Dare County Radio Control Flyers

Harold Blakney, Mike Alexander, Robert Yanacek, Richard Boyd, Stephen Yanacek, and Jim Davis met at the field early this morning to do some flying before the midday's heat and rain made conditions unbearable.

Many sorties were flown during the three hours our members were at the field, and although one propeller was broken as a result of a ground loop, all aircraft performed well and were recovered without damage.

Two club members arrived at the field today to perform maintenance by cutting the grass for the upcoming weekend of flying. While there, our members were joined by three guests who were vacationing in our area.

Once field maintenance was completed all three guests were able to fly their planes they had brought with them and experience flight with our club in the skies at the "Birthplace of Aviation."

Eight of our members attended and had a good time at the First Flight Society's celebration of National Aviation Day at the Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo.

Although we enjoyed visiting the airport's museum and seeing the various aircraft, our primary goal was to inform the public about our club, our aeromodeling activities, and to promote our upcoming Festival of Model Aviation event open to the public in early October.

Our members distributed a good amount of club brochures and event flyers to those who stopped by to visit with us, as well as engaging guests with talk about our activities. Our club vice president also placed our club's informational rack cards in a display stand inside the airport terminal.

We departed this event looking forward to getting together to fly next weekend, and will be back in Manteo on September 23rd for a similar public information event at the celebration of the airport's 80th anniversary.

Five club members met today for breakfast and discussion about model aviation at the Jolly Roger Restaurant.

In addition to our five members, club applicant Jim Watters also attended, along with Peter Fynn's sister and brother-in-law who were visiting our area from England.

Club members Jim Davis, Jim Shiels, Peter Fynn, Mike Kirkpatrick, Philip Garey, Virgil Kee, Stephen Yanacek, and Robert Yanacek met at the library in Kill Devil Hills for our monthly business meeting. Jim Watters attended as a guest as he is interested in learning about the club and considering becoming a member.

Among the business discussed was an update on the Tango aircraft-building project being conducted by the First Flight High School, and plans for the upcoming National Aviation Day celebration as well as the club's public flying event, the Outer Banks Festival of Model Aviation, scheduled for October 7, 2023.

Although the meeting ran slightly late, it was productive and a great deal of business was conducted. We departed with a number of us planning to meet tomorrow for breakfast at the Jolly Roger restaurant.

Six club members and one guest met at our flying field today to celebrate National Model Aviation Day. This event is sponsored by the Academy of Model Aeronautics and is held the Saturday before Orville Wright's birthday each year.

Today's flying featured Richard Boyd performing a maiden flight of his twin-engine EC-1500 cargo transport aircraft. The flight went well, until the electronic speed controller overheated and shut down as a result of the hot air temperature. Fortunately, the plane went down in the adjacent corn field and was recovered with only a minor scratch to the paint.

Virgil Kee and Jim Shiels conducted a number of flights with various ultra-light aircraft. Due to the low wind velocity, all of these sorties were enjoyed by both pilots and spectators.

Peter Fynn and Stephen Yanacek also performed numerous flights with a variety of aircraft, including a Turbo Timber, Valiant, RV-7, and a Hot-Rod.

Departing the field at about noon, we look forward to our upcoming club meeting on Thursday, and our static display for the public at the airport in Manteo next Saturday to celebrate National Aviation Day.