MCRCS Electric Fun Fly

September 20th, 2008

EDF Sabre Jet
It didn't matter what your interest was, there were plenty of electric powered ...

The weatherman had predicted warm sunshine with a calm breeze for Saturday, but you could feel electricity in the air. A storm was brewing — electrons suddenly started thrashing over a small area of Central Jersey.

And then, around 9 a.m. to be exact, it just turned into one of the strongest electric fields ever seen, when 42 pilots from all over New Jersey landed at the Mercer County Radio Control Society’s Electric Fun Fly-In.

The sky was electric. You could feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

Contest Director Sal Lucania reminded contestants that there is no point of attending a fly-in unless the participants “got in plenty of flying.” With that said, pilots took to the field.

It didn’t matter what your interest was, there were plenty of electric powered gliders, warbirds, ducted fan jets, 3D and aerobatic models buzzing around Warren Kruse field to cause an air traffic controller to take up drinking.

E-fliers Jun Xian Chen from PARCS brought a Rite-Wing Demon 40 that seemed to break the sound barrier as it screamed low across the fresh cut grass and climbed high into the clouds. Shazard Mohammed, also from PARCS, followed close behind, performing aerobatics with a colorful “Tarheel Hal” version of the P-47 Thunderbolt.

Greg Drusjack had a bit of trouble getting airborne with his 1945 Mud Duck Sport.

Greg Drusjack from Jersey Coast Sport Flyers had a bit of trouble getting airborne with his 1945 Mud Duck Sport, but soon sorted out the controls to amuse the crowd with its offbeat looks.

And fellow club member Adam Lilley pleased young and old onlookers with his J-3 Cub performing wing tip touch and goes.

Adam Lilley's Cub
Adam Lilley pleased young and old with his J-3 Cub.

Contest Director Lucania reported that there were the usual visits to the surrounding cornfields. Rob Kallok of the Jersey Coast Sport Flyers paid an early visit to one “field of dreams.”

“The big prop and big motor physically ripped the plywood — the firewall fell off,” he said. “I was lucky my plane glided into the corn.”

But MCRCS member Dave Ramsey stole the show with his colorful cartoonish one-off Auto Gyro. The craft weighs about two pounds and uses Hi-Max electric motors to produce 325 watts of power.

“I like building – it went together in three weeks of evenings,” said Dave, who confessed that the craft is a copy of an original design adapted for personal use. Auto Gyros fly, according to Dave, because the rotors have negative pitch and air rushes underneath to create lift.

Gemini Twin
MCRCS member Dave Ramsey stole the show with his colorful cartoonish one-off Auto Gyro.

But Bob Keibley almost fell down laughing as he watched the copter-like craft take to the skies. “Looks like something out of a Roger Rabbit movie,” he mused to a friend.

It wouldn’t be a fly-in without a visit to the grill for hot-dogs, hamburgers and drinks. But the kitchen staff reported that the event was so popular they ran out of food shortly after noon.

Sal summed up the event in typical style. “We got off to a slow start but a great finish,” he said before adding with a sly smile, “But it was a little noisy though.”

Text and photos by Allan Shear. For more of Allan's photos, follow this link.