CBRC

Chesapeake Bay Radio Control Club

AMA District IV Club # 326

Who was it that said we were a fly-by- night operation? Well, they were absolutely correct! Saturday, 30 October was the third annual night flight by a small, determined band of aeronauts. There were some misgivings regarding the weather since we had waited so late in the year but, we were rewarded many times over for our wait as there couldn’t have been a better late afternoon/early evening. What breeze there was at four was all but completely gone by six with the sky clearing all the while. The temperature was balmy so shirt sleeves sufficed.

We decided early on to include the wives this year and to bring some comestibles to make the gala occasion even better. And better it was. There were chili, vegetable beef soup, corn muffins, a vegetable platter with dip and, chips. I don’t believe anyone left the premises hungry.

The flyers, Brian Dean, Roger Edwards, Ray Stinchcomb and Steve Barnett, gathered earlier in the afternoon to garner some afternoon flying and prepare for the evening’s festivities. Long about 5:30, after a relaxing outdoors meal with our best girlfriends and flying buddies, it was time to take a final trim flight with our airplane of choice. After trim time, the chem-lites were attached to our respective machines and flown a second time to ensure there was no problem with the attached goodies. To our good fortune there were none so we settled in to await the arrival of darkness. We had marked our planes in pretty much a similar manner, with a green light on the right tip, a red marker on the left tip and white on the top and bottom of the fuselage. Roger was adventuresome by attaching a small flashlight on the nose to serve as a head light. Ray placed a glow wire on the bottom of the fuselage of one of his planes and Brian placed some glow wire on the trailing edge of his rudder. Although the glow wire was not as bright as the chem-lites, it did enhance the orientation of the plane in the air. At dusk, we set out three field markers to help in setting up our landings. There was a blinking red light at the west end, a white light at the mid-point and a white marker at the east end. We were now set.

Prior to the first flight, Roger gave a mini-safety briefing more for the spectators then for the pilots. At this point I must extend a hearty thank-you to the many spectators in attendance. We had asked for their cooperation in being rather quiet so the pilots could hear their plane as well as not be distracted by the normally raucous pits activity during a typical flying event. I have never heard such quiet in my years of flying with CBRC. The crowd was great and your cooperation helped make the event the safe, enjoyable one that it was. THANKS on behalf of the flyers!

By now it was close to 6:45 and dark enough to fly. The chem-lites did their thing as the aircraft were readily discernable in the sky. My Royal Coachman flew first and had no issues. Landing was really intense but successful. My timer beeped about 15 seconds after landing so I had flown close to six minutes, leaving only about a minute of fuel reserve. I didn’t even want to contemplate a dead stick at night. Roger flew second. He was braver then I as he successfully completed a loop during his flight. After about six or seven minutes, Roger landed and taxied back to the pit area. Ray was next with his Prairie Bird, needing a hand launch to get airborne. After a near launch-touch-n-go, Ray was airborne and zipping right along. Ray also looped his plane to complete his flight profile. A second round of flying was successfully completed when Brian Dean fired up his profile, diesel-powered machine. Brian is an accomplished pilot who did not let this period of limited visibility (darkness) interfere with his flying fun! I believe he flew the same maneuvers as he does during the day time, and at the same low altitude! By the time we had flown our fill, seven flights with zero mishaps had been completed. We felt it was time to call it a night and clean up.

If you have never tried night flying, it is about like cramming an hour’s worth of flying into a five minute session. INTENSE is an understatement. The flying was great, the friendship even better. The fact that several wives came along made the evening most festive. To those who were spectators, thanks for supporting us. To those who missed it, we will do this again. Who knows, perhaps even you may want to brave the darkness and join in on the fun.

Steve Barnett

Last update July 10,  2010

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Contact Roger Edwards at VoyagerCC@Verizon.net for questions