Mario’s Artistry
Mario Alanis holds his handcrafted pusher jet.
Mario Alanis has built a big foam jet-like plane which flies like a dream.
His planes look like folk art, I thought the other day, admiring Mario’s fleet.
They’re colorful, imaginative, cheerful and bold. They look hand-crafted.
With its bulbous nose, this one slightly resembles a Predator, but it has a different wing shape with more fins and vanes going on. Contrasting with a bright red nose, the camouflage paint job is its own work of art.
When I asked Mario what this plane is modeled after, he shrugged. Its closest reference point is a blue-core foam plane Mario built last year, but he modified the wings and ailerons for his latest design.
The jet looks a bit like a Predator, but more fanciful.
Both are powered by pusher motors mounted at the tail.
Today Mario was flying big circles around the Great Meadow, slowing the plane to a near standstill in the wind, bringing the nose up in a harrier position and easing forward.
When he applied throttle, the plane had plenty of speed, but I was most impressed by its slow-motion flight. It flew like it was underwater, drifting in a gentle current.
This morning as I walked down the path to the field to fly my IFO I watched him fly, enjoying the grace of the plane. I decided to grab some pictures after my flight, but of course he had landed by then.
Sorry for the poor-quality image. My best camera fell off the barbecue and broke its protective filter.
A while later I saw that he was flying the big jet once again, so I went to get my camera.
Unfortunately, I perched the camera bag at the edge of the concrete barbecue and a gust of wind toppled it onto the concrete base of the barbecue. When I opened the bag, I discovered that the protective lens filter had shattered, and I wasn’t able to unscrew it.
So I shot Mario and the plane with a smaller point-and-shoot camera I keep for backup.
Which is why this most interesting plane looks like a speck in the sky.
Footnote: Back home, I was able to unscrew the shattered filter to inspect the camera lens. It looks OK. Tomorrow I’ll take some test shots to verify that the lens still works and install a new protective filter.
Tags: Baylands, Flying, People.