Tale of the Brand New RUNWAY!

I have always loved going to the Scale Squadron's Warbirds & Classics event. Hosted at the OCMA field, it's such a good time flying at a really picturesque location to fly. I was on vacation for last year's event and wasn't able to make it, so I was excited to get back out there again this year. The big news was that a newly paved runway had been installed just in time for the event!  Fresh pavement and fresh paint, it was a glorious site to behold. There had also been some recent rains which meant that the surrounding greenery was actually green! (as opposed to the typical SoCal brown that we get…)

Through the weekend, the weather couldn't have been much better with cool overcast mornings followed by warm and slightly breezy sunny afternoons. As a result there was endless flying from sun up to sun down for those in attendance. It truly doesn't get much better than that and the new runway was just the icing on the cake! In terms of airplanes at the event, there was a great assortment out there, but interestingly there didn't seem to be as many of the heavy iron warbirds that have been out there in years past. No matter though as there were still some really unique airplanes being flown which is the beauty of an event like this. So, here's a collection of pictures from the event. I had a little help this year as my friend Corsair Nut was there and we were able to team up taking pictures and video concurrently through the weekend.

Though, I can't say I had anything new and exciting to fly for the event this year, I brought along my trusty Jet Hangar A-7 Corsair II, Freewing F-4 Phantom, and E-Flite F-16. I had just recently installed an 8s JetFan90 setup into the F-4 Phantom, so I was eager to see what it could do! I think through the course of 2 days I flew out there, I got in about 20 flights across the three airplanes with most of the flights on the A-7 and F-4. I suppose you could say, I was making up for lost time as my flying schedule has been rather spotty this year. ;)

WARBIRDS & CLASSICS VIDEOS

I generally try to get as much video as I can at an event as I love to feature the creativity of so many scale modelers. We are a unique breed as you've probably noticed. So, here's selection of some of the videos I've posted so far. I'll be adding more on my YouTube channel as I edit the footage over the next few weeks.

Giant Scale B-17 Flying Fortress -- This massive B-17G Flying Fortress from Jamie Fifles was 1/9 scale which gives it a 140" wingspan. It was scratch-built from Don Smith plans from balsa and ply wood and is powered by 4x E-flite 160 motors on 10 cells swinging 16x10 master airscrew props. The model was painted in the 909 livery, which holds the WW2 record of 140 missions with no casualties and 126 missions with no aborts. The replica is now flown by the Collins Foundation in FL.

Giant Scale FW-190A -- This was one of the largest model at the event and it was beautifully built! Built and flown by Brian Young, the model is 1/3.7 scale (113" span) and scratch built from Roy Vaillancourt plans from balsa and plywood (weighs 70 lb). Power is supplied by a DA 170 swinging a 31x11 falcon prop. The finish on it was fantastic and the weathering was spot on for a butcher bird. It was such a cool model!

Scratch-Built F4D-1 Skyray 80mm EDF -- A while back my friend Corsair Nut and I started scratch building a pair of 80mm EDF F4D Skyrays (to be fair, it was mostly CN doing the building based on my work schedule, but I did contribute a little ;) ). Well, his Skyray is done and he brought it out to the event and it looks amazing! He scratch-built the airplane from depron foam with ply for some of the structural elements and I designed up some 3D Printed intake ducting and a nose cone as well. The fan is the Freewing 9-blade EDF with centerburner for the simulated afterburner. :) I will hopefully have mine done later this year I hope!

1/5 Scale Mitsubishi J2M Raiden -- Brian Young is a pretty prolific builder and this J2M Raiden was the other model that he brought out the event. Built from a balsa and ply kit designed by John Reno it has an 85 '' inch wing span and is powered by a DA 85 swinging a 24 x 12 prop. The Raiden is a WWII design I've always thought was cool and is something you rarely see at the field! This one flew great!