind at a gusty 25 miles per hour, it was really not a good day for flying.
But, the enthusiasts are serious about their hobby, and they will do just about anything it takes to get someone’s attention.
Weather permitting, the RC group members are out at the flying field each Sunday, starting at about 2 p.m. Some bring their families, some bring picnics and some just come as spectators. It’s all part of the fun and everyone is welcome.
The flying field has changed a lot throughout the years. From an open grassy area with just a runway, it has evolved to include fences, awnings, picnic tables, concrete pilot stations built by the Boy Scouts and plane maintenance tables. The club just recently planted some Norwegian crimson maple trees to hopefully provide some good shade in a few years.
Joe W. Hornback, whose father, Joe R. is the club president, gave Rep. Greg Piatt and Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield credit for getting grading and gravel work done on the road leading to the flying field. They hope their upcoming fundraisers and events will help earn enough money to put in a concrete taxiway, and raise awareness and interest in the hobby.
The club plans to have a garage sale Saturday starting at 8 a.m. in the Save-A-Lot parking lot on North Commerce. Included among the miscellaneous items for sale, club members will also have some of their planes on display to pique the interest of the public. It just may bring a few of those people out on July 4, when the club will have an all-day flying event at the flying field on the northwest side of the lake.
RC flying appeals to all ages and genders, and the Lake Country group is home to some who have been flying for 15 years or more — like club vice president Larry Smith, hobby shop owner Frank Jennings and member Bryant Harmon — and newcomers, like 13-year-old Blake Willis, who bought his first plane last November.
It’s good, clean fun that is only limited by a person’s imagination. RC airplane flying can be modified to each person’s interest level, attention span and activity budget.
There are kits that can take anywhere from a month to a year to put together. And, as Joe W. said, “Buying a plane is just like buying golf clubs. You can buy a cheaper set, or you can buy an expensive set. It just depends on how good you are and how often you’ll use them.”
Even with the high winds — much faster than the preferred 5 mph — last Saturday when the group gathered for a demonstration, a few brave souls took their planes for a whirl, showing off their acrobatic moves and landing skills. Planes soared up to near 450 feet into the cloudy blue sky before returning safely to the runway.
Frank Houldston showed off his Navy planes that he has collected through the years. His son, Bill, followed in his RC flying footsteps, but not his military ones. Bill is a Marine, and the two spar about their military branches good-naturedly while enjoying their common interest in RC planes at the flying field.
Frank said he stopped for a load of oil 15 years ago next to Frank Jennings’ hobby shop and stopped in to see what he had. As is his way, Jennings hooked another RC airplane enthusiast when Frank bought a trainer airplane and started learning how to fly.
He has nine planes now, including a replica of a Navy T-28 just like the ones he used to work on when he was in the service. That one takes about two years to put together from a kit.
Bill, who has accompanied his dad on several outings, just started flying his own planes about two years ago. Now he has four planes of his own. He also started out using trainer airplanes, which he said “are more forgiving than the warbirds are. With a trainer, if you get into trouble, you can let go and it will straighten itself out.”
These days, those who want to fly don’t have to use a real plane to get started. There are flight simulator programs for computers that work just like the real thing. Kevin Hunt showed off the RealFlight RC flight simulator program running on his Sony laptop.
“I drive a truck for a living, so this is the way I get my practice,” Hunt said.
The InterLink Elite Trainer by Futura is operated with the same type of remote control radio device that the actual planes run on, so learning to take off, fly and land on the simulator is pretty much exactly like real flying, except it’s a lot easier to recover from a crash.
“You push that red button, and the plane puts itself back together,” Hunt said.
It’s not quite that easy in the real world of RC flying. Crashing planes is part of the learning process, as heartbreaking as it may be.
“Usually you have one or two planes that you fly regularly, but you’ll get into a spell that you’ll continually crash planes and 15 becomes three,” Jennings said. “I think everyone has lost a lot of good airplanes over the years. That’s just part of it.”
As Ross Tonti and Joe R. Hornback spent most of their time out on the runway, other group members watched the action and talked about their experiences. Harmon has been involved in RC flying probably longer than anyone else, starting back in 1978 or ’79. He grew interested while watching flyers out at the drag strip north of Ardmore. It didn’t take long before he joined them.
“Virtually, with a little bit of help, I taught myself to fly because, back then, there wasn’t anybody to teach you,” Harmon said. “I built one and crashed it, and then I rebuilt it and crashed it again.”
At the time Harmon got started, the old airplanes, motors and equipment were not as reliable as the sophisticated equipment available today. The old AM radios caused interference with anything else on the same frequency, like CB radios in trucks. Then everything went to FM and the problem solved itself.
All planes at the flying field have to be assigned a frequency, and there’s a metal board tacked to the fence where each flier indicates his frequency. The newer radios automatically find a frequency that’s not being used and assign it to a particular plane.
Harmon said he’s been “dabbling” in flying for the past 30 years, but not continuously. But it’s a fever that never seems to go away, for any of the RC enthusiasts. And it crosses generational barriers. Larry Smith has brought his son, Larry Jr., into the fold, and the Hornbacks — Carl, Joe R. and Joe W. — make it a family affair.
All three have trailers with interiors that were designed by Carl to carry wings on one side and fuselages on the other so they can carry their planes in style. The side pieces that hold the planes can be folded along the walls so the vehicle can be used as a utility trailer. Jennings uses a system of PVC pipe and foam to fit in the back of his SUV to haul his planes.
“Everyone’s got their way of getting their stuff out here,” he said. “With this, I can haul six planes.”
Joe W. said the club is always open to anyone who wants to participate or who just wants to watch.
“If the weather’s right, we’re always here on Sunday,” he said. “We welcome anyone to join us.”
