|
|
|
 |
RCCars |  |
Crack Roll | |
Flying Giants | |
RC Power | |
The E Zone | |
Lift Zone | |
Our Sponsors |  |
|||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Chilliwack Spring Classic Electric Fly-In 2004
Aug 26, 2004, 01:00 AM
Introduction
It was that magical time of year again! Spring had arrived and that meant the annual Chilliwack Spring Classic fly-in on May 29 and 30. The word got passed and people started gathering from afar. Living about two hours from the action, a visit to Chilliwack was a foregone conclusion for both myself and my wife Christine. A check of the weather forecast showed rain. Actually, it showed rain, rain, and more rain. Oh well. Off we went, a few airplanes in tow!
The field itself is located in the city of Chilliwack, BC, on a parcel of land belonging to Ron Dodd, resident super-host, friend, and a good pilot to boot. Per usual, Ron opened up a large portion of his field to campers of all sorts and spectators alike. This being my third year in attendance, I knew the routine but things had changed slightly for us. We had managed to borrow a tent-trailer and, while far from glamorous, it allowed us to stay directly at the flying field purely for the comfort and convenience of my lovely wife, Christine. Alright, so my being closer to the action may have had a small part. The drive down from Kamloops was uneventful and we arrived in Chilliwack right around 2pm on Friday the 28th. Wasting no time, we immediately got the trailer in position and dug a plane or two out for some flying. As it turns out, the weather Friday afternoon/evening held out and was actually quite pleasant. I was able not only to do some flying of my own but also to see some beautifully crafted models including Mike Payne’s E*Star Turbo Porter, Jonathan DeValk’s scratch-built Bristol Scout, and Hal Norrish’s ¼ scale Taylorcraft among others. In usual Chilliwack fashion, flying continued right to dark and beyond, a few of us braving the darkness with light equipped planes.
Saturday Float FlyingThe next morning greeted us with cloud cover but, as yet, the rain had not begun. Arriving precisely on time, local float flying guru Ivan Pettigrew rallied all interested to follow him to the nearby float pond. The pond is a mere 10 or so minute drive from the flying field, making it both close enough to quickly traverse to but also far enough away not to make frequency conflicts a problem. The pond itself is nothing more than an old gravel pit that’s filled with water but it makes an absolutely ideal R/C flying site. Unfortunately, as we arrived, the rain started. It was really only a light drizzle at this point so far be it from deterring us from float flying! In my eyes, the far-and-away star of the float show was Ivan’s new Shorts Solent flying boat. In traditional Style, Ivan wowed us with picture-perfect touch and goes between various aerobatics.
Saturday for Land-LubbersUpon arriving back at the field, we were called over to a pilots’ meeting, hosted by Ron Dodd. The rules are simple, he says – don’t fly over the pits, four planes in the air at once, and don’t fly into the big tree a ways off the end of the field. Frequency control was rather simple as well – if you want to fly, you place your peg “in line” across the top of the frequency board. When one “slot” (orange clip) is available, you can take it and place your tag on your appropriate frequency. This system, along with an honor-based 15 minute flying session time limit, ensured not only that everyone got their fair share of flying but also that the wait was never very long.
Saturday afternoon’s flying come in what I would call spurts. The rain would chase all of us under shelter for a bit, then the sun would come out for a bit and everyone would sprint to the flight line. Nonetheless, I still got a good share of flying in, including bumming as much stick time as possible from other pilots. I may not have been good with pickup lines in college but a quick “Say, I’ve never flown one of those before!” or “I’ve always wondered what that flies like” works every time.
Typically, Saturday evening at Chilliwack would find us returning over and over again for some homemade culinary delights by Ron’s wife, Susan. Unfortunately, she wasn’t feeling well and as such we (as an organized group) ordered out for Chinese food. Fortunately, Ron’s daughter Jennifer was happily manning a concession stand as well. Flying after dinner was limited to a few short hops as the rain came back in force.
SundaySunday morning we awoke to the gentle pitter patter of yet more rain. To be honest, I believe it’s the same system we had at bedtime Saturday evening as it rained all night. Regardless, the flying weekend goes on! There wasn’t much flying action Sunday morning, and the float activity was non-existent. Actually, that’s not true. A few of us did get brave enough to float fly from the pond that had grown out of the center of the field parking lot. The videos below will show the results of that. For those curious, the “thump” at the apex of the Jitterbug’s climb/spins is the motor ripping the firewall off of the airplane.
A little later on, the rains abated, the sun came out, and flying started up again. Sunday afternoon ended up being rather pleasant with only a mild wind to hinder flying ops. We stuck around long enough to grab a dozen or so flights before we packed up and hit the road.
Video GalleryTake a look at some videos taken throughout the weekend:
Wrapping Up -- and Preparing for the Next Fly In!I’m happy to report that damage to aircraft was severely limited, being restricted to a heli that went in on Friday and only minor nicks and dings to a few others throughout the rest of the weekend. In all, I had a fantastic flying weekend in great company despite the less-than-ideal weather. Until August, keep ‘em flying!
Special thanks go out to Serena Buckley, Bernard Cawley, Jerry Holcomb, Beverly Hudson, Mike Payne, and my wife, Christine, all of whom provided some fantastic pictures for this report.
The August fly-in will be held August 27, 28, 29,and 30. See you there!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
|
|
Aug 26, 2004, 09:13 AM
|
#2 |
|
i say, Yippee
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Vancouver Intl, Canada
Posts: 443
|
whats is the date for the fly in? What do i need to attend? And what type of aircraft, heli, planes or both?
|
|
|
|
Aug 26, 2004, 10:00 AM
|
#3 |
|
I don't miss my brain.
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Colorado Front Range, USA, EARTH, Sol system, Milkyway Galaxy
Posts: 2,349
|
Good thing you got the article for the last one done 3 days before the next one so you would have time to get ready
 Nice article and great pictures. |
|
|
|
|
Aug 26, 2004, 11:31 AM
|
#4 |
|
Boating Bum
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Reno, NV, USA
Posts: 4,011
|
Very nice coverage! I liked the videos too. Thanks for sharing with all of us.
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 26, 2004, 02:28 PM
|
#5 |
|
Our Daddy and Heli Junkie
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: In Heli Wonderland
Posts: 22,656
|
Nice coverage Martin. Always fun but it was alot wetter than you let on
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 26, 2004, 03:36 PM
|
#6 |
|
Team Tracon !!!
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Gibsons, B.C. Canada
Posts: 2,341
|
Hey Martin, I thought you said the dog ate your home work ?
LoL... Beverly and I have been looking forward to seeing your report and we complement you on your efforts !!! Great Job ! Sam & Beverly |
|
|
|
|
Aug 26, 2004, 08:21 PM
|
#7 | |
|
Smooth Air
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Posts: 1,486
 |
Quote:
This is all the info right here: http://smoothair.rchomepage.com/foru...ic.php?p=97#97 Anything electric, and your MAAC card is required. Believe me, it's an event you don't want to miss.  Martin, Great Report!!!! Will see you all Saturday morning at the float fly. Geof. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thread Tools | |
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| Ste. Genevieve, MO Spring Electric Fly-in | electricrcflyer | Electric Flight Events | 27 | Apr 25, 2003 07:53 PM |
| Chilliwack Spring Classic Electric Fly-In - 2002 | dave_lilley | Electric Flight Events | 4 | Sep 11, 2002 10:57 PM |
| Chilliwack Spring Classic Electric Fly-In - 2002 | dave_lilley | Site Chat | 0 | Sep 01, 2002 11:24 PM |
| Article Chilliwack Spring Classic Electric Fly-In - 2002 | Martin Hunter | Electric Flight Events | 0 | Sep 01, 2002 12:00 AM |
| Chilliwack Electric Fly-In | mcu-electric | Parkflyers | 75 | Aug 27, 2002 02:11 AM |
|
|
Downloads
