From afar, the sky above one of Central Oregon’s model plane clubs can resemble a world-class air show. Century-old biplanes, classic military aircraft, Piper Cubs, private jets and gliders can be seen cruising, speeding, performing aerobatics or engaging in faux-combat. But upon closer inspection, the scale models reveal their true size, and the men with radio controllers dwarf the mini tarmac, smiles stretched across their faces as if they were flying in an open cockpit.
Central Oregon is home to some fine flying conditions and locales, hence the four radio controlled (RC) model airplane clubs that operate here. Ever since the 1970s, enthusiasts have built, flown, crashed and rebuilt model planes on this edge of the high desert. Today, most of the RC pilots are men in or near retirement, some with real flying experience, all elevated by a passion for flight and a sense of camaraderie.
“It’s a broad-spectrum hobby,” said Tom Rainwater, president of the Field of Dreams RC Club in Redmond. “If you’re into building models, you can do [just] that. And if you want to put them together really quick and get out there and fly, you can do that, too.”
Besides events and rendezvous held at public places such as Haystack Reservoir and Schaub Lake, the RC plane clubs in Bend, La Pine, Redmond and Sisters serve as FAA-approved flight zones where (almost) anything goes, as long as it stays under the mandated 400-foot ceiling in the sky. Propeller planes reach speeds of 40 to 50 miles per hour, while electric, ducted fan-propelled planes can blast beyond 130 miles per hour. Distances are kept well within a half mile from the controller.
Motivation for flying RC planes is as varied as the models themselves. Friedhelm Baitis, a member of the Bend Aero Modelers club, flew for 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, including two tours in Vietnam, and later as a commercial pilot, but no longer flies real airplanes. He began flying model planes at the age of 14 and admits he’s still “attracted to the flying game one way or the other.”
Model Planes are a Challenging Hobby
Maneuvering a model plane is harder than it looks. One factor that keeps RC pilots alongside the tarmac year after year. Depth perception, quick reflexes, and remembering that right is left when the plane is flying toward you all equate to a unique set of challenges. “In my opinion, it’s harder to fly a model than a real airplane,” Baitis said. “I think you really do have to concentrate more for a model.”
For Baitis, the endless quest for the perfect landing provides part of the joy of flying models. For Bill Broich, president of the Bend Aero Modelers club, it’s the entire process. “Flying something that I built myself, something that I got as a box of wood and a rolled-up sheet of plans and turned into an airplane that I could fly and control in the air and that’s pretty neat,” he said.
The magic of flight is universal, but model airplanes aren’t just about take-offs, tricks and landings. For Broich and the others, it’s also about community, which is why visitors are always welcome to watch, try their hand at flying or just hear some good stories. “We joke that we spend maybe 10 percent of our time out on the field flying, and the other 90 percent is sitting around talking with everybody,” he said.
“You just go out there and sit in a chair, fly the planes and chat with your buddies,” Rainwater said. “That’s an average day. But it’s a good day.”
