Aircraft were soaring across the skyline in Glenville, showing spectators dips, dives and rolls — all from the palm of one’s hand.
The Glenville Electric Powered Aeromodelers Club on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 4 and 5, hosted the John Maggs Memorial Fun Fly, which had all-electric radio controlled model plans zipping above Maalwyck Park. Local hobbyists came out to show off their latest moves and techniques and gave spectators a free show. Food and beverages were also offered and raffles added some more excitement.
Even as the sky darkened and storm clouds moved in on Sunday, Glenville resident Dave Garwood drove up and hit the field, throwing his Tough Jets model T-14 aircraft into the windy air.
“It seemed cool and it turns out it is fun to fly,” Garwood, 63, said.
What he enjoys most is learning new stunts to perform and building his skills on the radio controlled aircraft.
“Showing off is part of model airplanes,” he said with a laugh.
The plane he was flying is an inexpensive type, which he likes because he doesn’t have to worry about possibly crashing it and smashing an expensive model. Some people joke the Tough Jets style is the “pizza box airplane,” but that doesn’t bother him.
As others sat and waited for clearer conditions, Garwood was already lifting off.
“A lot of people are afraid to fly in the wind — not us pizza box plane flyers,” he said. “Over the years it has been crashed and glued.”
The overgrown field next to the soccer fields is where club members usually fly, with town approval, but for the Fun Fly the group rented out the soccer fields to provide a more ideal flying environment.
“You will find guys flying every weekend and you’ll find retired guys flying every afternoon,” Garwood said.
Wayne Roberts, owner of Tough Jets, also was at the event and he took his own model T-14 for a fly. Before moving to Maine, Roberts lived in Albany. Three years ago he started his business after getting several requests to build the planes for others.
“There is a lot of attributes from different planes that I liked from other manufacturers and I just lumped them all into one,” Roberts said. “I just wanted a plane that was really durable, so it is made out of unconventional modeling materials.”
Club Treasurer Sherrill McGill said the event was started seven years ago to get club members together and show off their sport to the public.
“It brings wonderful people together, other flyers from other clubs, and we’ve had several new members,” McGill said.
When children come, an experienced flyer will pair up with them and show them the ropes during a test flight, McGill said.
Club President John Hackert said town officials watched the planes fly a few times before giving the event the OK a few years ago. Electric models are much quieter than gas powered, he said, so there is little concern among neighboring residents.
The electric planes have also been dubbed “park flyers,” he said.
“You can fly them in a park and it is not going to bother anybody,” Hackert said. “Even if you crash them, the likelihood of doing any kind of damage is small, because they are lightweight and made out of foam, or lightweight balsa wood.”
For information on the local club and to find out about future events, visit epaclub.com.
