| All eyes were on the sky
Saturday as the blue-and-white Stearman 450 biplane barrel rolled,
looped and swooped in to land.
The white scarf flowing out of the
pilot seat waved and snapped, but didn't distract him. Frank Askins was
100 feet below, working the controls of Bob Mock's model biplane.
The flight was the highlight of the
Sedalia Radio Control Flyers' Fall Fly In at the club's airfield on the
Missouri State Fairgrounds.
"It's only the second time it
has been flown," said Mr. Mock, an 80-year-old retired Sedalia
businessman.
What sets Mr. Mock's biplane apart
from the radio-controlled planes at the event is a large wingspan of
just under 10 feet and a 5-cylinder, gas-powered rotary engine that runs
as smooth as silk.
"Listen to it," said John
Wester, who acted as the field's air controller.
"It sounds a lot better than my
car," said another model plane buff. (FYI - the
'model plane buff' mentioned was Shaun Zimmerman of JCRC!)
Mr. Mock built the plane with the
help of his son, Ron. They have never learned to fly, so they handed the
controls to Mr. Askins, who is the
Sedalia
club president and who has been flying
models for 40 years.
"But seeing that plane in the
air makes me want to learn," Ron Mock said.
His plane is the Rolls Royce of
radio-controlled models and has a price to match. Budget-minded
beginners, however, can find packages as low as $50, said Mike Anderson,
owner of Hobbytown, USA, a Columbia shop specializing in
radio-controlled cars, trucks, boats and airplanes.
The rotary engine alone set Mr. Mock
back nearly $3,000. Total cost was somewhere between $8,000 and $9,000.
"It started as just a bundle of
sticks," he said.
On the other end of the price scale
Saturday were battery-powered models that looked like improved versions
of balsa gliders. But their cost doesn't mean they're not fun, and Ron
Smith, 15, was having a blast.
Ron, a son of Dan Smith of Eldon, is
autistic. The electric monoplane he flies, with help from his dad on the
dual control "buddy box," gives him an outlet for his energies
and brings smiles to his face.
One competition Saturday was spot
landing. The models make two passes around the field, located in the
southwest corner of the fair property, and try to land closest to an X.
When Ron won the division for
electric models, he lifted his arms with a victory shout and shared a
high-five with his dad.
Mr. Askins, who flew KC97 tankers for
the Air Force out of Whiteman Air Force Base, arrived at the Fly In in
his own ultralight two-seater.
He said he has been flying models for
about 40 years, "since they first came out with only push-buttons
to control the plane. But it was better than just free-flying
them," he said.
Now with 22 members, the club has
more than doubled its membership in the past year, Mr. Askins said,
"mostly because the technology is making (the planes) easier and
more fun to fly."
He said safety is the highest
priority at the club, which falls under the auspices of the
Academy
of
Model Aeronautics
.
"All new flyers have to have
instruction, have had to learn to control the planes on one of several
computer programs available," he said.
For
more information about the Sedalia Radio Control Flyers Club, you may
send an e-mail to Mr.
Askins at carparts@iland.net. | 
