Indoor Flying Season

Monday, October 12th, 2009

During an evening of indoor flying in a large City of Sunnyvale gym, I hover my tiny E-Flite mCX helicopter at face level. Photo by Mike Bowns.

Helicopter Nose. Photo by Mike Bowns.


We kicked off the year’s indoor flying season Friday evening in a cavernous City of Sunnyvale gymnasium.

Don Cohn, administrator of the BayRC discussion forums, organized the event, which drew close to 20 flyers. Most popular plane: ParkZone Vapor. Most popular helicopter: E-Flite Blade mSR.

In this photo I’m flying an E-Flite Blade mCX helicopter, which is also quite the rage.

Each helicopter weighs about an ounce.

The mCX is remarkably stable, easy to fly even for a novice.

So my nose-high hover is hardly amazing.
(more…)

Posted in Elsewhere | 3 Comments »

Magic in the Air

Sunday, January 4th, 2009

The little helicopter is surprisingly easy to fly.

The little helicopter is surprisingly easy to fly.


When I was a child in New York City, I remember my fascination with sidewalk vendors who sold magical devices, crystals that would bloom underwater into fabulous alien shapes, wind-up tin toys that careened crazily across the concrete.

Sometimes my parents would indulge us, buying a tiny spring-powered dog or a tumbling acrobat or a monkey that climbed a string.

But when we got home, they lost their charm. They slowed down, they jammed, they didn’t work: they became normal, fallible and ordinary.

Twice last year I succumbed to the same sort of immediate enchantment, both times in AeroMicro, my favorite local radio-control goodies store.

The first spell was cast by the Vapor, a half-ounce wisp of an airplane designed for indoor flight.

(more…)

Posted in Elsewhere | 6 Comments »

More Indoor Flying

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Decked out in winter finery, Don Cohn maneuvers in tight.

Decked out in winter finery, Don Cohn maneuvers in tight.


Fourteen flyers showed up for the second session of this winter’s indoor flying at MVP.

As at last month’s event, the day was dominated by Blade mCX helicopters and tiny Vapor planes.

I brought a couple of new things to fly: a Mini IFO and a Micro R/C 4-Channel Flying Saucer from ThinkGeek.

Neither one worked as well as I had hoped. The Mini IFO was too fast for the room and I had to wrench it through turns to keep it within the space. I actually did pretty well with it, thanks to all my Wild Wing combat experience, but my friend Don Cohn joked that he was going to stand outdoors in the parking lot if I kept flying it indoors.

(more…)

Posted in Elsewhere, Gallery | 4 Comments »

Loose Ends

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

You don’t often see a tooth brushing its teeth.

You don’t often see a tooth brushing its teeth.


I’ve got pictures piling up around my ankles since I decided to stop updating the Photos section.

So here are some that didn’t seem to warrant individual blog entries, but nonetheless deserve this small moment of fame.

The tooth brushing its teeth that begins this gallery might seem off topic. Except that it’s a sign in the front window of a dentistry storefront near Baylands and I notice it whenever I visit the nearby Taco Bell for lunch. And I’m fascinated with self-referential signs (chickens carrying platters of fried chicken, for instance). And, of course, every pilot should practice good oral hygiene.

On the day that I shot this the sky was bright, which is why the tooth appears to float in the sky, a glass reflection of the Sunnyvale heavens behind me.

(more…)

Posted in Baylands, Gallery | 4 Comments »

Flying Indoors

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

A Vapor shows its 3D capabilities, hovering just above the floor.

A Vapor shows its 3D capabilities, hovering just above the floor.

The first day of November brought turbulent weather: dramatic clouds and little fits of rain followed by a cat-drenching downpour. (Spike, our grumpy white cat, lives outdoors. He’s never read the “Cat Handbook” chapter on how cats detest water.)

But we didn’t care. We went flying indoors.

Pete Lane, the man behind the Baylands Battle of the Bay, organized a flying event at MVP, a San Jose indoor sports facility.

Dave Morris originally suggested the venue. When Pete investigated, he found that MVP was willing to rent a huge room to us for two hours before they opened at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

(more…)

Posted in Elsewhere | 13 Comments »