Going to a Fun Fly
It was billed as a Fun Fly and I wanted to shoot fresh pictures for the PCC website. Also, I thought it would provide a good topic for my blog.
So I drove to the club’s Half Moon Bay airfield on an overcast Sunday morning.
Paul Lum, Mike Peck and Eric Einarsson are there when I arrive, all flying in the breeze.
I take some pictures.
Flying Time. While I wait for the Fun Fly to start, I fly too, first my blue Starfighter, then the MiniMag and then the little Scrappy wing.
The wind kicks the little planes around but I keep them in the air, flying into the wind, up high, fighting their tendency to plunge down when I turn out of the wind.
Early on, I invert the Starfighter and almost lose it as it’s pushed groundward by the wind, so I decide to stay rightside up.
Behind me, I hear new voices as people arrive for the event. I recognize the voices of Marco Pinto, the group’s president, and Mike Nadler, my weekday flying buddy.
Mike walks over to watch me fly.
What Is It? “What exactly is a Fun Fly?” I ask as the Starfighter struggles for altitude.
“It’s usually a series of contests,” Mike replies. “For instance, egg drops. You fix a styrofoam cup to your airplane, put an egg in it, take off and invert the plane to drop the egg. Often, the pilot watches the egg fall and loses control of the plane!”
I suppose my MiniMag could carry a cup and an egg, but the Starfighter and the little wing couldn’t, unless Marco brought a supply of hummingbird eggs. Oh, and I’d already resolved not to fly inverted today.
“They also do things like having everyone take off, then suddenly telling them all to land at once.”
Roops & Dixie Death. Later, a bit of web research informs me further about Fun Flies. Standard events include loop touch-and-goes, roops (rolling loops), Dixie Death (three rolls, three loops, touch-and-go, repeat) and inverted limbo. Less stressful events include spot landings, climb and glide and, as Mike said, bomb drops.
Mapping these challenges to my flying skills, I’m ready to put down my transmitter and pick up my camera.
But first I have to land my plane. Flying across the wind, I land it close by and upright. I’ll count that as my Fun Fly achievement.
As the morning wears on, more PCC members show up, perhaps 20 people in all. Some of them fly their planes. Others watch and talk with each other.
Paul Lum, an excellent flyer, puts on an airshow with every flight: rolling circles, knife edges, graceful acrobatics.
Slope Soaring. Eric flies a glider from a cliff west of the runway. He spiral-cut a plastic shopping bag into a streamer which he tied to the end of a pole, then slid the pole along the ground so the streamer dangled beyond the edge of the cliff. An upward rush of air keeps the streamer dancing vertically, an invitation for slope soaring.
One pilot has a new plane but he’s nervous about the wind.
Eric helps him out, but the takeoff is dicey. The plane lumbers off the runway, barely rising in the air as Eric discovers that the elevator doesn’t go up as far as it should.
After a short, awkward flight, Eric lands the plane to make adjustments.
The Wind Factor. This is not a good day for an unproven plane. Maybe not a good day for a competition.
Except for Eric’s glider, the other planes taking on the wind are powered by gas engines. Mine are the only electric planes in the air.
At moments the clouds clear and we’re treated to blue skies and sunshine, but the wind keeps up all day, blowing down the coast at around 10 or 15 mph.
Midday, Marco’s father, Enriqué, fires up the barbecue and grills hamburgers, hot dogs and a pot of chili. Chips, cookies and sodas complete the meal.
After lunch, I take some more pictures, look at all the interesting planes on the ground and decide to call it a day.
In fact, I decide to call it a Fun Fly.
Here’s a gallery of my Fun Fly photos.
Tags: Airplanes, Flying, Half Moon Bay, PCC, Radio Control, Wind, Wings.