Dare County Radio Control Flyers

Steve Smith, Stephen Yanacek, Grant Peacock, Jim Shiels, and Robert Yanacek met at the flying field to enjoy a day graced by a pleasant temperature, low winds, and unlimited visibility.

Stephen Yanacek led off the day's activities with a maiden flight of his E-flite RV-7 which went very well. Steve Smith followed with a maiden flight of his new powered 2-Meter Tori glider which went well too. Once at altitude, Steve made it look easy catching thermals and steering clear a two hawks that were circling the area.

Jim Shiels flew a number of UMX airplanes, however his effort to fly his larger aircraft failed as a result of equipment failure which he luckily detected during his pre-flight check.

Stephen Yanacek continued his First Person View flying experiments, utilizing a new digital headset display he recently acquired. Stephen then spent time with Grant to assist him in improving his flying skills.

The day's activities ended at about 2 in the afternoon with everyone heading home with a nice tan and all airplanes intact.

With temperatures in the mid-60s, seven club members met at our field under overcast skies to enjoy a fun-filled day of flying as a club.

Jim Davis, Stephen Yanacek, Grant Dick, Philip Garey, Robert Yanacek, Peter Fynn, and Grant Peacock flew many sorties today with a variety of aircraft—ranging from trainer planes to warbirds. Only one aircraft was seriously damaged as a result of a defective battery.

Of special note was that Stephen Yanacek performed the first airplane flight at our field using First Person View (FPV) equipment that he installed on his AeroScout S. Stephen's flight went very well and he reported that FPV flying he felt was much easier than normal radio control model flying.

Grant Peacock also brought his video equipment to the field, filming many flights and performing interviews with members about their experiences in radio control model aviation. Grant will use this material to produce an informational video about our club and for inclusion on the club's YouTube channel that he is developing.

In addition to all the flying activities, Jim Davis also used a part of the day to lead a team of members to tamp the pilings for our club's new storage shed and cut them to length in preparation for construction efforts which will begin in May.

Our 2022 flying season opened today with six club members meeting at our field for a fun day of flying and sharing our knowledge and skills with each other following a three month winter break. Although the temperature was on the cool side with a high of 52-degrees, unlimited visibility and winds of between 6 and 10 miles per hour made flying conditions fairly good.

Peter Fynn led off the day's activities with a maiden flight of his electric-powered flying wing. Unfortunately, flying it proved to be challenging due to the difficulty in control and easily determining its orientation, resulting in a number of crashes. Luckily, the aircraft was recovered intact with only minor damage, offering Peter the chance to resolve the flight control issues.

Stephen Yanacek then conducted a maiden flight with his E-flite Maule M-7. His flights with this aircraft went very well as the Maule proved to have excellent ground-handling characteristics and stable and forgiving while in the air. Stephen also flew a number of flights with his HobbyZone AeroScout S using it as a platform for a First Person View (FPV) experiment with a analog video camera and monitor he recently acquired. Although these flights went well, the image quality of the analog equipment proved to be grainy, so he is considering investing in digital equipment for future experiments. Following these flights, Stephen assisted Grant Peacock in setting up his new E-flite Apprentice STS for its maiden flight. Using Grant's new DX6 transmitter, Stephen assisted him in the binding process, setting up the flight control settings on the transmitter, and binding a DXs transmitter to the DX6 for use as a student/instructor buddy-box system. To ensure everything was working properly, Matthew Huggins performed a maiden flight on the aircraft, and after making some minor trim adjustments, worked as an instructor pilot for Grant to assist him in improving his flying skills.

The remainder of the day involved numerous successful flights by Stephen, Matthew, and Peter with Stephen's AeroScout S and Peter's E-flite Turbo-Timber before we all headed home looking forward to the next time we meet to fly.

Stephen Yanacek, Robert Yanacek, and Peter Fynn met today for breakfast at the Jolly Roger restaurant in Kill Devil Hills to talk about model airplanes and the upcoming flying season.