A great way to make time fly

What do you get when you take a bunch of enthusiastic hobbyists, add dashes of aerial acrobatics, combine it with a safe family environment and top it off with good food and fun? Another successful event for the CMA, the Camrose Modellers Association, who hosted their annual radio-control (RC) fun-fly and corn-roast event at Alberta’s Littlest Airport near Bawlf Aug. 22 and 23.

Many CMA members consider this their favourite event of the year. For several of them, it’s often the last time they’ll fly together before school begins for their children and the early, darker evenings of fall set in. It’s also a great chance to display their latest builds and the excellent flying skills they’ve developed all summer.

Whether it is the precise guidance of a Yak-54 by Doug Currie of Hiflight RC in Edmonton, or a seeing-is-believing inverted helicopter flight of a T-Rex 600 by Conway Vidal of Lloydminster, the skill and pride that each member displays in his aircraft and abilities is obvious.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Darryl Farrar of Beaumont, an RC enthusiast for several years. “It’s also a great way to fly a P-51 Mustang or a Piper Cub without having to own the real thing, which is very expensive.”

The CMA events are not just limited to members from the local area. RC enthusiasts from across Alberta regularly attend.

“We always have folks from Edmonton and Red Deer that join us,” added Farrar, a Leduc and Area Radio-Control (LARC) member for several years. “We also have members come from Whitecourt and Grande Prairie. Two years ago, we had a gentlemen come up from California.”

The fun-fly event also gives members the opportunity to see who among them is pushing the limit of the hobby. Among the flights that dazzled onlookers was an electric jet that raced across the sky with very little noise. An aerial-photography display, which featured a real-time birds-eye view of the flight line, transmitted from a wireless camera mounted to a helicopter as it hovered high in the sky, also impressed many in attendance.

“There are only three or four of us licensed to do RC aerial photo-graphy in western Canada,” said Vidal, who operates scenefromabove.ca, a low-level aerial-imaging service. A regular helicopter shakes too much, and even a small plane flies too fast. Farmers and civic officials love it when they see the resolution that a stable RC platform can provide them.”

For those that were there to “just watch,” there were many things for them to do between the flights. The Saturday corn-roast, featuring sweet Taber corn, and the on-site RC racetrack, playground, and hayrides were popular with many in attendance. When the flights were finished, the nightly bonfire gave friends and families the chance to share the day’s highlights. For the pilots, it gave them the chance to recount tales of their aerial adventures.

A positive event like this would not be possible without the generosity of Phyllis Blackwell and her son, Reg Blackwell, who take time from operating the working part of their farm to mow acres of camping and landing areas, maintain the flight and service facilities and ensure all is safe for everyone who visits. The family atmosphere is enhanced by Phyllis’ daily rounds, when she happily chats to friends of many years and first-timers alike.

“This is our 13th year of having this event at the farm,” said Phyllis, with pride. “It’s also nice to see the next generation here,” as she indicated the variety of tents that had popped up among the trees. “Not so long ago, they used to be the kids playing and running around, now they’re the new adults, but still having a good time with friends and family.”