The Black Hawk RC Flyers of Cedar Rapids Iowa put on an indoor fly in at the UNI Dome each winter. It is billed as the largest indoor fly in of the Mid West. The UNI Dome is a great venue for this type of fly in as there is ample space and a high ceiling at 162 feet with few obstructions. The air is calm and the temperature is a warm relief in what is normally the dead of winter in the midwest.
Each year the MARCEE club I belong to secures a number of days at the Metrodome to do indoor flying. This year we got a number of days in December and I was able to get there for a couple of the days. It’s always a good time as with the days spread out over the month not everyone crams into one day. On a busy day we might have 30 flyers there. The hours often run from 5am to 4pm so it’s possible to get more then a fulls day of flying in. This year I came armed with a variety of airplanes and my cameras. I took video of some specific airplanes but I also tried to capture the general fun and atmosphere of the day. My hats off to both the MARCEE club for being fun and courteous but also and more importantly to the Metrodome staff that make us feel so welcomed and truly seem to enjoy s being there. We do make a point to find one day to bring in a big table of food to feed the Metrodome staff as a thank you. They seem to enjoy that as well.
Here are a few of the videos I put together from the two days I was able to attend.
Every winter the Minnesota Area Radio Controlled Electric Enthusiasts (MARCEE) is able to secure some indoor flying time at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. I went up for a day of flying and had a good time. One of the main things I wanted to do was to fly a new plane I picked up from http://www.parkscalemodels.com The Drake is a micro float plane design and I had recently finished it. Flying it in the calm and relative warmth of the Metrodome was much more inviting then the cold outside of late December in Minnesota. The flight went great and I was able to get Chris to run the camera for me.
Winter is blowing in as we speak and the warm summer days at the field will be a distant memory while we all crowd into gyms to fly our small foamies or spend hours in the shop building for when the warm days of summer come back around. While all this is going on the planning continues for the events of next year. Not to be missed is WATTS over Owatonna. 2012 is looking to be a great year again. We’ll have all the same people back again plus the field will be tweaked to allow as much flying as possible while keeping people feeling safe. We’ll also be looking to expand the sound system and arrangements just to make things a little smoother. So get building for next year and bring that cool project and maybe you’ll find yourself taking home the best of show or pilots choice award! In the mean time enjoy the video with many photo’s from 2011.
I was happy to see the January 2012 issue of Fly RC had a great 3 page article on Watts over Owatonna. Having worked hard to get this event running it’s awesome and exciting to see the attention it is getting from both online and print media. In it there are many photos from the event and a basic description of the entire weekend. Keep an eye out for info on next years event at http://www.watts2012.net
On May 21st the City of North Mankato and the North Mankato Quiet Flyers held a dedication ceremony for the newly constructed Forsberg Field city park. This is a RC flying park for use by the public with electric powered RC aircraft.
Back in early 2010 the club was flying off of the local middle school soccer fields. However whenever they were in use by the soccer clubs, football teams, marching band or other groups the RC flyers would wait till the fields were clear to fly. One day a soccer coach stopped to talk to a couple members about flying and how the fields are often busy. They met again and did some flying together. Well this coach got the club in touch with the city administrator and talks about a place for the RC flyers to fly without disruption ensued. A year later the park has been setup in an industrial area where the planes have room to fly without obstruction and without bothering any neighbors. There is a 120 x 70 foot paved runway area with grass overruns on all sides.
The dedication ceremony went well even with some rain early on. The club put on a display of various aircraft including trainers, jets, warbirds, gliders, helicopters and more. Many people enquired about learning to fly and the instructors were busy handing out information and setting up contacts.
This is a great partnership with the city and a bunch of local RC flyers to help grow the hobby and introduce more people to aviation and the RC hobby.
Check it out at http://www.smmac.com/watts