[Hikin Mike]

I've always had a love for airplanes. Guess that's why I joined the USAF....lol! My father has been flying RC airplanes all his life, but I never got that bug. For the past three years I had the opportunity to watch (and photograph) the Giant Scale Fly-In at the old Castle AFB.

If anybody is interested there is the link for the photos I took and here are some of the favorites.

http://www.centralcamodelflyers.club...cale-fly-2017/





Full-scale B-25J "Old Glory"


Night Flying

[ponchjoe]

This is a guys Sopwith Camel that my wife went to school with. Pretty cool...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kCzxD-JWhQI

Check out others by the Hoosier Dawn Patrol, all vintage WW planes.

[dataway]

Great stuff ... dedicated bunch.

[Hikin Mike]

Originally Posted by ponchjoe

This is a guys Sopwith Camel that my wife went to school with. Pretty cool...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kCzxD-JWhQI

Check out others by the Hoosier Dawn Patrol, all vintage WW planes.

That was cool!

[fyrffytr1]

Awesome pictures in your link Mike. I really liked the night shots.

[Greg Reid]

Great photos!
I was into R/C for 15~20 years up until I dragged my '68 home. Couldn't afford both hobbies but I haven't had the heart to liquidate my stuff yet.
This EAA Bipe was the last plane I built. Flew it once and it's still in my basement with a bunch of others. 1/4 Scale (3" to the Foot)

[Greg Reid]

By the way, did anyone notice the P-47 with the crazy paint job? The call letters are 'WTF'.....lol

[jwcfbd]

There is some crazy money in RC but very cool stuff. I love the turbine engines.

[pancho400cid]

This EAA Bipe was the last plane I built.

Nice job!

I flew control line planes as a kid and a few time since (until I tried to loop the last one a couple of years ago).

I also bought an R/C trainer and flew it with a "instructor" a handful of times. It's hanging in the garage now. Seems like you can't give the "gas" engine ones away....

As said no room on the time-money continuum for cars AND RC planes.....

[Greg Reid]

Thanks Pancho...Yeah, I reasoned with myself that I can only afford one hobby that I can't afford at a time. I still plan to get back into the hobby one day... maybe...but at a much smaller scale (pun intended)..

[Hikin Mike]

Originally Posted by fyrffytr1

Awesome pictures in your link Mike. I really liked the night shots.

Thanks! I've been wanting to shoot the night flying for a few years. Very challenging and lots of fun.

[Hikin Mike]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Great photos!
I was into R/C for 15~20 years up until I dragged my '68 home. Couldn't afford both hobbies but I haven't had the heart to liquidate my stuff yet.
This EAA Bipe was the last plane I built. Flew it once and it's still in my basement with a bunch of others. 1/4 Scale (3" to the Foot)

Very nice!

Tough to have two expensive hobbies....cars and photography.

[Hikin Mike]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

By the way, did anyone notice the P-47 with the crazy paint job? The call letters are 'WTF'.....lol

I didn't notice it until you mentioned it. There is an Ugly Stik (red and white with German crosses) with 'WTF' on it plain as day.

[Hikin Mike]

Originally Posted by jwcfbd

I love the turbine engines.

Very hard to capture with a camera...lol!

[Hikin Mike]

Originally Posted by pancho400cid

Nice job!

I flew control line planes as a kid and a few time since (until I tried to loop the last one a couple of years ago).

I also bought an R/C trainer and flew it with a "instructor" a handful of times. It's hanging in the garage now. Seems like you can't give the "gas" engine ones away....

As said no room on the time-money continuum for cars AND RC planes.....

I know my dad quit flying gas engines years ago. Electric is some much cleaner.

[beertracker]

nice looking FW190, Corsair and P39 Airacobra.

[455firebird1969]

Nice pix Mike...I'm a sucker for the red and white Citabria...it looks full scale. I flew RC a few decades ago, but I never did the giant scale. The Ugly stick is reminiscent of what I flew back in the eighties and nineties.

[jwcfbd]

Originally Posted by Hikin Mike

Very hard to capture with a camera...lol!

Oh yeah those things can really get moving.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by Hikin Mike

I know my dad quit flying gas engines years ago. Electric is some much cleaner.

I bought two foam electric planes when I retired (the first time) 5 years ago. An F6F Hellcat and an Fw-190. They are still sitting on my workbench in the basement, un-flown. So much to learn about electrics and too much wet powered stuff to unload!

[PontGuy]

I got pretty deep into model airplanes until our club lost our flying field. There are no fields suitable for big model airplanes nearby anymore and my airplanes have been gathering dust since.

I gravitated into large-scale warbirds and multi-engine speed planes. This P-61 Blackwidow is one of my favorites, now hanging from the ceiling of our sunroom. Powered by two big supercharged glow engines so very fast, a real knee knocker to fly. I won several awards for it including best of show here.



And here it is displayed under the full-scale Blackwidow being restored at the Mid-Atlantic air museum in PA. I got Bob Bolinder, ace P-61 pilot with 5 kills, to autograph one of the tail booms for me. He passed away a few years ago, just about all of the WWII pilots are gone now. But it was great fun getting a chance to discuss the flying characteristics with him. Those guys were real men.